2:30 am – our team arrived at the camp in Reykjavík. We build the tents with headlamps and go to sleep right after.
After waking up, we practice our routine for the first time – we pack our tents and backpacks (under rain) and enjoy our free morning coffee. Unfortunately, we didn’t buy breakfast yesterday, so we will have to starve until lunch. We organize our backpacks in the warmth of the common areas, encountering a significant volume problem. But after a hot moment, we load our backpacks into the car and set off on the 6-hour journey to Akureyri.
We stopped twice. First in the center of Reykjavík, where we stored Camille’s paraglider and two extra suitcases, the second time for lunch and the purchase of gas bombs (to our surprise, a Czech brand). After that we drive to the final destination without stopping. While Camille and Arys head out to return the car, and take an hour walk to come back, the others set up all the tents and prepare the dinner we got for free at the previous campsite.
A nice custom here is the so-called “free zone” where people put away what they no longer need and others take what they need. As the Reykjavík camp is the closest to the airport, many people either start or end their trip there, so I think this system is absolutely brilliant. We treat ourselves to a last warm shower for a long time and soon crawl into our sleeping bags to gather strength for our first day.
