Days 92 & 93: Askja to Egilsstadir to Seydisfyordur - Tues 5 & Wed 6 Aug

Days 92 & 93: Askja to Egilsstadir to Seydisfyordur - Tues 5 & Wed 6 Aug
Tues: Rained through the night, and woke this morning to below freezing and fog /low rainclouds obscuring volcano - no view, no point climbing to top! 

Explored lower area, waited until 11am but weather worsened. At 20kph to cross lava fields we needed rest of day to drive back. Oh well, at least we got up close and personal to moonscape. It's certainly a two-fleece day, plus neckband INSIDE vehicle! Desolate landscape made more so in mist and fog. Rain had washed dust off rocks and grasses, making pretty patterns in black sand. Water mashed with black silt washed into corrugations actually making track more drivable. 

 

Very little traffic, water in river crossings higher; two girls driving all-wheel-drive rental asked our advice before attempting; bike riders rolled up leathers and walked laden bikes across. 

Through Gilsa to join Ring Road 1, crossed bridge very pretty waterfalls/ river. Back on bitumen, on way to Egilsstadir. Into cafe for internet, emailed Alessandro for recommendation re nearest Webasto dealers. 

Wed: Decided to have "rest" day today before boarding ferry on Thursday, jobs on vehicle (steps having trouble closing, lost padlock, house door hinge screw coming out), all got good clean (including high pressure underneath) and checkup after recent shake rattle and roll roads. Inside got a spring clean to put away things left out, top-up all indoor cupboards and containers, clear out fridge, and yet again, the washing! 

GirlRob lucked-in to have hair cut and coloured at local hairdresser (new life into greying roots). Went back to cafe for lunch/ internet - fortunately Alessandro rang re our Webasto problem, he thinks we should leave checking it until we connect with his recommended dealer in Madrid. Back to carpark, wrote up 7 postcards, re-wrapped accumulated souvenirs and gifts, then spent half hour at post office shedding some kilos and freeing up our storage spaces. Hope the parcels all arrive safely in Australia... Sorted out accumulated bags of maps, tickets, timetables, and tourist brochures, binning all the Scandinavian trivia, to make way for the literature on Central and Southern Europe to come. Packed bags for two days on ferry (access to vehicles forbidden). Dinner at fish restaurant to farewell Iceland, then hit road for 30kms to Seydisfyordur to be ready for ferry departure in morning. Hit dense fog in mountains though and had to crawl all way. No room at the campgrounds - rigs parked every little space they could find, pulled into caravan park overflow field - no amenities whatsoever, good thing no-one came to collect fees. No more chores to do, gladly rested for first time on our "rest" day....