Takin’ It Easy

After the long previous day, I decided to it easy on Day 4.  I slept in till about quarter to nine and then wandered over to the Viking Cafe for a couple coffees.  Boy, did they taste good (I had been drinking either instant or gas station coffee up to this point)!  I took my time, checked the weather forecast and decided where to head next.  Originally I wasn’t going to go back out to Stokksnes, but I thought what the heck.  I love this spot, and the camping fee included unlimited access.

It was quite a bit windier than before, but bearable.  The only issue is that the wind picks up the fine black sand which can get in your eyes, teeth, ears and even your clothing. Fortunately my camera is weather-sealed, as I said before, so this wasn’t a concern.  I spent a couple hours or so shooting, looking for a unique composition.  This can be challenging given the popularity of this location.  That said, I ended up with a few images I was happy with given the conditions, though not sure how original or unique they really are.

Where to next?  I decided to head back to Jökulsárlón and specifically the black sand beach, another of my favorite spots.  Yes, it was crowded but I stuck it out.  Unfortunately, there weren’t many ice chunks on the beach, and the tide was coming in, making it challenging to get a decent composition.  

Originally I had planned to hit another canyon after Jökulsárlón, but I wasn’t up for the hike, which was rated as “moderately challenging” (this was a take-it-easy day, after all).  And it was already mid-afternoon.  So I decided to find a campsite, and ended up at the campground in Vatnajökull National Park.  As I pulled in I looked for some kind of registration building or sign.  Nothing!  I went on line and per their website camping reservations were handled by a third party. As it turns out I had already installed the third party’s app to pay for parking at Jökulsárlón, so I booked a campsite!  

The weather was very pleasant: no wind, no rain, and about 60 degrees.  The only downside was that without wind there were now bugs (helpful hint: if you don’t have insect repellent, deodorant seems to work!).  I set up the camping table and chair and prepared dinner. Just as I was finishing dinner this official looking guy with a shoulder bag and scanner showed up asking about my registration.  It was still on my iPad so I showed it to him.  He said that this registration wasn’t for this campsite (turns out Vatnajökull is one huge-ass park and the campsite I registered for was in northern Iceland).  I explained that there were no other options in the app and that it was very confusing.  He said he was aware of that and has told his superiors about the issue many times (well isn’t that grand!).  He then said “I will give you a ticket.” I quickly responded, “a ticket, how much will that cost me?”  Realizing the translation error, he said it won’t cost me anything.  The “ticket” goes on your dash, he said, so you can camp here tonight.  Phew!!  I thanked him profusely and apologized for the error.  Off he went.  

I decided to take a much deserved shower, the first all week.  It was wonderful. 

One of Iceland’s glaciers

The campervan!  (The skies looked ominous but for the most part it went around us)

Dinner.  There’s only so many things you can do with hot dogs, eggs and canned beans as the protein source (I even tried all 3 together), so I splurged with some fish.  Meat is expensive here, but this smoked haddock was fairly reasonable…and delicious!