Today was checkout day from the guesthouse that we’ve been in for three nights. Easy, as we’re getting better at this, and packing for the car can be a bit lax.
First stop was Húsavík, the town a little south of us, to shop for provisions. There was some thought of exploring, but there was a lingering smell of fish-related activity that gave that idea a duller sheen. So we pressed on to the first day’s planned spot: Botnsvatn, a lake just out of Húsavík over a winding dirt road. It was quiet, beautiful and deserted. We had our lunch picnic there. Would have been a lovely spot for a summer swim, were it not for the warning sign declaring that the water contained insect larva that caused “swimmers’ itch”, a parasitic infection. So no swimming, then. Picnic OK though.
On the way out we encountered a Ptarmigan, one of the last creatures on our “to see” list, Mum’s in particular. It ran/idled along in front of the car for several minutes, before finally getting sick of being followed and flew off.
Second stop was Æðarfossar which we didn’t get to see: Google’s directions seemed to be taking us to a farm property, so we turned around to look elsewhere. The local info-map sign had no indication that such a place existed. We tried one other road from that map, the 825, that looked plausible, but also didn’t reach any kind of falls. Eventually we decided to check into our accommodation, and check with the aid of WiFi. Our host had never heard of them either, but several reviewers on Google Maps insist that they’re where we were sent first. Maybe tomorrow.
The cabin we’re in has a hot tub, filled cost-free thanks to Iceland’s thermal and plentiful hot water, and we all had a plunge this afternoon. Very pleasant indeed. Just the right temperature.
The car has started to whinge about the impending lack of some sort of Diesel-related fluid. I’ve been ignoring it, but tonight I looked it up, and apparently the car will not start again, once it runs out, so I’m going to have to do something about it. The only Land Rover dealer is in Reykjavik, six hours away, so I hope that isn’t necessary. It’s possible that a servo back in Akureyri, 45 minutes back up route-1 will sell us some, and it’s possible that it will be possible to use that to fill the tank somewhere under the bonet myself. I’ll make some calls tomorrow morning, and we’ll see.
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