Day 7. Finally in Iceland

The night was long and boring. Time just wouldn't pass. I switched between different decks. Sometimes I lay on Deck 8 in a deckchair, but it got a little chilly at 10 degrees, so I moved to Deck 5. There are armchairs and a power outlet on the opposite wall. Charge up the iPad. Then, warmed up, back up to the fresh air to take a breath. Sometimes I closed my eyes and dozed off. Next time with a cabin, no matter the cost.

The waves are quite impressive and the spray wets the windows on Deck 5. By morning, the sea calms down and it is 5:00 am when a strong jet of water from the outside splashes against the windows. Am I dreaming? Far from it, someone is actually cleaning the windows.

I struggle until 7:00, then it's breakfast time. The buffet restaurant on Deck 6 suddenly fills up. After feeding and releasing the vehicle deck, the masses flock to the elevators and stairs of the ship. In the crowd, I spot Jule, talking to like-minded bicycle travelers. We only have time for a quick 'hello' and she disappears back into the crowd.

Seyðisfjörður is shrouded in fog and gets a cheerful shower. So I quickly changed on the vehicle deck. With Jule, who has now also arrived at her bike, we take a commemorative photo, exchange promises to follow each other's blogs, and then saddle up and head out into the cold.

At first, the visibility is still sufficient, but it changes with every meter I climb on the road leading north. Not to mention this nasty drizzle. In no time, my visor is fogged up on both sides and I struggle with eyes squinted into slits against this mood of nature. After climbing a few meters, it clears up and it stops raining, but the temperature has stayed at seven degrees. I pull over to take a look at the map. My navigation system refuses to recognize anything beyond the outline, even on Iceland. During the past night, I had decided to first drive to the northeast of the island and picked out a campsite here.

By the way, last night I read that the largest 'Göthemal area' is located up here. Göthe painted? In Iceland? On second reading, 'geothermal area' made sense.

Lack of sleep, that's probably why I also saw zebras on the way. They were standing in the fields next to the road.

On the way, I refueled Suzi and had a discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of bus and motorcycle travel with two bus travelers during another small stop. All the way from Hamburg... that's quite far. Depending on how you look at it, I've only driven 1000 kilometers.

The road that leads to the campsite is a side road and therefore a gravel road. Let's see how that goes. So far, I haven't covered any major distances on gravel. I put my trust in Suzi's specially fitted tires for this purpose. It went well though. While playing in this terrain, we also got a little dirty. Let's see how we look in 14 days.

Once I arrived at the campsite, I quickly set up the tent before it starts raining again.

Now enjoy. I must have fallen asleep during the waiting time. I was rudely awakened when I fell backward with my small Helinox camping chair. I remained unharmed, but my little friend broke one of its four legs. After having a cup of cold tea, probably unconscious for several minutes, I splinted the little guy using a wooden cooking spoon and treated the wound with duct tape. To take it easy, I am now sitting on one of my side cases and using Helinox as a makeshift table.

Since I couldn't go shopping for groceries due to the weather conditions, I went to the campsite's restaurant to eat. With the size of the bill, I'm definitely funding an Icelandic orphan, from birth to graduation.

I shouldn't do that too often, I urgently need to go shopping tomorrow. For now, I will crawl into my sleeping bag at 6 degrees.