Woke at 6.30, eye masks a god send for sleeping as it doesn't go dark
Back on the road by 10am and it rained all day long
Bursts of wind which were really scary when they hit you
Stopped at the iceberg lake, amazing to think thousands of years old and now wedged in the lake slowly melting before drifting out to sea. they break off the glasier and get wedged in the lake until they melt enough to drift out to sea
Soup and rolls to warm us up
Long straight roads sweeping bends and lots of wooden bridges nearly all single file but not much traffic
Slowly rode along as too much to look at to go at any speed
Stopped at the visitors centre to camp for the night
Soaking wet on the outside and pitched the tent in the rain.
Tim lights the petrol stove to make a cuppa, it starts to leak petrol so he moved it off the picnic table onto the ground and tried to turn the fuel supply off but to late up it went, he used the picnic table to block the bikes and I was instructed to evacuate the tent, as by this point I had taken my socks off it was cold on the feet and I dashed off to try and find a fire extinguisher, running back unsuccessful through the wet grass the petrol canister blew up, oh the excitement. When the flames died down we got the jet boil out – I was gagging for tea
Tim was disappointed and I told him not to worry, nobody got hurt, bikes and tent unscathed and worse could have happened, then I told him it had – I had broken 2 fingernails – bless him he smiled, that smile he does while slightly shaking his head and raising his eyes.
Drama over and a walk to the edge of the glacier.
The glacier was amazing, although covered in ash, not sure of this is from 2011 or 2010 eruption
Rain had finally cleared up and although not warm, pleasant to sit at the picnic table to eat and drink while clothes hanging off the bikes to dry
Set off the next morning about 10am, planned on riding about 100 miles today
The weather soon turned to wind and rain and it didn’t stop all day
The wind was an issue and I felt I was constantly battling to stay upright, riding leaning to one side. My neck shoulders and back soon aching
Ash was blowing across the road looking like it was alive and some sort of alien creation
Lots of bridges again, which is good because the rivers fast flowing and high
Stopped in Vik, now very wet and windswept and I can’t believe I have got used to riding in the wind
Had a hearty meal and then moved onto our final destination for the day about 20 miles down the road
Arrived and much thought on should we camp or splash out / wimp out and use the hostel next door
Decided to camp and waited for the rain to ease before we pitched the tent with a view of the waterfall
Peeled off my soaking wet clothes, including the knickers I have appeared to have washed while still wearing
The hut close by had a sheltered cooking area so we took it over and hung our jackets and trousers to dry in the heated shower rooms off it and watched the comings and goings of tourists visiting the waterfalls
