1st haphazard day of adventure

On Monday, our last day in Reykjavik, we were told that in Iceland they have a saying; "If you are enjoying the weather, then just wait a minute", and we were about to find out what that meant.

On Tuesday we left in shorts & t-shirts under a sunny sky with an encourating tail-wind, happily powering along. 2hrs later a car pulled over to warn us that the clounds looming up ahead contained a shock summer snow-storm and we should be careful. An executive decision was made to carry on however. Our disbelief was shattered by the snow-laden oncoming traffic and the cracks of thunder up ahead. Only minutes later we found ourselves being battered by hail and sleet, our converse shoes and light summer gloves suddenly seeming much less than adequate, while Tris´s board-shorts & pink legs entertained the bemused passing traffic. Hazardous conditions were confirmed by seeing 3 cars that had careened off the slushy road into road-side ditches.

Our 1st destination, a 1.3km lava tube proved to be a failed adventure, as Dimitry accidentally whizzed by his team-mates, pausing on top of a hill and powered down the steep slope only to realise his error and retrace his steps by pushing his bike up said slushy hill for a good hour. Our abject misery overwhelmed the excitement of seeing the colvanic cave formations and we decided to carry on.

We pushed onto Hveragerdi, where hand-dryers and "romantic hamburgers" from the local restaurant went some way to sooth the pain. Refuelled and now only somewhat damp, we were encourated by te 9.30pm sunshine and he knowledge that only a 1hr hike stood between us and a heavenly hot river bath and a soft bed in a mountain hut.

Little did we know however, the 1hr easily became 3hrs as we foolishly refused to leave our steeds behind (we, after all, are the snails on wheels!), and pushed them with great determination up a rocky, muddy mountain-side. In the end we got our just reward however, as at 2am we finally collapsed into a deliciously hot river (heated by subterranean volcanic activity) with beers in hand and enjoyed a well deserved soak and a beautiful mountainous vista.
We finally found ourselves tucked into bed in the mountain hut (free to all hikers) at 5am to end an intense 1st day of our journey.

Photos are up, as promised!