Sometimes you have to jump at opportunities. One of these opportunities happened to us when we were offered a job in western Germany. Since we were empty-nesters in our mid-forties we though “Why not?” We’ve always wanted to see Europe and we didn’t have much holding us back except for our vehicular possessions: A Nissan Xterra SUV, a Mazda Miata sports car, two Honda Ruckus scooters, and our home aboard a 36-foot Hunter sailboat. We sold ’em all!
Preparation
The plan started around early spring of 2017, when I mentioned, “Why don’t we make an adventure out of moving to Germany?” Fortunately, Chantil is as adventure minded, if not more, as me. The plan was hatched to try and visit somewhere on our way to Germany. But where? Perhaps the USA? Route 66? Canada?
A quick view of the world map shows a small country located between the Americas and Europe. A country smaller than the size of my home state of Colorado. A country that has recently experienced a ‘boom’ in tourism. Iceland!
I visited forums, like ADVrider.com and Horizons Unlimited, and googled “shipping motorcycles USA to Iceland”. It turns out that getting to Europe from Iceland is easy. A ferry, operated by Smyril Lines sails from Iceland and the Faroe Islands to Denmark every week.
Getting the bikes to Iceland – a bit more problematic. Shipping bikes from the USA to Iceland can be done via air or by sea. One cargo company that offered air services is Icelandic Air Cargo. I’ve heard that shipping a motorcycle via air can be expensive but I made the call and was told that no cargo planes would be available for shipment of motorcycles during the months of August or September due to a broken plane. Onward to shipping via a ship…
The only option I found that makes regular shipments to Iceland from New England and Canada was EIMSKIP. There may be others, but EIMSKIP was very helpful and offered a English website detailing their shipping schedule. Originally, we had plans to ship our motorcycles from Canada, but after talking with a shipping agent, she felt it would be easier to clear customs for US registered bikes from a US port. Portland, Maine was the port of exit we decided on. Now to get the bikes to Portland…
We survived a 4,100 miles, 13 days, 12 US states, two Canadian providences, 13 relatives, and 151 gallons of gas trip from San Diego to Portland, Maine. The trip was too fast and furious to do a proper ride report, but we did meet our goal of visiting with family, and getting the bikes to their destination of Portland, Maine.
The bikes, both BMW G650GSs, and titles, were dropped off in the confident and professional hands of EIMSKIP on July 27th. We wouldn’t be seeing them again until we arrived in Iceland on August 21st…
Photograph Preview
Here is a small preview of our 18 days in Iceland:
Iceland 🇮🇸 Day 1 of 18
🗓: 20 Aug | 🌍: Keflavik to Reykjavik
Purple planes, a bus, and bit of sight-seeing. We arrived at Keflavik Airport at 1:45PM. I didn’t sleep at all during the all-night flight from San Francisco. I’m ready to crash once we reach the hotel however I know the best thing to do is stay awake until evening so I can adjust to Iceland time easier. Grey Line bus services provided a 45 minute ride to the Icelandair Hotel in Reykjavik. It was after 3PM before we arrived at the hotel and I just wanted to sleep. We set a 1-hour alarm and took a little nap before leaving the hotel to scurry up some dinner.
We walked around the marine side of Reykjavik and established our bearings a bit before ordering dinner from a food cart that served fish and chips. They gave us order “number 1”! Our first meal in Iceland and we’re treated like #1 – Good stuff!
Reykjavik Marina
Þúfa is a sculpture by Ólöf Nordal with a spiraling path to the top where a small fish-drying shed stands proudly.
It not enough to have purple airplanes! WOW Airlines even has purple rental bicycles. There is also a giant purple octopus above the sushi bar.
We walked around and enjoyed the views and various artwork located on the walls of some of the buildings near the marina.
This piece is titled ENDURFÆÐING / REBIRTH by Karen Briem. It’s designed such that you can crawl into it and hang from the “uterus”. No thanks.
Icelandic kids like to draw on the sidewalks with chalk as well. Are all Icelandic kids blond haired?
