Day 8, June 23, 2005: the drive to Egilsstadir (Egilsstaðir)
We woke up this morning feeling a little disappointed with Hlíð, but we were excited by the thought of driving
around Mývatn in the lovely weather. When we got to Bjarnarflag, we bumped into those guys from Akureyri yet again,
so we said hi and exchanged notes. They are from Germany and they are also driving around Iceland clockwise.
We woke up to find that the weather had cleared up. We knew it was going to be a beautiful day.
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The waters had turn blue again.
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See Ming enjoying the sunshine outside Hlíð.
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We went for a short walk at Höfði Nature Park. The trees were mostly birch
(björk in Icelandic - just like the singer). The national joke goes something like this...
"What do you do if you're lost in an Icelandic forest?"
"Stand Up"
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Mývatn comes from the Icelandic words for fly and lake.
It is summer now, so there are flies everywhere - which is great for birdwatchers
since the birds flock here to feed on them (the flies, not the watchers).
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After only a short walk in Höfði Nature Park, we were rewarded with this view.
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Attack of the killer flies.
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See Ming took pictures of some of the flowers growing here, like these wild pansies.
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The water in the lake was very clear. Those are our shadows.
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We drove east a little and saw this naturally heated pond at Bjarnarflag. Some swans were swimming in it.
The building with the smokestacks is Iceland's first and smallest geothermal power plant.
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There are signs around the pond warning that swimming is strictly prohibited because there are
hot spots under the water. There was not a whole lot to do here.
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In various places in Mývatn, you can see steam coming out of the ground.
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More of that lovely sky.
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The German guys mentioned that they climbed mount Vindbergjarfjall, so we drove back to give it a try.
It was quite an easy climb up, but the flies are a nuisance. In the end, we turned back because See Ming had
difficulty breathing and we'd left her inhaler in the car.
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We went back towards Bjarnarflag and took a dip at the Mývatn Nature Baths.
It is just across the road from the pond with the swans.
It was a very relaxing experience.
I never thought I could be so happy just soaking in warm water.
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And the scenery was not too bad neither.
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Out next stop was Hverarönd nearby, where there were some solfataras or bubbling mud pools which form
where groundwater heated by magma finds its way to the surface. The fumes smelled like hard boiled eggs.
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In some places, it looked like the ground was about to collapse.
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Out next stop was the Krafla volcano. It's last eruption in 1724 created this crater called Viti (Hell).
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Earthquakes over the next five years opened up a series of fissures at Leirhnjúkur, west of Krafla.
The ground here is quite strange and you cannot always be sure where you are supposed to step.
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The view down the slope at Leirhnjúkur. The dark stuff is the newer lava field.
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Driving over to Dettifoss, we came across the strange sight of a bridge in the middle of a barren landscape.
It crosses a river which cannot be seen from this picture.
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At Dettifoss, the most powerful waterfall in Europe, on the Jökulsá á Fjöllum River. It is about 100 m wide and plunges 44 meters
into the canyon below. The spray from the waterfall was unbelievable. Fortunately, the wind was blowing it away from us, so we
stayed quite dry.
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The power of Dettifoss was intimidating. I had to keep reminding myself that the cliffs have been there
for a very long time and that the chances of the rocks giving way under my feet were quite remote,
despite the tremendous amount of water bulldozing its way over the edge.
Click to watch the video (185 Kb WMV file)
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A jökulsá is a glacial river. This is the canyon carved by Jökulsá á Fjöllum.
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When we got to Egilsstaðir, we had a nice dinner at Café Nielsen. See Ming had lamb again.
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