After done exploring the west of Iceland, I took a day rest in a small town called Stykkiholmur with a population just around 1000. Although small, this is the biggest town in the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. It has a small harbour and its very picturesque place. I can see many tourists around here busy snapping their cameras. Here I get myself busy stocking up camping food and other stuff since Westfjords is a bit wild and isolated, due to its remote location. Stayed in a very expensive guesthouse here. I took a dorm and it already costs me more than RM100. A hotdog here costs RM30. There you go, its a big sign that I cant stay long in a town, I need to get to the wild fast.
view of Stykkisholmur from the hill
Its a very peaceful town here, just like any other town in Iceland. I was chatting with a local guy here, he said this country is very safe. I can just leave my camera at the roadside and go back to sleep, wake up the next morning and it will still be there, untouched. Nobody will steal it around here. It is true, it has been a few nights when I was camping in the mountains, left my camera outside to film a timelapse, and went inside my tent and sleep. The next morning my camera was still there sitting nicely on the tripod. The only problem in this country is that its very expensive here. Reason is because they import almost everything and only rely on tourism and agriculture. But it doesnt matter for Icelanders, they earn a lot so they can afford it here and you cant find poor people around this island.
I really took a good rest, I slept long hours recovering the pain I had after been pulling my very heavy bike through the hills and mountains. I realized my ride now in Iceland is much slower compared to my previous journey through Asia Continent. Im carrying double the weight now, total luggage of 65kg when all my food is full, that’s around my own bodyweight. At a flatroad without any wind, I cycle for only around 15km/hour. I can never go faster than 20km/hour unless there is a tail wind blowing me forward or Im flying downhill. But none of these matters to me, Im surrounded by very beautiful landscape along the way so I don’t mind traveling slowly around here enjoying all these.
my camera is working hard, capturing the magical light!
Since I left Reykjavik, its been a very quiet ride for me. This country is totally remote and the best moment is during the Midnight Sun. During this hour everything is quiet, its like all the birds here stopped chipping and started to watch the magical sun here. Only the sound of water and wind were playing during this hour. When I sit alone experiencing all these magical moments, I wonder how great the Creator of all is. Even the roads here are very quiet. Maybe only around 2-3 cars for every 5 minutes. The volcanic eruption had turned this place into a unique landscape, making me to cycle even slower, watching the surrounding very detail. Now Im done with the west part of Iceland, I will head north towards the Westfjords after my rest day here in Stykkiholmur. Another chapter of my life will begin, Westfjords here I come!
I took a day rest in Borganes after struggling pulling my heavy bicycle. Its a small town with only around 1000 population. Nothing much to do during a rest day except charging my laptop, phone, cameras all to full bar. And of course, slept in a proper bed and enjoyed a very nice long hot shower :) The weather here is very unpredictable, when i was in my room it was clear blue sky. Few minutes later when i took my camera and went out to the hill, it was cloudy. So i just walked around exploring the small town. Did some small shopping on groceries in a supermarket here.
At around 10.30 at night, I put on my thick jacket, carried all my cameras and climbed the hill to witness the Midnight Sun. It was very windy and I was shivering even with my jacket. I really need more jacket when Im riding in Norway during winter. This is only summer, and the temperature is already down to between 0-5 celcius at night with the wind at night. I finally found a nice spot to witness the phenomena and waited for hours to capture the magical sun. Finally at midnight, the sun touched the horizon for a while and began to rise again. The colors, the reflection from the North Atlantic Sea, the quietness, the feelings I had during that moment was simply… sexyy!!! It was really magic to witness the sunset, then sunrise a few minutes later. I really feel like Im traveling in some other planet, far away from Earth…
the view of Borganes town from the hill
the magical Midnight Sun! The color is sexy isnt it?
The next day while I was busy packing and getting ready to ride more to the west of Iceland, I found 2 bicycle outside the guesthouse, with German flags. I waited there to find out the riders. One guy came out and I asked which direction theyre going. They told me that theyre going west as well towards the Snaefellsnes peninsula, exactly the same direction Im going. We then introduced each other. Theyre Pat and Christ, both are 27 years old and still studying in university. We then decided to ride together for some kilometers since we were both heading in the same direction. One of them, Pat also used to visit Kuala Lumpur and he told me that he likes teh o ais limau. Hehe, suddenly I missed the moment when Im enjoying teh o ais limau in mamak shop with my friends back in KL when he said that. He also used to live 9 months in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and he was surprised to learn that I am married with a Kyrgyz that I met during my previous journey. Seems that this guy is really in love with Kyrgyzstan because while we were riding together, he kept on saying that this view really reminds him of Kyrgyz’s landscape. It is true, the landscape here in west of Iceland looks very much like mountains of Kyrgyzstan and even some parts of Tibet.