It’s August. Time for some ice cream! In Iceland you don’t have to worry about it melting because it was only 50°F outside.
As a graphic artist I find comfort in a world where things are well designed and colors are precisely chosen. There was a lot to enjoy around Reykjavik.
Sheep are a big part of Iceland and are bred for their meat and fiber.
This one is probably not good to eat – Perhaps a better sweater?
A map of Iceland. As we would discover, it’s missing the grey clouds and rain.
We made it back to the hotel at 8PM and it was still quite sunny outside. Sunset, even this late in the summer, isn’t until after 9:20 PM.
Tomorrow we’ll wake up early and walk along the boardwalk to EIMSKIP and see if our motorcycles are ready for pickup…
Iceland 🇮🇸 Day 2 of 18
🗓: 21 Aug | 🌍: Reykjavik to Skjòl Campground
We woke up eager to start the day after a great night of sleep. We walked around Reykjavik starting at 7:30 AM and quickly realized this town sleeps in; not much open. We wandered our way along the boardwalk, taking pictures along the way…
The Icelandair Hotel had some really interesting art on display including Sailor Ashore by Icelandic artist Aðalheiður S. Eysteinsdóttir.
Our hotel had these colorful balconies that added some interesting color to a grey building.
Reykjavik Boardwalk
Now THIS is a Sprinter Van! Big balloon tires seem to be the thing here in Iceland.
Sólfarið – Sun Voyager is the famous sculpture by Jón Gunnar
EIMSKIP Shipping
We walked along the waterfront until we reached EIMSKIP where the mules have been waiting for us since Thursday. The process of finding our order, paying for the shipment, getting a security van ride to the warehouse, walking to the 8′ x 20′ cargo container, unstrapping and unloading the bikes, and connecting the batteries took about an hour and a half.
I had one last thing to do before starting up my mule – Add a sticker of the Iceland flag to commemorate our first European country! With a press of the start switch, both mules fired right up and we rode to a nearby gas station and then to our hotel so we could check out before noon.
Reykjavik
While riding through the narrow and colorful streets of Reykjavik, we noticed some murals…
Australian artist Guido van Helten painted these mural on the Loftkastalinn building which is a former theater that was converted into a film studio.
After finding a SIM card it was time for some lunch.
The Hamburger Joint offered some interesting hamburgers and these stylish menus, written on cardboard with fun drawings. Bellies full. Time to ride and see Iceland!
One of the first things we noticed about Iceland is the roundabouts. We don’t have a lot of these in the United States so they will take some getting used to.
Þingvellir National Park
First tourist spot – Þingvellir National Park. This offered us a chance to walk inside the geologic gap created by the American and European continental shelves. Fortunately, no lava spews from the gap!
Gotta pay to pee here! Be prepared to spend money in Iceland. Everything is expensive – even the fee to use a bathroom. The public toilers here costed 2 euros ($2.36 USD). This is a new concept for us and one we’ll have to get used to while in Europe.
Some non-motorized two wheeled cousins from South Korea! We came across a lot of bicyclists who where riding the entire 1,328 km (825 miles) of Iceland’s Ring Road. Pretty hardcore!
The smart alex in me wants to throw some pennies in the stream. C’mon the sign only says no Dollars, Krona, Euro, or Yen.
Strokkur Geysir
Strokkur Geysir erupts about every few minutes to the joy of tourist from all over the world. There is also a nice visitors center and restaurant themed around the Icelandic national sport of Glíma – a style of wrestling.
We enjoyed a delicious fish soup – a popular dish in Iceland.
We only covered about 145 km (90 miles) today before calling it a night at Skjòl Campground. Tomorrow we will venture into the isolated center of Iceland via the F-26…
Blog continues on PAGE 2…
Iceland 🇮🇸 Day 3 of 18
🗓: 22 Aug | 🌍: Skjòl Campground to Wild Camping near the F-26
The weather has been incredibly sunny so we figured this would be the perfect opportunity to travel through the isolated center of Iceland via Route F26, also know as the Sprengisandsleið. Highlights included barren, moon-like, volcanic terrain, and river crossings fed by volcanic glaciers. I hoped that the water crossings wouldn’t be too deep…
Icelandic horses are small but are long-lived and hardy. Icelandic law prevents horses from being imported into the country and exported animals are not allowed to return keeping the population relatively disease-free.
