Despite a weather forecast predicting rain, we woke to a warm sunny morning. We took our time packing up, taking full advantage of the sun to dry out the tent, tarp and ground sheets.

We left the sheltered campground and were immediately pelted by a headwind. Just goes to show what a difference trees can make! The wind only lasted as long as it took us to round the headland, and we were soon coasting along the rolling hills of another relatively wind free fjord.

The highlight of the day was the 6km long tunnel, cutting through the large towering mountains and negating the need to tackle the 50km road around the waters edge.

Despite the mammoth infrastructure, there were very few cars using the tunnel, and we had the place to ourselves much of the time. The tunnel was well lit and ventilated, wind free, dry and almost flat, and a very surprising highlight of our cycle so far.

We exited the tunnel to find the sun having gone and the clouds rolling in (good things never last). We were headed for Reyðarfjörður, a comparatively industrial town which Lonely Planet doesn’t give a particularly good review (the major employer is the Alcoa aluminium smelter on the outskirts of town). We were initially a little hesitant to aim for the town, but it fit nicely with our current goal of around 45km a day.

Perhaps the lonely planet author was having a bad day on their way through the town (or not camping?), as we found it to be really pleasant. The campsite was on the opposite end of town to the smelter, right next to a stream and lake with ducks. The facilities were excellent, and the campsite manager was one of the friendlies we have come across so far. Even better – the supermarket was the best stocked we have come across yet (including what we could find in Reykjavík). We brought ingredients for a lamb tikka masala and settled in for the evening.