Christ (left) and Pat (right), friendly guys from Germany
At some point, we split since they need to speed up to catch a football match where Germany will be playing against some other team in Euro 2012. They were carrying less luggage and they speed up towards the next accomodation to watch the match. I on the other hand, who dont really enjoy watching football were moving slowly. After a few hours, I reached the guesthouse that they were staying and pitched my tent near theirs in a campsite behind the guesthose. The other guy, Christ was into photography and has a photography studio in Germany together with his brother. Since we shared the same interest we were discussing many things on photography.
The next morning, we finally split since theyre heading to the end of the Snaefellsness peninsula and I was heading to Grundarfjordur, passing through a mountain. We exchanged contacts via Facebook so that we can still keep in touch. They will welcome me whenever I cycle in Germany passing by Berlin. Very nice and friendly German guys. We plan to meet again in some other town but somehow i doubt that, theyre moving fast since they have another week left in Iceland before going back to Germany and get to their studies, while Im on the other hand have around 9 more weeks here and I will be moving very slowly… like a sexy snail!
My ride towards Grundarfjordur was unexpectedly tough. I didnt know that I have to climbed a mountain pass that was really high!! I was really struggling getting to the mountain pass, it really reminds me of my ride in Tibet. It was tough that when I was near the top, I was pushing my bicycle…. again! Thehehehe….. When I reached the top, the view was really breathtaking, overlooking the fjords, waterfalls with the blue ocean at the far background, all under the blue sky! I was moving very slowly to get to the top, now I will be flying down to the other side of the mountain. But I didnt fly fast enough, the headwind really slowed me down and I had to pedal even when going downhill. Half way of going down, I saw a nice spot to camp. So I decided not to go to the next town, I wanna enjoy my time doing some wild camping in this very beautiful spot. There was a hill where the peak is covered with snow, the theres water flowing through it. The water is really fresh and I camped right next to it. Free water! Now I can cook, wash all my dishes, take super cold shower and do my laundy! :)
the ride to the mountain pass. this is the point where i started to pushed my bike to get to the top haha
I then pitched my tent there and enjoy the view with my dinner and coffee. It was really peaceful up here where I only hear the sound of water and birds. I stayed up till midnight to witness the Midnight Sun phenomena. But not long after that, the rain started pouring. I got inside my sleeping bag and shivering. It was really cold. I woke up the next morning and realized that the rain was still pouring. There was no blue sky at all, its cloudy everywhere, probably the whole of Iceland is raining.
At some point, at around 10 am, I just couldnt wait anymore and wrapped up everything and kept cycling in the rain. It was very cold until I started cycling and my body got warmed again. A few kilometers later, I got my first flat tyre! It was my first flat tyre in Iceland only after 300km of cycling. I was in the mountain and it was raining and very cloudy, so I slowly unpacked all my bags and changed the tube. But the ride after that towards Grundarfjordur was easy. It was downhill for around 10km then flatroad along the coast for the rest of the journey. I was riding under the rain for the whole ride but it doesnt really matter. The biggest problem is climbing steep roads and facing the harsh headwind.
my dinner mmmmmm…..
the view of my hotel under the colors of the Midnight Sun!
ayooo i hate flat tyre!!
I really underestimated Iceland! That was the big mistake I made. I thought that riding in the whole of Europe is nothing for me as I’ve climbed the Tibetan Plateau, The Pamir Mountains and the Taklamakan Desert 2 years ago. So there you go, even tho I was only riding along the coast, riding up and down was really killing! At one point I started to blame the road builders, the engineers and everyone else because they didnt build the road flat. Why do they make it hard for cyclists? They should predict that one day I will ride in this country. And my complains went on and on….
