Not much sleep last night, I had trouble getting to sleep and when I finally entered the land of Nod, the alarm woke me at 3:30 am to catch the plane.
Luton airport was notable for being surprisingly busy and nothing being open. The lounge was filled with Wizz Air and Easyjet customers, probably like me hoping for a cup of coffee. Not only was none available, there were long queues for the vending machines selling bottled water (which seemed to operate at a funereal pace). Once on the plane there was delays due to fuel figures not matching and no coffee, although I was given a cup of water. However things began to look brighter when the clouds cleared as we approached Iceland. I had braced myself for rain or drizzle every day but today there was only sunshine!
Next hurdle was being tested for Covid 19 on arrival. The swab from the back of my throat was not too bad but the one up the nose was most unpleasant, especially when she gave the swab a twizzle. While waiting for the result I walked to my hotel in Keflavik, to avoid contaminating anyone on a bus. Going via the town centre I finally managed to get a coffee at a Petrol Station, along with a croissant - fresh according to the smiling person serving me.
The swabs were taken at 8:30 and the result arrived in my "Rakning C19" App at about 13:00. Negative thankfully. The notification then promptly disappeared so I hope I did not imagine it.
Having settled into Hotel Grasteinn, who kindly let me check in early, I set off on a track towards Grindavik that was in "Walking and Trekking Iceland" and also on wikiloc.com. initially the trail follows a hot water pipeline and later moves to the west on a faint path marked by orange posts and cairns. Although the land is broadly flat there are lots of ups and downs over lava flows. In places you could see the ropey surface of what I was taught was a Pahoehoe type lava. Later I walked on the jagged chunks of rocks on top of an a'a lava. There were also the remnants of some small lava tubes, formed when the top of the lava has solidified and the molten rock inside has poured out somewhere leaving a hollow tube. Areas of rounded lava pebbles suggested water was in the area at some point in its history. I crossed long, wide fissures in the rock, which I like to think were formed by Europe and America pulling apart. The tectonic plates on which those continents sit, meet and separate in Iceland, and I crossed their meeting point today!
The lava was covered with grey green moss and heather, and numerous types of flower. Areas of blue lupins were particularly noticeable. It is not a native of Iceland and is apparently a bit of a nuisance.
I was disturbing plenty of birds with my walk. With a App that recognises bird songs I identified a Eurasian Whimbrell, a sort of curlew with a long, thin beak, and a Golden Plover, which is not particularly golden.
I left the path to Grindavik to head across country to the Blue Lagoon. Not very wise as the lava surface was very broken up and uneven. Moss hid holes that threatened my ankles, never very good at the best of times. Nevertheless the Blue Lagoon was worth a visit, if only to discover that the pools of water were more white than blue due to a fine precipitate of silica.
I had gone a bit further than planned and now needed to return. Hitch hiking up the road seemed a good idea, although I was not too successful. Unfortunately, the road's width, confined for some of the route between barriers, did not make it easy for cars to stop. I did eventually get one lift from some kind Danish people but for most of the way I walked. So now my feet are rather sore.
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