Rain again! I got up, washed, dressed, did the washing up at last, emptied the van and went for a swim at Akranes. Well, to float around its hotpots. It was too wet and cold to go in the main pool. Icelandic pools may be geothermally heated but they can still be a bit chilly in 4-6 degree weather. I got out at 12.30 and drove down to Selfoss via Thingvellir, although I didn’t stop in the park itself. I parked in the car park up by Oxarafoss for lunch. I stopped at Selfoss just to check if the campsite was open and available and nice and then I went down to Stokksbakki and Eyrarbakki, across the big river and the iron bridge, past the big black beach. Next I went up to Hveragerdi. There’s a hot river up in the mountains behind the town and now there’s a car park at the start of the hike and a café in a hut. And lots of cars. So many cars. Parked along the road as well as in the car park. However, the footpath starts across a horrifyingly icy river (I stuck my feet in it to test) which rushes far too quickly and looks a bit deep for me to try wading across. There’s a bridge but it’s just a tree trunk and it’s very rickety. I chickened out.

Back at Selfoss, I parked my campervan and went to pay and then I met Morris – resident campsite dog, retired search & rescue dog. He’s collie-like but a bit fluffier. He’s very friendly but he’s also well-trained. He knows he’s not allowed to jump on people but he stares appealingly until they invite him by saying his name or holding out their hands and then he leaps. He’s a lovely lovely dog!

And as well as the dog, there’s indoor space. There’s a big common room/kitchen with heat and light and tables and a strong smell of supernoodles and lots of campers charging their phones and cameras and laptops. It’s cloudy and windy and damp so it’s nice to be inside for once.

Everybody in this room has exactly the same plastic Ikea cups and plates, exactly the same as the ones in the back of my campervan. Are they all renting their vans from the same company or do all the companies just go to Ikea and choose exactly the same mint-green plastic plates?

My Kindle has been plugged in all day but hasn’t charged. Maybe it’s the wire then? Maybe my phone will come to life when I get home and plug in a working wire.

There’s a campsite cat too. It came into the common room – mostly black, white face and legs and apparently either friendly or keen on trying to beg supernoodles.