Today we only have one goal – getting to Landmannalaugar. We have oatmeal for breakfast from our supplies in the rooms, because breakfast here costs 20 euro, but in the end we can’t resist the waffles with chocolate anyway and have a second course. After a hearty breakfast, the decision was made to hitchhike in pairs, because from experience, one car usually doesn’t fit more than two people anyway, and also because we have a total of 3 tents, which we can divide between us, if by chance we don’t all manage to reach the destination. Camille and Arys are up first. After about an hour, their efforts met with success and they are the first to leave us. FX and Alexis head out next. Me and Vivien are last in line because we hitchhiked yesterday so we enjoy a bottomless cup of coffee inside.
Unfortunately, the boys are not lucky, so they return inside for lunch after 2 hours. In the end, we reassess the situation, and we all head out to make sure that no car slips past us. We do what we can. We have strategically thought out our positions and are not giving up despite the heavy rain. We lasted until about 6 pm. Then we decided that we were already so wet that even if someone stopped, they probably wouldn’t take us into the car anyway. We decide to go back inside and figure out where to spend the night. However Alexis, in a fit of frustration at the failure, decided to just walk to Landmannalaugar, because he refused to pay for yet another night at this place.
Our attempts to talk him out of it were useless, he packed his backpack, one tent, and set off. We can only hope to meet him there tomorrow. Back inside, we are waved at by a couple from a restaurant table who felt so sorry for us that they invited us all for a beer. In the end, way more than one. Due to the condition of our clothes and the ban on camping anywhere in the vicinity, we are forced to beg at the reception for a discount and the possibility of staying in only one room. For some reason, this was still not possible, so we pay for 3 rooms again, this time with at least a 10% discount. Better than a poke in the eye. That couple felt so sorry for us that they offered us a lift for tomorrow! Well, aren’t we lucky as hell? The departure is tomorrow at 7, so we better head to the shower (at least the hot water was running today) and bed.
