Day 4
25 Aug 2015
Bridge Between 2 continents, Seltun Geothermal steam, Blue Lagoon, first overnight stay in Campervan, Aurora
We packed our stuff from the apartment into the van and without missing a beat, left Reykjavik. Got fined for not paying the parking meter.
Bridge between 2 continents
Drove for 61 km to the Bridge between 2 continents. The landscape looked as if we were on the moon with black coloured very soft sand with moon rocks. The border between continental Europe and America's continental shelf apparently cuts across this area (in fact cuts across the island). There is a small pedestrian bridge spanning the 2 continents. So, we have the bragging rights to say we have walked from Europe to America.
Blue Lagoon
Drove 23 km. A VERY touristy place with many tourist buses and people. Kind of place that we don't really fancy. The blue lagoon water is the 'waste water' or effluent from the nearby geothermal power plant. The water is by no means dirty and rich with minerals that are said to be good for your skin. If you do not wish to enter the place, there are beautiful lakes surrounding the area which is beautiful.
Seltun (Krysvik) geothermal hot steam
Drove 33km. We stopped at this geothermal area, the soil has an orangey colour and you can feel the hot steam from the timber observation platform. Timber path has been built to help people trek around the area.
Understanding Camping Sites
Camping sites dot the whole island and you don't need to do prior booking. So, that made it very flexible for us. The facilities vary from site to site with the most basic provide toilets and washing facilities, but most would have shower facilities to the larger ones with dining area where you can do your own cooking and in some of them, washing machine. It baffles me how come washing machines are not provided in many places. I guess you hand wash your technical clothes which dry quite fast.
Many camping sites provide free wifi except I think in one place, and speed varies. Wifi is important as you want to connect to the internet to plan for the next day or find out more information about the place that you are going to cover tomorrow. In a few places, we had to pay for the shower facilities and drop the payment into a trust box. You pay per person and pay extra if you want to connect to electricity.
Charges are very reasonable. We signed up for the Camping Card (link) which you pay for about EUR100 and then you may go to participating campsites without any payment except if you use other services. You save some, but don't expect big savings. So, if you don't opt for this, it will not be such a big loss if you are travelling like us for 2 weeks. It will definitely be economical if you are staying longer.
Many campsites would have a reception that is opened until late, others a representative will come late at night to collect payment with a wireless credit card machine or you pay in the morning when the counter opens. The system is based on trust. If the representative somehow does not come around because you come in very very late at night, you are expected to pay into a trust box. In bigger cities, they may have a security bar with stickers to confirm that you have paid.
The beauty about Iceland is that there are many places you can park your campervan, but we prefer to stay at camping sites for the simple creature comfort. The main drawback not staying in a campsite is toilet. While we do have the chemical toilet, but the idea of doing it in the open is not a comfortable prospect for my wife!
At the camping site, you take advantage to refill your water. You dispose off your waste water from the sink at another sink. If you do use the chemical toilet, then there are a few guidance in the internet on how to dipose of your waste. You MUST dispose of the human waste at a proper waste disposal tank at most camping sites and in some petrol stations.
Camping sites provide electricity points that connects direct to the grid. You need to pay for this. For the whole trip, I did not need to use this as I use the house battery which was sufficient for our use until the morning. At night I will convert the beds, recharge our phones and camera batteries and switch on the heater. Oh yes, make sure you bring a multiple plug points as the van will only have one electrical socket. This will use the house battery too. The battery will be near deplete by the morning and will recharge itself as you drive the van. So, if you are staying for a few days in one place and only doing short drive around the area, I guess you will need to use the electricity point provided by the camping site. Iceland uses the European electrical socket.
Overnight Thorlakshofn Camping
Drove 41km.
Thorlakshofn camp site is in the small town (village?) and at the edge of the town next to a church and a large sports centre. The sports centre is where you pay for the campsite which was opened when we arrived. We took a shower there as well and it was free for us tenants.
For dinner, except rarely, we mostly ate in the van - so we were well fed throughout by our master chef. The kids do the dishes thereafter. I do the planning and driving. Hard work for everyone.
At 3.45am I felt the urge to go to the toilet. After that, on the way back to the van, I saw the Aurora Borealis, YES in summer which is not expected at all. Even the owner of the campervan said it is impossible to see it in summer. I quickly knocked on the van and woke up everyone. It is very difficult to explain the Aurora - you have to experience it yourself. It is not static, it is an active movement of the green lights like playing in the sky. What a show. Then as soon as I have setup my GoPro, the whole 'show' ended. Hahaha! Here's an explanation by a nerd (link).
End of Article 2. Next Click Here >>>
Links to:
Article 1 - Reykjavik
Article 2 - (this article) - Bridge Between 2 continents, Seltun Geothermal steam, Blue Lagoon, first overnight stay in Campervan, Aurora
Article 3 - Pingvellir Parliament, Geyser Southwest
Article 7 - Hofn and Fjardabyggd
Article 8 - Hverir, Myvatn Nature Bath and Lake Myvatn
Article 9 - Whale watching, Exploration Museum, Godafoss Waterfall, Akureyri Sundlaug
Article 10 - Akureyri Christmas Shop, 14th Century Port, Old Church, Dalvik, Beautiful valley Oxnadalur, Overnight Varmahlid, Glaumbaer turf house, Hill with crater, Reykjavik city, Last Sundlaug
25 Aug 2015
Bridge Between 2 continents, Seltun Geothermal steam, Blue Lagoon, first overnight stay in Campervan, Aurora
We packed our stuff from the apartment into the van and without missing a beat, left Reykjavik. Got fined for not paying the parking meter.
