Woke up to find the entire campsite filled with bikes. At least 6 bikes, and they were all in tents from the day before. I struck up a conversation with the closest cyclist and was told that they were a group of Americans travelling together. They were planning on heading out to Godafoss today and invited me to join them if I managed to get my bike fixed.
Zipped over to the bike shop and handed the bike to the owner who assured me that it would be ready in 2 hours. I took a long walk back to camp, and arrived just in time to see Andrea off on his trip into the interior.
Back to the bike shop and all is fixed, or so I hope. I do a bit of shopping and head out towards Godafoss.
The distance is only 40km, but I have a big hill ahead of me. Andrea warned me about it, and he was not exaggerating. A good 7km or so of non stop climbing. I did some on the bike, some on foot. After the long slog uphill I was rewarded with a long descent down into a lush valley.
At the end of the valley I was stopped by road works. As I waited patiently alongside the other vehicles, a worker holding a stop sign gestured down the line of cars. A small SUV assumed they were being pointed at and tried to pull out but they were quickly shoo’d back into line. I realised he was trying to get my attention, so I rolled up and he waved me through. I did so and soon found out why I was getting special treatment. A long line of cars passed me being led by a pace car belonging to the work crew. They were being led through the construction and there was no way I could keep pace with then so I had been left to my own devices.
It was getting dark as I approached Godafoss, and I was unsure about my chances of a nice photo. It wasn’t quite dark enough, so I checked out the local campsite for the Americans. They were nowhere to be found, and the campsite was offensively expensive for what it offered. $25 for camping on the lawn in front of a few guesthouses. No water, no kitchen facilities, no deal.
I popped across the road to Godafoss and took in the sight before me. Most of the waterfalls I had seen so far had been either beset on both sides by ugly rock canyons, or were too small to really impress. Godafoss was huge and beautiful, and although the region was covered in a layer of low clouds, the sun was peeking through the narrow valley I had just cycled from. I took advantage of this fading light to take what I hoped would a picture worthy of Godafoss.
I still had some energy in me and the wind was still, so I made a detour down a gravel road to tomorrow’s destination, Aldeyjarfoss.
My intention was to try my hand at wild camping. I cycled a good 10km away from Godafoss, then started keeping an eye out on a potential campsite. Ideally:
– On public land
– Far away from any houses
– Near fresh water
– Protected from the wind
– Soft, flat ground
– Out of sight
I soon found a decent spot by the side of the road. It was next to a fast flowing stream and made for an idyllic location. I set up and quickly fell asleep.
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