We got up at 6.30 a.m. and was ready to go in an hour. I packed all the food I had with me which wasn't much actually. We also dropped by at 10/11 to buy Skyr and a chocolate pudding. I thought that there must be a small grocery store just like other small towns I had been.
Having arrived at the BSI Bus Station well before the bus would leave at 8.30 a.m., we had time to ask for information about where we should be ticketed to and get off the bus for Guesthouse Vesterhus in the village of Hof located between Skaftafell and Jökulsarlon. The same girl who sold me the ticket to Thorlakshöfn two weeks ago suggested us to buy the ticket to just Skaftafell (7000 ISK) and to inform the bus driver that we would go to Hof. She said the bus driver may collect small extra fare for Skaftafell to Hof or just simply didn't care.
The bus was driven under the rain and didn't stop until 11.30 a.m. in Vik where we had a 45-minute break. The stop was at a gas station; next to it was a restaurant and a souvenir shop. As we were a bit hungry, each of us had Icelandic lamp soup (1050 ISK). The taste of it was enjoyable but it should be called Icelandic potato soup instead... After the soup, we had a little time to walk to the famous black sandy beach. The scenery of the beach was stunning and together with the rain and the black clouds it created a truly unreal atmosphere. However, I couldn't capture the moment just because I didn't want my camera to be damaged by the rain.
Except for sleeping on the bus, I sometimes look photographs through the bus window.... The sun showed up every now and then. The landscape of the south of Iceland seemed to be quite dramatic, with the contrast between abundant water in rivers as well as waterfalls and deficient water in no-vegetation lands.
When the bus was leaving Skaftafell, we told the bus driver that we would like to go to Vesterhus in Hof. However, the bus driver didn't seem to know the place. At the following stop in Freysnes a bit after 2 p.m., TT called the owner of the guesthouse. She insisted that the bus driver must know and asked where we were. When TT told her that we were in Freysnes, she said that she was there as well. What a surprise! Then, we saw the guesthouse's owner and knew that she came to pick the girl who traveled alone from Reykjavik. She said that she could take our luggage when we got off the bus but should couldn't talk us because her car was full of kids! We knew later that she has 5 children and the girl on the bus is one of her children... She talked a bit with the driver to make sure that he knew the place. The driver talked to us that he understood that we meant Höfn...
So, we continued our journey on the bus. About 20 minutes later, the bus dropped us at Hof. We then walked along the small road to the guesthouse. The guesthouse owner's car turned to the road about the same time as we started to walk. We refused to take her offer to take our luggage as it wasn't heavy at all. There was no rain any more but it was very misty... When walking towards the guesthouse, we realized that no grocery store was around. It seemed unlikely that we could survive with food we had taken from Reykjavik until Thursday...
Then, we walked up the mountain to see the village in the mist... I don't know why walking up this mountain wasn't difficult at all. Perhaps, grass made it easy to walk...
As the bus we took was the only bus of the day, we couldn't go anywhere... Having stuck in a small village, enjoying pure nature with a slow pace wasn't so bad. We walked in the valley with a stream running through it...
Then, we walked up the mountain to see the village in the mist... I don't know why walking up this mountain wasn't difficult at all. Perhaps, grass made it easy to walk...
After the mountain walk, I made noodle with ham and egg (again twin egg yolks!) for dinner... It wasn't too bad though... During the meal, we wondered whether we would still have something to eat tomorrow...
Then, as the day was still young, we went for a walk a gain. We first checked the tiny church in Hof village. Without a cross, I wouldn't have recognized that it was a church.
The wind was so strong which made me felt too cold to continue the walk. We went back to the guesthouse where is now full of French guests... Then, we went back to our room and discussed what to do tomorrow. So, we decided to go to Jokulsarlon with the Reykavik Excursions bus from Skaftafell in the morning and return to Skaftfell for a glacier walk in the afternoon. After the walk, we have to hitchhike to get back to Hof. Hopefully, this plan would work...
Another couple were staying with us tonight. We didn't talk much as they didn't seem friendly at all. The bedtime was very early today.
Then, as the day was still young, we went for a walk a gain. We first checked the tiny church in Hof village. Without a cross, I wouldn't have recognized that it was a church.
The wind was so strong which made me felt too cold to continue the walk. We went back to the guesthouse where is now full of French guests... Then, we went back to our room and discussed what to do tomorrow. So, we decided to go to Jokulsarlon with the Reykavik Excursions bus from Skaftafell in the morning and return to Skaftfell for a glacier walk in the afternoon. After the walk, we have to hitchhike to get back to Hof. Hopefully, this plan would work...
Another couple were staying with us tonight. We didn't talk much as they didn't seem friendly at all. The bedtime was very early today.