Bridge between 2 continents
Drove for 61 km to the Bridge between 2 continents. The landscape looked as if we were on the moon with black coloured very soft sand with moon rocks. The border between continental Europe and America's continental shelf apparently cuts across this area (in fact cuts across the island). There is a small pedestrian bridge spanning the 2 continents. So, we have the bragging rights to say we have walked from Europe to America.
Figure: Pedestrain bridge of the Bridge between continents
(Bru Milli Heimsalfa) spanning the 2 continents.
(Bru Milli Heimsalfa) spanning the 2 continents.
Figure: the place has a very unique moon like landscape
Blue Lagoon
Drove 23 km. A VERY touristy place with many tourist buses and people. Kind of place that we don't really fancy. The blue lagoon water is the 'waste water' or effluent from the nearby geothermal power plant. The water is by no means dirty and rich with minerals that are said to be good for your skin. If you do not wish to enter the place, there are beautiful lakes surrounding the area which is beautiful.
 |
Figure: The Blue Lagoon with the Geothermal powerplant in the background |
Seltun (Krysvik) geothermal hot steam
Drove 33km. We stopped at this geothermal area, the soil has an orangey colour and you can feel the hot steam from the timber observation platform. Timber path has been built to help people trek around the area.
Figure: Temparature of the water is 80-100 degrees C (212 F). We are only allwed to walk along the planks.
Understanding Camping Sites
Camping sites dot the whole island and you don't need to do prior booking. So, that made it very flexible for us. The facilities vary from site to site with the most basic provide toilets and washing facilities, but most would have shower facilities to the larger ones with dining area where you can do your own cooking and in some of them, washing machine. It baffles me how come washing machines are not provided in many places. I guess you hand wash your technical clothes which dry quite fast. Many camping sites provide free wifi except I think in one place, and speed varies. Wifi is important as you want to connect to the internet to plan for the next day or find out more information about the place that you are going to cover tomorrow. In a few places, we had to pay for the shower facilities and drop the payment into a trust box. You pay per person and pay extra if you want to connect to electricity.
Charges are very reasonable. We signed up for the Camping Card (link) which you pay for about EUR100 and then you may go to participating campsites without any payment except if you use other services. You save some, but don't expect big savings. So, if you don't opt for this, it will not be such a big loss if you are travelling like us for 2 weeks. It will definitely be economical if you are staying longer.
Many campsites would have a reception that is opened until late, others a representative will come late at night to collect payment with a wireless credit card machine or you pay in the morning when the counter opens. The system is based on trust. If the representative somehow does not come around because you come in very very late at night, you are expected to pay into a trust box. In bigger cities, they may have a security bar with stickers to confirm that you have paid.
The beauty about Iceland is that there are many places you can park your campervan, but we prefer to stay at camping sites for the simple creature comfort. The main drawback not staying in a campsite is toilet. While we do have the chemical toilet, but the idea of doing it in the open is not a comfortable prospect for my wife!
At the camping site, you take advantage to refill your water. You dispose off your waste water from the sink at another sink. If you do use the chemical toilet, then there are a few guidance in the internet on how to dipose of your waste. You MUST dispose of the human waste at a proper waste disposal tank at most camping sites and in some petrol stations.
Camping sites provide electricity points that connects direct to the grid. You need to pay for this. For the whole trip, I did not need to use this as I use the house battery which was sufficient for our use until the morning. At night I will convert the beds, recharge our phones and camera batteries and switch on the heater. Oh yes, make sure you bring a multiple plug points as the van will only have one electrical socket. This will use the house battery too. The battery will be near deplete by the morning and will recharge itself as you drive the van. So, if you are staying for a few days in one place and only doing short drive around the area, I guess you will need to use the electricity point provided by the camping site. Iceland uses the European electrical socket.
Overnight Thorlakshofn Camping
Drove 41km.
For dinner, except rarely, we mostly ate in the van - so we were well fed throughout by our master chef. The kids do the dishes thereafter. I do the planning and driving. Hard work for everyone.
Figure: Dinner
Figure: Everyone chips in to help out
At 3.45am I felt the urge to go to the toilet. After that, on the way back to the van, I saw the Aurora Borealis, YES in summer which is not expected at all. Even the owner of the campervan said it is impossible to see it in summer. I quickly knocked on the van and woke up everyone. It is very difficult to explain the Aurora - you have to experience it yourself. It is not static, it is an active movement of the green lights like playing in the sky. What a show. Then as soon as I have setup my GoPro, the whole 'show' ended. Hahaha! Here's an explanation by a nerd (link).
 |
Figure: This is how it looks like and this is not static! The light dances in the sky with so much energy. Imagine you are a tiny dot on the ground looking up to the sky putting up this light show. Difficult to describe by any stretch of imagination. (Source: Pixabay link - this is a public domain photo with no attribution required) |
End of Article 2. Next Click Here >>>
Links to:
Article 1 - Reykjavik
Article 2 - (this article) - Bridge Between 2 continents, Seltun Geothermal steam, Blue Lagoon, first overnight stay in Campervan, Aurora
Article 3 - Pingvellir Parliament, Geyser Southwest
Article 4 - South Gulfoss, Gluggafoss, Eyjafjallajokull volcano
Article 5 - Black Sand Beach, View of the Glacier
Article 6Article 6 - Glacier Walk, Zodiac Boat Ride in the Lake, Ice BeachArticle 7 - Hofn and Fjardabyggd
Article 8 - Hverir, Myvatn Nature Bath and Lake Myvatn
Article 9 - Whale watching, Exploration Museum, Godafoss Waterfall, Akureyri Sundlaug
Article 10 - Akureyri Christmas Shop, 14th Century Port, Old Church, Dalvik, Beautiful valley Oxnadalur, Overnight Varmahlid, Glaumbaer turf house, Hill with crater, Reykjavik city, Last Sundlaug
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