29-Jul-2018 -- This is the first out of 6 reports reaching confluence points in Iceland. During my one-week bicycle trip to Iceland, I was able to visit these 6 confluence points on a row along the 64th latitude. Iceland is – in my point of view – the most challenging country in Europe for confluencing. Iceland is special: strong winds, heavy rain, a sparse road network, and rough roads in the interior.
On the eve of confluence day I landed at Keflavík Airport while it was raining cats and dogs. So I skipped the idea to visit this confluence in the evening (it almost doesn’t get dark in the night). So I spent the night at a hostel in Keflavík town.
The next morning the weather was dry and I enjoyed cycling those 50 km to this confluence. I left the main road at a distance of 3.5 km and continued cycling on a rough track up to 2.2 km distance from the confluence point. I parked my bicycle in a forest and started walking. I should note that there are almost no forests left on Iceland since humans have set foot on the island. So it is quite a speciality to walk through a forest in Iceland. However, the forest was too dense such that I had to circumvent it.
After an hour of hiking through the wet bushland, I reached the confluence near a moss overgrown rock. The city of Hafnarfjörður and even parts of Reykjavík can be seen from the confluence point.
CP Visit Details:
- Distance of bicycle parking: 2200 m
- Time to walk to the CP: 60 min
- Time at the CP: 9:11 AM
- Measured height: 126 m
- Minimal distance according to GPS: 0 m
- Position accuracy: 2 m
- Topography: hilly
- Vegetation: moss, grass, bushes and flowers.
- Weather: cloudy, 18° C (felt temperature)
- Given Name: The Reykjavik Forest Confluence
The story continues at 64°N 21°W.