Chew wrote: ↑Mon Jun 24, 2019 2:03 pm
Just picked up my RSF book and flicking through the pages until I came to the journal about the Iceland crossing.
I need to do a
lot more digging about, about the route, logistics, etc..., but if anyone else is interested in doing something like this, or has any advice let me know.
Initially thinking about a 2 week trip sometime in Aug/Sept
Have been 3x, one traverse of the interior from the SE to the SW on foot (650 km) in '13, some more touristy trips on a winter holiday in '15 and a double traverse (horseshoe) of the interior by bike (1200 km) in '16.
Going again this Aug/Sept.
I've said it many times before, early autumn is the best time to visit.
Hmm... can't remember seeing a lot of people...
They all stick around the waterfalls, craters and geysirs, mostly in the SW, a day's trip from Reykjavik. Then a few touristy spots in the north, but the interior is quite empty. I spent 6 days hiking at 42 km/d average without seeing a single soul (yet, I didn't use any tracks/paths). When riding and sticking to var. types of tracks I had a few days with 100+ km where I didn't see anybody for up to 24 h.
Places like Landmannalaugar - touristy for a good reason are crammed with folks in July and August. End of August the place suddenly is drained from all the Laugarvegur hikers and many day tourists.
Iceland immensely pushed and forced their tourism with extensive advertising in mainland Europe and stop-overs for trans con flights.
Beginning of 2015 the most important economy (fishing) was seconded by tourism, helping them to decrease the depths
"Relative to the size of its economy, Iceland's systemic banking collapse was the largest experienced by any country in economic history"
Iceland's infrastructures weren't capable and the regions refused to work together causing a right mess in '15 and especially '16 onwards. I think by now they should/may have found ways to do something against their home-made mess.
Seems rather hypocritical what Mrs. Okreglicka cries about on the linked BBC article. Icelandic tour operators advert "ecological trips" on which you simply get in a super jeep, drive up a glacier, have lunch and drive back to town.
A bit lame to blame foreign instagrammers...
I've seen superbly stupid behaviour in every country I visited, Iceland Special in that regard, just that its public toilets are where Italy's were some 30 years ago. If the Italians can fix the problem, Icelanders should be able too...