At about quarter to eleven last night, I heard a van arrive next to me. “There’s really not room for another between me and my neighbour” I said out loud. Later, hearing odd noises, I decided to open the front curtains and see what I could see out the side. Open the curtains – “You are joking!” They weren’t parked up next to me. They were parked directly in front of me, in violation of the sacred “all vans in a circle around the perimeter of the field” by shoving between my van and the perimeter and they’d done something beyond weird.
Two women in a van like mine – a small panel van, a Clio estate with a mattress in the back instead of more seats and a boot. I barely have space for me and my luggage but there were two of them. And a full-on garden chair (not a little umbrella-folding camping chair), a three-shelf camping cupboard with a massive glass demijohn of water on top, a cool box, several bags, two smaller chairs, rugs laid out on the grass in front of both doors, more clothes than I’ve brought with me draped over every inch of the van and the front seat piled with soft stuff. I couldn’t imagine where you’d fit all that in even when you’re not sleeping in the back. Oh, and a tripod filming the whole thing – in landscape, so not even for TikTok. Is the plan to spend half an hour every night putting it all out? What if Iceland does what Iceland does and rains? Then they went off to the hot pools. I heard spots of rain on my roof so I brought in the swimming stuff and shut myself in.

It rained and the wind howled all night. I heard them come back and make a faff but I couldn’t figure out what they were doing with all the stuff, except that they seemed to have left the back door open.

I slept badly and woke up at 7.25am to the discovery that they’d left everything out to get rained on and left the back van door open all night. As they still hadn’t moved by the time I left at 9.15, I sort of wondered if they’d died of hypothermia.

Anyway, I got up and scurried to Grettislaug where I managed ten minutes alone to take selfies before other campers turned up. I stayed in for an hour and then breakfast demanded to be eaten.

My only real plan was to get to Hauganes for the beachfront hot tubs (one is shaped like a boat!). That was about a two hour drive – 45 minutes back to the Ring Road at Varmahlið and then an hour and a quarter to Hauganes. I extended it by finding a nice canyon to stop at and finally made it to Hauganes about lunchtime.
Bad news: the boat-shaped hot tub is cold. The three black plastic hot tubs are hot, though – the closest one is hottest and the furthest one is coolest but they’re all about 35-40°. For the first hour there were at least three families and they all had 2-4 children. Taking selfies while kids leap around is hard. Then suddenly they all vanished and I had the place to myself for ten minutes!

Lunch in the van on the harbour front and then a 40 minute drive to and through Akureyri to the busiest campsite I’ve ever seen. I booked two nights but I’m not queuing to get through the gate when I get home from the Forest Lagoon tomorrow, not driving around and around looking for a van-sized space. I’m going back to Systragil.

I decided, having found a tolerable space, I wasn’t giving it up so instead of driving in Akureyri for the afternoon, I walked. I went to the pool. Sat in the warm pools and swam 30 lengths of the lane pool. Had to get out by 7.30 – it’s an hour walk back to the van. I now know I walked 9km just to preserve this space. And of course, I came back to find myself surrounded. I knew it – I knew how busy this campsite was going to be.

It’s a Skátarnir campsite – the Icelandic Scouts and Guides. I thought the symbols on the flags looked familiar but as I was walking out, I spied a Skátarnir flag. Fleurs de lys and trefoils on the campsite flag and on the gate down by the main road. Well, they’re not camping here this time of year with so many tourists crowding on.

I thought I’d wait and see what it was like when I got back from the pool before deciding what to do tomorrow night but packed in like sardines and the constant noise of children either screaming or grizzling is not the way I want to spend my birthday. So drive into Akureyri tomorrow and then take the tunnel to the little campsite in the woods after the Forest Lagoon.