Last summer (June, 2016) we both quit our jobs at forestry to go on our first cycling journey. We took a last minute flight to Barcelona, Spain without a plan, route or any idea of where we would go from there. Andorra, a small country in the heart of Pyrenees, wedged between Spain and France, for some unknown reason was on my mind. Thus, we ended up starting to cycle northwards and ended up cycling across Spain, Andorra, France and the UK. We cycled all the way back home.
Those were amazing 100 days spent on the road. We sort of had a time limit, as I needed to return home sometime in Autumn to finish my second year in college. Once we got back to Scotland, we thought to spend a year or so there, to find a job to save up some money and head off into the unknown once again. Jamie was ready to spend even 2 years if needed, but I was eager to leave as soon as I would hand in my last report for college.
I remembered that a year ago Jamie and I had a discussion about Iceland - whether there are trees or not in this Land of Fire and Ice. So I looked it up and found out that Iceland even has a State Forestry Department. I contacted a few people from the State Forestry to ask if we could come to Iceland to learn about their forestry. One kind lady got me in touch with a family from Westfjords, Iceland that occasionally takes on helpers to undertake tree planting on their property. Not long after I received an email "Iceland Calling..."
Timing was perfect. I handed in my last report around midnight, just a few hours before our flight to Keflavik, Iceland; however, it was a bit hectic night - packing our gear, bikes, finishing off my college work, no time for showers or sleep. Exhausted and sleepy we arrived at the airport, said goodbyes to Jamie's mum Kerry we went into the Edinburgh Airport Terminal. As we would arrive in Iceland with a few days to spare before we had to reach our host family, we decided we'd take a bus to Stadarskali, leaving ourselves a two day cycle to get to the farm. We were both Foolonadventure.
Arrival
As we landed at the Keflavik, we discovered that our bike boxes were severely damaged. The bike frames were badly scratched and my break disc was bent. Of course, EasyJet, the airline we used, had no desk or even a representative at this airport. It was and has been a real battle to get in touch with them. Even now, five months we are still trying to get a fair refund for the damage to our gear.
The next challenge we had to overcome was - what do we do with our cardboard boxes? We knew we would need them when we leave this island. There were no two ways about it. A great thing about Keflavik airport is that they have built a small glass and metal portacabin, called "Bike Pit", where you can assemble and disassemble your bike. There were a few boxes left by others, but there was no guarantee they still would be there when we return. A staff member from the airport suggested to leave them with one of the car rental companies that have a storage. So we headed there with all our bikes and big cardboard boxes. It wasn't an easy task, but we managed. A quote we were given was € 180 each! That was more than we would spend on food during our time in Iceland. It was time to make a decision; and we decided to chance it! We would just come a day or two before our flight and see if there are any boxes available to us.
On the Way to Reykjavik
As soon as we set foot outside the airport, we got quite an American feel - the signage in English, straight, long roads, big trucks, Subways and Dunkin' Doughnuts in addition to busloads of American tourists at every petrol station.
We started heading towards Reykjavik. It turned out to be 50 km (31 mi) long ride on the first day. Were we ready? It seemed a much longer cycle after such a hectic night with finishing my college papers, packing and without sleep or any rest. We had to find a camping gas along the way so we have our rice dinner. We stopped at the first petrol station we came across. Only later we learned that it was a total rip-off. they gas canisters were used, not full and the price was much higher than anywhere else.
The strong headwind in addition to our exhaustion was slowing us down. I felt so tired and sleepy, that I even started dosing off on my bicycle! It was time for a rest. Luckily we were passing a remote bus stop, that now served as our rest stop and picnic area. After an hour of good sleep on the hard little bench and the concrete floor, and a nice rice dinner, we continued our way to the closest campsite. At the time we were not aware yet, that we can "wild" camp pretty much anywhere.
We arrived at a campsite quite late. As Jamie was a bit ill, we opted for a room in their Youth Hostel. It was late Spring in Iceland, thus, the air was still crisp and wind had a chill to it, especially during nights. By the time we were heading to bed the clock showed around 22.30, however it was still blue sky and bright sunshine outside. Welcome to the Land of the Midnight Sun!
First impressions of Iceland was not too promising, largely due to our exhaustion, damaged bikes, constant headwind and the boring landscape between the airport and Reykjavik. We headed off to bed with a hope for a better luck the next day..