July 30 and 31, 1999
After crossing the Skeiðararsandur I stopped at Skaftafell, one of Iceland's National Parks. I know it's very beautiful, but at this time in my trip it just felt like there was a lot of people there. So I ate lunch, bought some postcards, and got back on my bike. I met a german guy, Mathias, and a just before rolling out, 2 Kiwis, Jo and Andy.
Andy, Jo and Mathias
I caught up with Mathias and we rode together to Jöklsárlón, a big bay of glacial ice that has calved off of Vatnajökull. We met up with Andy and Jo there, and
decided to camp together that evening.
The birds for the day were two red throated loons, seen in a small pond next to the road. Mileage, 139 km.
Jökulsárlón, a big bay full of floating ice and a restaurant with the best
cakes and pastries that I came across in Iceland. The guy in the
boat pushes bergs around to keep the channel open for the amphibious
tour boats. The ocean lies about 1 km to the south from here.
Camp, July 30, 1999
July 31
It rained during the early morning, but stopped for breakfast. It rained lightly for the full 60 km into the sleepy town of Höfn (pop. 1000). Mathias disappeared mysteriously. Distraught, Jo, Andy and I went to the pool to soak in the hot tubs where we were treated to a view of an huge guy in a speedo swimsuit.
and one of two towns on the south coast with a good harbor
