Stage 13: Geysir – Ţingvellir

It has been raining for most of the night and it still is in the morning. The sky looks clearer in the Northeast but it doesn’t seem to get much nearer. I have only a short stage to go today so I can wait a little longer. Hausie and Susann prefer to leave right away and since our ways part today we wish each other good luck. I watch them leave over the long and straight road before I start to pack my gear so that I can leave as soon as it stops raining.
It is just after noon when I finally leave. The sun has come out but over the plains I can still see several showers so I can only hope not to encounter one.
The road follows the foothills along the northern rim of the plain but it remains mostly flat. This in combination with a strong back wind makes it an easy ride. Nevertheless, I have to choose my speed with care because at some point I see the road disappear in one of those showers and I don’t feel like getting wet. However, I cannot slow down too much because behind me there is another shower. Where I have to follow all the bends and twists of the road the shower goes in a straight line and is clearly catching up with me. The last kilometre into Laugarvatn I really have to make pace in order to stay dry and I can already feel the first drops of water when I pass the restaurant at the entrance of the village. It is lunchtime so why not make a stop right here? The shower lasts half an hour, in which I eat a hamburger with fries and coffee.
The sun is out again when I continue my ride. Just after the village I leave the nicely sealed road and turn right onto a dirt road going steeply up. It is tougher than I thought and it is also warmer than I had so far this holiday. For the first time in over two weeks I’m actually having sweat in my eyes when going uphill, unfortunately this also attracts lots of flies. Halfway to the summit a group of horses is coming down and I have to pause until they’ve passed.
From the summit there is a great view over the green grassy plains I just came from at one side and a desert like brown lava field in the direction I’m going to. The road has lots of dust and sand on it making it very hard to keep the right track in times. At the end of the lava field there are some spooky looking black lava ridges. The road passes over it in a very short 14% climb. Fortunately this steep part has been sealed just like some parts of the climb just after Laugarvatn.

View on Ţingvallavatn

Right after the ridge the road slowly descents to the Ţingvallavatn lake becoming sealed again for the last 2 kilometres. The view is great and the sometimes dark clouds over the lake gives it a mysterious look. The road ends at the main road 36. Instead of turning right over the main road I turn left descending to the lakeshore. Down at the lake I turn right again onto the narrow tarmac road that follows the lake at close distance.
This alternative road is deserted and passes along several camping grounds along the lake where currently nobody is staying. At the end of the road is the small church of Ţingvellir. Though the church dates from a later era this is the place where democracy was established in Iceland in the time that most people on mainland Europe where still chasing each other with clubs and axes.
The campground is a bit further north where this minor road joins the road 36 again. This is also the point where the information centre is where I have to pay for the campground. Fortunately there are some other people here according to the few small tents. I just make it pitching my tent before another shower passes preventing everything from becoming wet again. There are no showers at any of the Ţingvellir campgrounds but a sponge and a cold-water tap do the trick as well.

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