Gollafoss Falls
Our first stop was Gollafoss Falls. Early morning, blue skies, no tour-busses – perfect time to visit.
F26 – Sprengisandsleið
The temperature was 15C (59F) – Warm enough that I can wear my comfortable summer gloves, leave the visor open, and ride without a jacket liner.
The last view of pavement before reaching the gravel portion of the F26. We’ll be offroad for the next couple days now!
Generosity of a Stranger
I’m in awe of the beauty all around me to include the generosity of total strangers. Let me explain… A glitch in Mavic drone caused it to just fell from the sky immediately after I switched off the course lock. Fortunately, it wasn’t too hard to recover using the tracking feature of the remote. Unfortunately, all four props were either mangled or broken. I had spares but was one prop short… Bummer; no drone footage until we buy another prop – perhaps halfway into our trip when we return to Reykjavik?
As we were getting ready to leave the area, we spotted a Mavic drone flying nearby!! Could the operator have a spare to purchase? I walked over and explained our problem and sure enough this Swiss tourist has a spare! We offered some money to pay for it but he refused. Extremely grateful for the kindness of strangers! Viva Switzerland!!
This photo, from the drone, would not be possible without the generosity of a random Swiss hero!
Reaching the Hrauneyjar Highland Center provided the last chance to gas up before crossing the barren landscape of central Iceland.
A really cool Nissan Patrol. Sadly these are not available in the USA.
I know these mules are just mechanical things made of metal, plastic, and rubber but they have a way of growing on you. We love our two mules – They’ve got us through some wonderful country.
We inadvertently stumbled across this geocache at the base of one of the F26 signs. We signed the log-book and left a sailors knot before continuing onward…
Route F26, also called Sprengisandsleið, is the longest (200 km) and one of the most isolated roads in Iceland, running through the Sprengisandur area between the glaciers Hofsjökull and Vatnajökull.
The sign says 4x4s only. What is a pair of 1x2s to do?
Although this section of the F26 wasn’t too technical, it was remote; we didn’t see more than maybe a handful of vehicles all day out there.
Folks often ask how I get pictures of the two of us when it’s just the two of us. The secret will astound you… a Manfrotto compact tripod.
Here I am returning to pick up the tripod before it gets run over by a Land Rover.
We knew there were going to be water crossing but we had no idea how many or how deep they would be. Anything deeper than 1 meter is probably too deep for the mules and dropping them in water that deep could easily end our trip. With the unusually hot weather, the glacier-fed water would definitely be deeper. To say there was a little anxiety would be an understatement…
This is the first water crossings. As you can see, it’s wasn’t worth all the anxiety and worry. The bike rolled through it like butter… a kind of rocky, bumpy butter.
We ended up riding all day and well into just before sunset at around 9:20.
Taking a break to watch the sun drop behind Langjökull glacier. Incredible! We’re here in Iceland! On our own motorcycles!!
It wasn’t much longer before we found a nice pull-off area and set up camp for the night.
Tomorrow we will continue along the F-26 on our way to the northern side of Iceland…
Iceland 🇮🇸 Day 4 of 18
🗓: 23 Aug | 🌍: Wild Camping near the F-26 to Akureyri
Opening the tent reveled a thick and cold fog. As we packed up the camp I was wondering if the good weather was behind us? I also wondered what kinds of great views we were missing with only about 50 ft of visibility. Luck was upon us that day; the further we traveled, the further the fog lifted and by 9AM we had beautiful blue skies!
Tips for driving in the Highlands of Iceland.
Although we’re pretty remote there are still well marked signs and warnings.
We considered taking the F910 route but the warning seemed like it would be too much of a challenge for us and our mules. Perhaps, it was for the better since we also didn’t have the fuel range and would have had to ask for the kindness of other travelers to share their fuel with us.
