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Day 7 & 8
DAY 7
After an awesome breakfast at the hotel I headed to the “Námafjall” sulfur fields. As you drive through, the whole area suddenly changes. Instead of the green I was used all this while it’s now a barren land with no vegetation and hot steam blowing out of vents, which are surrounded by a multi-colored landscape. You will see plenty of boiling mud pots and different shades of yellow and red rocks. As you enter the area the smell of sulfur hits you right away and you can feel the heat in certain areas. Never been to Mars :) but it feels like you are walking on it. After breathing in the
sulphur fumes till the point where my head started to spin (I blame the amazing breakfast) I raced back to the car and headed to Viti crater
This was a very different compared to the grey crater at Hverfjall. In contrast there was a deep blue lake right in the middle of the crater and it was surrounded by mountains. Not as large as the other one though and not as high as well. It’s just about 300m in diameter and the name means Hell. Not as old as Hverfjall either, but this crater was formed due to a 5 year long explosion from 1724. It’s a short walk up and around the crater, no effort at all compared to Hverfjall.
Here is a question for you… would you huff and puff your way up a longer distance to the crater on the left or stroll up a few feet to see the crater on the right?
Kidding… both were unique and magnificent in their own way
Driving in I had passed a geothermal power plant and I decided to stop-over to check it out. I was excited to find that they had free tours, but at the end it turned out to be one of watching a short video and staring at a giant (completely) covered generator. Nobody was really explaining anything. So unless you really want to, don’t plan on being blown away here. Learnt a bit about the history of the area … “There were 3 historical eruptions in the area, valley fires and around 1000 lava formations of Viti between 1725 – 1729 and finally more recently the Krafla fires between 1975 – 1984. The most recent explosion covered approximately 60 square km of land”
"Iceland is 92% powered by renewable sources of energy"
On the agenda next was to RELAX, and what better place than the Myvatn Nature Baths. Less than 10 miles away and far less crowded compared to the Blue Lagoon, from what I read online. I had seen pictures but I was not ready for the color of the water. It was a brilliant blue (almost a bright teal). It was a clear day, so you could see out into the distance. The baths were situated in a remote location away from any urban development, which lent itself the natural soothing atmosphere. It was sunny but still a bit chilly in the air, so soaking in the warm waters of the pool for close to 2 hours
completely relaxed the muscles. The water is heated by steam rising up from the fissures deep in the Earth’s surface and the water itself has a unique blend of minerals, silicates and geothermal micro-organisms. I found a nice natural seat made of rock in the pool and took a nap. Finished up the experience with some hot chocolate and a chocolate muffin. I think I deserved that too :)
They don’t really sell a lot of food here, just an assortment of cold juices, salads and yogurt or hot soup, coffee, muffins and beer/wine. Neverthless it was extremely crowded… must have put something in the water to make us hungry ;)
Back to the hotel to round up the day.
DAY 8
After another full breakfast at “Hótel Gígur by Keahotels” I was back on the road to “Dettifoss" waterfall. The first half of the drive was on a flat road with plenty of greenery surrounding you. The last 25 miles was on a dirt and gravel road surrounded by barren land. Not very exciting but would have been ok, if not for being stuck behind a novice dirt road driver. I am considering myself an expert after 5 days of dirt road driving. I have a sense for those potholes now!
Now coming to the waterfall. It’s just massive. Infact it’s the largest in Europe in terms of sheer volume of water, which flows from the Vatnajökull glacier. The approach to the waterfall is a short one and mostly rocky. There is a path, but you need to get off it to get closer and that’s what I did and most people did too. Very rocky but flat. As you get closer you start getting sprayed with water from the fall and to my luck there was a really clear and bright rainbow which added
some color to grey rocky background. The water was not as clear as the other places I saw so far, but it was flowing at some pace.
Backtracked on the same dirt road for a bit before heading to the town of “Seydisfjordur”. This little town with a population of less than 800 is nestled in a vast green valley with hills on both sides, facing a water outlet which leads straight into the Norwegian Sea. Driving into the town was like paradise. You have to climb up first before dropping down, but the views were to die for. Try as you must but your eyes are your best camera here. You just have to be there. There were so many little waterfalls that in any other country would have been a tourist attraction themselves.
The town itself is a quiet little place with a cruise ship parked at the dock. The main attraction was a blue church, which to my luck was just re-painted and it looked brand new. But the star attraction in the town is the rainbow road leading out/to the church. There were a couple of restaurants on both sides of the rainbow road where you could stop for a bite. Anyway the beauty of the town was the approach to it and the quiet and calm setting in which it rests.
160 miles to my next stop. But it did not feel that long. The scenery here in Iceland changes from green hills to majestic snow-capped peaks and tall hills that stand up like a natural wall with jagged edges and sometimes shrouded in mists of clouds. As I got closer to my last stop of the day, “Kálfafellsstadur Bed & Breakfast” you will know immediately that you have reached Iceland’s glaciers. There are plenty of glacier views from the road along the way.
There were a few guests there at the bed and breakfast already and after settling in we were all in the kitchen cooking up our dinner. Made for some excellent conversation as we shared our experience in Iceland so far and what’s next for each of us. Our host Thora was kind enough to give us all ear-plugs, so as to not get disturbed by the other guests (since its 24 hrs. of daylight, tourists are up at any time of the day)
Google Maps Day-7
Google Maps Day-8
Google Photos
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