The zig and the zag [Faskrudsfjordur > Djupivogur -- 71mi]

I'd read about a geology museum two towns down the coast in Breiddalsvik; there was a free town campsite there as well, so I planned an easy 35mi ride today. Planning easy days leads to laziness, and I spent a good chunk of my morning at a little French cafe in Faskrudsfjodur. Then I stopped off in the next town, Stodvarfjordur, for another round of coffee and WiFi.

Stodvarfjordur (village on the right)

patiently waiting outside the cafe

dead Icelanders

 After spending a good part of my day sipping coffee instead of riding my bike, the geology museum was closed by the time I arrived in Breiddalsvik and wouldn't re-open until 11am the next day. It didn't look to extensive anyway. The free campground was in fact free, but it was just a tiny lot behind the hotel and didn't have showers or a kitchen (it did, however, have a neighbor hammering away on his house.) It seemed pointless to stop here for the night since I didn't want to wait 16hrs for the museum to open, so I took advantage of calm winds and endless daylight to get a jump on tomorrow.

The coastal cliffs are particularly amazing- towering basalt rock ledges teeming with birds and moss and usually misty clouds. I feel like at any moment a fire-breathing dragon is going to swoop down and pluck me off the bike in its sharp talons. It's a very surreal, engrossing surroundings to pedal through and sadly photos can't do it justice. The gentle waves from the ocean, the constant squawk of thousands of birds darting about, the cool damp air... no camera is good enough!

I had no real agenda for the next few days aside from making it to the town of Hofn by Friday afternoon to check out Lobster Fest that the guy in the hot tub had told me about. It was getting late by the time I reached the beginning of Berufjordur fjord, but the air was calm and this was going to be the longest inland diversion I'd face during my trek along the fjords. Although the fjords are relatively narrow, the roads wind all the way in, and then all the way out... the prevailing winds off the sea make the first half of these zig-zags a snap, but when you get to the end you have to about-face right back into it. So taking advantage of the calm wind I went ahead and pedaled the 25mi around this fjord, and stopped to camp just before its outlet.

My 35mi day turned into 71... but you gotta strike while the iron's hot, so they say. Another gorgeous place to pitch a tent:

Berufjordur

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A note on traffic: I've had nothing but good experiences with the traffic in Iceland. Granted, there's relatively little of it anyway, but drivers (locals and tourists alike) are very courteous and almost everyone merges completely into the oncoming lane when passing a bike. If there are cars from opposite directions converging on a bike, the vehicle behind has always slowed and waited patiently until it's safe to pass. In the towns, they drive like I wish everyone would drive! That is, if they can pull out and/or pass you, they just do it and get on with their day. No stupid, timid Colorado drivers who sit at an intersection for an extra 30 seconds in order for you to ride by and then immediately pull out and creep along behind you. Here that, Boulder-ites???

I've only had one angry honk- and that was when Aussie Craig and I were riding two abreast up a hill (and the dumb driver blew his chance to pass when he had it...)

People don't drive unreasonably fast here either, which is surprising because there's essentially no police enforcing speed limits. Drivers tend to be very observant, but I imagine that may be because there's a constant likelihood that there's errant free range sheep in the middle of the road. So it's been a very pleasant ride. 

In Reykjavik it's a bit different, as there is a lot more traffic in the metro area, narrow streets and more 'urban' type aggressiveness on the road. Still didn't have any problems there, but it wasn't the comfortable meandering I've come to love in the countryside.