There isn’t any restaurants out here in the boonies so the official lunch of the F-26 was energy drink and tortilla with almond peanut butter. Thanks to my aunt Beth and sister Jenn for the drinks!
With only three pairs of socks and one pair wet from a previous river crossing you have to find creative ways to dry them out.
Laugafell via the F831
We came across this sign for the F831 directing us to a hot pool. After two days of riding in the dirt a hot pool sounded like a great idea! Do we have the fuel to make it to the pool and still make it to the gas station?
Chantil studying the map and doing some math to see if we have the range. Even without the diversion, we only had about 20-30 spare miles before we were thumbing it.
Success! Turns out we made it to the hot pool AND had gas to spare. Love it when a plan works out!
Somewhere 50 miles from a paved road is a little slice of heaven – it’s called Laugafell. Don’t miss it if you travel this way. This little oasis has a few buildings, some camping, and most importantly, a changing area and hot pool. We hung out for a few hours and even considered staying the night. With the prospect of bad weather coming in a few days we decided to press on.
We stood on the pegs for a lot of the riding today. Every once in a while I’d “check my six” to ensure we weren’t being overtaken by another vehicle.
This portion of the road has so many water crossing that we weren’t even getting off the bikes to film them. If I remember correctly there were three crossings on the F26 and more than a handful on the F831.
Dropping down into the valley from the highland was one of the most memorable views of the entire trip. To bad I was too busy trying not to ride off the cliff to get a great picture.
The F821 north featured beautiful waterfalls and a gorgeous green valley with moss-covered rocks and sky steal clear rivers.
There was one section that dropped down to the lower valley that was full of small rocks, water crossings, and switch backs. It was the most technical of the riding we did in Iceland.
It was almost 7:30 PM before we were back on pavement. The F26 and 821 were definitely a beautiful and very memorial experience.
We made it into the town of Akureyri where we found gas, dinner at Greifinn’s (recommended by some teenage kids at the gas pump), and lodging at Akureyri Backpackers Hostel.
While reflecting on our trip so far I was feeling like the worst was behind us. We had gotten through some of the most isolated areas on Iceland with great weather and no breakdowns! Little did I know that Murphy was just postponing both weather and breakdowns for a later date…
More on PAGE 3…
Iceland 🇮🇸 Day 5 of 18
🗓: 24 Aug | 🌍: Akureyri to Borgarvirki
Day 5: Exploring 264 km of the northern regions.
We slept in until about 8:30. I guess we were pretty tired from our highland journey or perhaps we are adjusting to an Icelander’s schedule. We decided to stop by the BONUS grocery store before leaving town but once we got there we realized it doesn’t open until 11AM?! We waited and did some trip planning in the parking lot. Buying groceries here is definitely the way to go if your trying to make your travel budget last; it was $30 USD for enough food to make 3-4 meals. You could easily spend that for one meal of eating out here.
After groceries we left Akureyri, followed the 82 to Ólafsfjörður then took the 76 through the beautiful fishing town of Siglufjörður.
Roadside memorial to outlaw Eyvindur Jonsson
The route along the 82 and 76 featured three tunnels that were quite cool to ride through. One tunnel was only one lane and quite long (9 km) but traffic was light and we passed through easily enough.
No horses! What about our mules?
Inside one section of tunnel we stopped and turned off the headlights to experience total darkness!
Siglufjörður
Many Icelanders enjoy tales of trolls and other mythical folklore. I hope we have enough Krona for the troll toll!
The south entrance to Siglufjörður featured these brightly colored homes. I gotta wonder what happens when someone else moves in and wants to change the color of their home?
The Herring Era Museum
The Herring Era Museum was a nice place to walk around and snap some photographs. I loved how the town of Siglufjörður seemed to embrace the use of primary colors.
I enjoy just keeping my eyes open to cool stuff. This artist used 2x4s and other pieces of wood to make some really cool sculptures.
In Siglufjörður we also came across a couple from Michigan who noticed our Florida plates and the USA flags on the side of our panniers. They were quite impressed that we were on our own bikes so far away form the US.