“Im a cycling machine, Im a cycling machine, Im a damn machine!” I began whispering to myself on every single climb. I tried hard to tell myself that my legs are as strong as a desert horse. But it doesnt work, my mind didnt believe the lie, so at one point, I pushed the bike. Hehehe…
Surprising, it is sunny and quite warm here. I guess its around 20 celcius at noon. But it can get very confusing, once the wind blows from the ocean, it gets reallllyyy cold!! So I have to always get my jacket on standby, in case the wind starts blowing. I even got bad sunburn especially on my face. The weather is so dry here. But today’s ride was totally different. I was riding under the rain for almost the whole day. It was pleasant, since I love riding under the rain. Most people dont like it because it seems that riding in the rain is dangerous and your stuff can get wet. Well if you wear proper, wrap all your stuff with rainproof cover and know how to handle the slippery road, riding in the rain can be very very pleasant. Another good thing is that I started making friends around the world again. Its only a few days since I started my ride and I already establish quite a good contact. Its a good thing, now I wanna strengthen my connection in Europe. That is why I love to do this so much. Everyday I make new friends, learn new things, get new experiences, see new things etc etc and the list goes on and on and on and on……
beautiful view taken from my tent at 12 am, where the magical light appeared during the Midnight Sun
So… after a few days of riding in the wild without talking to anyone since I left Reykjavik, as expected, I started talking to animals. Check out these sexy and exotic Icelandic horses, the very special breed! :)
I stayed 2 day in Reykjavik preparing my ride. I discovered that the front rack of my bicycle got broken, probably from the flight. So I went to a welder near the guesthouse that I stayed and get it all fixed. Quite a pleasant city to stay, its safe here with a very low population. When I got to the guesthouse, I asked them wether I can take my bicycle in. They said its fine to leave it outside. At first I wasnt feeling good about it, but after the first night leaving my bicycle outside, it was as good as new on the next morning! So yea, I guess I will feel very comfortable riding in this country which has zero crime rate. I wanted to stay longer here in Reykjavik but it was too expensive. A cheap room here costs around RM120. A basic meal costs around RM30! So because of all these, I was forced out of Reykjavik, into the wild…
packing outside my guesthouse
Vikings!
So after I bought all the food, water and cooking equipments, I finally left the city into the wild. Iceland is basically the size of England, but the population is only 300 000! Around 200 000 live in Reykjavik and the surrounding areas, the rest of the population, probably farmers and some scientists are scattered all around the land. So there you go, only after 20km riding out of the city, I discovered myself in no-man’s land! There are still villages of course, but very low population, as low as 100 people.
taking a quick rest
Getting out of Reykjavik was quite confusing to me. I stopped many times thinking of the way out of the city. I was heading north, so I just rode along the coast to get out of the city. Finally, after 2 hours of riding in the busy road, I found myself in a quiet place surrounded by mountains, fjords and sea, all under the blue sky. It was pleasant. There were less cars here. I wanted to reminisce the moment when I cycled through Asia 2 years ago, so I put on my iPod with the songs that I used to listen while I was cycling in China and Central Asia. I felt so good, the old spirit is back inside me! While I was climbing through the smaller fjords here in Iceland, the beat of the music made me feel like Im still in the Himalayas, up there over 4000m altitude fighting hard to get to the mountain pass to get the reward of seeing Tibetan Plateau from the highest point!
The very sexy North Atlantic Ocean!
As for now I dont need to worry, as the first 500km of the road heading north is filled with petrol station for every 50km, so I can easily get food supply. Only when I reach the Westfjords, I need to carry tons of food. Im currently riding extremely slow, as slow 50km a day. First, Im carrying the luggage which is heavier than my bodyweight, some 65kg of luggage! Second, even tho Im riding along the coast, the road is always up and down, never flat! When it was climbing, I kept looking at the highest point, aiming to get to the top, telling myself that soon I will be flying down on the other side. Once I reached the top, I saw the road going down but climbing again on the next hill. Thirdly, the scenery here really slowed me down. I stopped many times snapping pictures as the view here is really beautiful!
I didnt get to the next town since I was moving very slowly, so I camped in the wild. It was really pleasant, I found fresh water from a stream nearby my campsite coming from the mountain. So I use it for drinking and washing. Lovely view of the North Atlantic Ocean but it was really cold at night, with strong wind blowing from the ocean, making me stucked inside my sleeping bag at night.
The next morning, I was approached by a local farmer. He then asked me to join him for breakfast in his house, I agreed and went it. He told me that I should have go to his house and he can provide me a shelter for a night. I then stayed a while in his house and charged all the batteries for my laptop and cameras. He told me not to buy any mineral water at the supermarket. All the water from the mountains, even the tap water is clean here and its drinkable. So yeah, I guess I dont need to worry about buying water at all here!
Diary Of A Traveller 