Week Five, Iceland Is Cool

On Thursday we took a train to the Rome airport and then flew to Iceland. By the time we arrived at our little cottage it was after midnight, but it was still plenty light out. The sun dips away a little bit around midnight and then is back in full force by 3am or so. Blackout shades on the windows are pretty important around these parts.

Iceland is a fount of adventure and amazements; almost everywhere you turn there are waterfalls, horses, hot springs, geysers, and disc golf courses. It feels like cheating to come savor all this daylight and fun without also living through the winter here.

Our first three nights we stayed just outside of the town of Hvolsvöllur, having come to this area for Jon to race in The Rift gravel race. Both the race and Jon are sponsored by Lauf, an Icelandic bicycle company known for their very cool fork design. 

Jon's team did great in the race, with four of his team in the top ten: Inno in 2nd place, Chase and Jon in 5th and 6th place, and Nick in 8th. Jon and Chase rolled in as a two-pack and roshambo'd for who would cross the line first (see video below). In the women's race Team Lauf also did great: Marisa Boaz got 2nd place, Tess Amer 3rd and Jess Cygan 8th. I felt fancy wearing a Lauf hat around the race area, supporting such a successful team.

Besides bicycling, we also liked to hang out at the town pool. Note: the "town pool" in Iceland is so much more than a town pool back home. This one had a disc golf course, a huge gym facility, three hot tubs, a sauna, and a water slide. I am looking forward to sampling the facilities in all the towns we visit in Iceland.

We spent our last night in Hvolsvöllur serenaded to sleep by a Nordic-sounding band. Their drums and deep, chanting, voices sounded out across the cottages, made all the more memorable by song choices such as Country Roads and California Dreamin'. Hearing people wax sentimental about West Virginia and Los Angeles somewhere in the south of Iceland was both moving and hilarious. 

Today we drove on, setting out to the town of Borgarnes, on the entry point to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. On the drive we stopped to climb Litla-Dímon, visited Seljalandsfoss (a waterfall so big you can walk behind it), then visited Bobby Fischer's grave. At the grave we were run off by a local woman who we theorize knew Bobby, didn't like him, and is mad at all the people coming to visit.

To clear the palate we visited the 18 hole disc golf course in the town of Selfoss. It was the most technical tiny course I had ever been to: I shot ten over par even though the fairways averaged 150 feet. Let's just say they were beautiful to look at, though not all that "fair". A lovely time was had by all, despite having lost two of our six total discs off of Litla-Dímon earlier in the day. The full story there, in video form, can be seen later in this post.

Here we have the Team Lauf Top 10 men. From left to right: Nick (8th place), Jon (6th place), Inno (2nd place), and Chase (5th place) at The Rift 2022.

Jon and Chase roshambo for 5th place.

Me showing Jon the roshambo video.

Jon going over the important tactical error.

Jon wasn't the only Baker on a bike. Here is a selfie of my short bike ride to go get the car.

I had to go get the car so Axel and I could play disc golf!

More disc golf the next day.

The tee pads are very nice.

Axel got a birdie on this hole.

Jon discing at the Selfoss course.

We also took our discs to the top of Litla-Dímon. The idea was throw off the top of the hill.

But first, we used them as plates for the picnic sandwiches I had made.

Here is the last we all will see of my Maui Open Roc :( At least is has an epic final resting place. I did look for it for quite some time.

Axel also never found his disc.

Jon, having used me as wind dummy, executes perfectly.

Jon attempts an eagle on our ill-begotten safari disc golf hole.

Jon and Axel in front of Seljalandsfoss. 

Jon behind the waterfall.

It was not raining today, but one needs rain gear to walk behind waterfalls when it is 50 degrees outside.

On the drive from the waterfall to Selfoss I took this picture out the window. If you like to see horses, Iceland is the place for you. I think I saw at least two hundred horses today and each one was majestic.

 

Yesterday I saw this.

Lots of geothermal activity can also be seen from the road.

Our place in Borgarnes comes with a Viking Hat.

The place where Jon's race sign-in was held contained Viking dress-up stuff too.

Jon and I dressed up and took a selfie. I call him the Biking Viking.

This is the cottage we stayed in near Hvolsvöllur, along with our original rig, a 2011 Suzuki Vitara. Unfortunately the Suzuki only had three out of four brake pads intact so IceRentals 4x4 swapped it out for a 2021 Dacia Duster - no added cost.

This photo was taken our first night in Iceland. We stopped off in Reykjavik for groceries and Axel posed in front of the cathedral. Next Sunday we will return to Reykjavik and spend the week there, but for now we head north. Tune in next week for tales of the trip north to Akureyri and the Mývatn area.