It was a beautiful day with minimal traffic as we left Siglufjörður via the 76 to Hofsós. This was one of my favorite places of the day because of Grafarkirkja – the oldest church in Iceland. We ended up being the only ones there allowing us to fly the drone around a bit and get some great video and shots.
Grafarkirkja Church
This 17th century church is the oldest church in Iceland. It was pretty incredible having this beautiful region of Iceland all to ourselves during the 30-minutes we explored and flew the drone.
Hofsós
Near the Chruch is the small coastal town of Hofsós where we intended to enjoy another hot springs…
…but it was crowded with bodies. Sharing an overcrowded hot pool while touching naked strangers is not my idea of a good time. Let’s fo get some lunch!
The Sólvik restaurant was a great place to eat outside and enjoy the view of the bay and warm sun.
While we waited we caught up on life using the free WiFi. The rock was a unique way to provide the WiFi code.
We ordered the Nachos – Islandic style with melted cheese and a side of sour cream.
Continuing along the Coast towards Borgarvirki
Shortly after returning to the main road we came across three groups of at least 20-30 bicycle riders. I imagine bicycling around Iceland would be quite the adventure!
Borgarvirki
After reaching Borgarvirki we explored the Basalt cliffs, flew the drone, and determined that this would be a great place to camp for the night. It was quite, protected by the wind, and had a great view of the fjords below.
Our camp spot for the night. Not too shabby, don’t you agree?
Tomorrow we’ll explore the West Fjords. I sure hope the weather holds out. It’s been pretty amazing so far!
Iceland 🇮🇸 Day 6 of 18
🗓: 25 Aug | 🌍: Borgarvirki to remote Western Fjords
Map of Day 6: 294 km from Borgarvirki to a mountain hut in the West Fjords.
We got an early start today helped by an incredible sunrise. The sunrises and sunsets last quite a long time when you are this far north. After packing up our tent and checking over the mules, we were leaving the road from Borgarvirki by 8AM; early by our standards.
Hvitserkur
Hvitserkur are the remains of a troll that rose from the ocean but was later turned to stone. The area is fun to explore at low tide where you can walk in the tunnels of this natural structure and sift your hands through the fine black volcanic sand that covers the beach area.
We continued along the coast via the 71 and came across the Geitafell restaurant. It was almost lunch so we thought “why not?”
Geitafell Restaurant
A restaurant with it’s own defense tower has to be good, right?
We so glad we stopped here! The seafood soup and dessert cake was delicious. A real unexpected treat.
We continued along the 71 and did a little off-reading on a dirt road section.
Before long we turned onto the 68, the gateway to the Western Fjords. Travel is slow but beautiful as we winded along the two, and sometimes one-lane, roads. There are also a few tunnels that were fun to ride through.
Along the way we stopped regularly to take in yet another interesting view.
Who needs guard-rails when you have jagged volcanic rocks and arctic waters to break your fall?
We continues winding along until we reached…
…the Drangsnes Hot Pots which offered yet another opportunity to chill in the thermal waters while enjoying the incredible views of Iceland.
The weather was getting worse so we did our best to make progress but it became challenging once the fog got thick and the rain intensified. We also estimated that it would be well beyond dark before we reached the next town. Perhaps, we should look for some wild camping in the area? Chantil opened her paper map to see if anything was nearby…
…where she discovered what looked to be a traveler hut. I was not enthusiastic about it being available since it was a Friday and would most likely be occupied already. Fortunately, we were blessed; just off the main road we came across…
…this travelers hut that offered refuge from the storm.
We parked the mules and walked up to see if it was occupied. It looked a little rough since the paint was weathered and the front door could use some work…
…but it was dry, had a place to sleep, and had a logbook which we signed with this hand-drawn picture of us and our mules.
Tomorrow we’ll explore more of the Western Fjords and hope that the weather is not as bad as it’s forecasted with lots of rain…
Next Blog Post
Iceland – Bridge Between Continents – Part 2 of 3 will continue our counter-clockwise journey around Iceland. Highlights include Snaefellsjoekull National Park, the capital city of of Reykjavik, and our first motorcycle breakdown.
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