Iceland 2014 Day 3 ~~~ Mývatn ~~~

THIS BLOG WILL BE UPDATED LATER WITH PHOTOS!!

Today I had my only whole day around Akureyri, so I decided to use it well to visit the area of lake Mývatn, which is about 100 km driving to reach and a few more to circle it. Well, it wouldnt be me if there wasnt some kind of act of stupidity involved. Sometimes I truly believe Im living my life on the edge of what is normal and what is safe. No I didnt put myself in danger this time.

When I drove through akureyri I needed to refuel my dedicated black disaster. I was looking for an Orca or Shell as they gave a discount, but the one Shell I passed literally I didnt really see how to get there, and I just thought well... Akureyri must have more gas stations and I still had 25% in the tank.
But like my own car, the last stripes always go faster and it quickly went from 4 tot 2 and I had left Akureyri behind me. A quick look on the map showed me the next gas station just around the mountain. I better turn back... But then I saw a sign next gasstation in a town off the ring road, 23km.
I think besides at Hvalfjorður the kilometers didnt pass by so slowly as then. And the last remaining line started blinking. No where ahead of me I could see anything else than mountains and farms. Last time I felt like this was when returning from UK when I managed to drive from Calais to the Flemish-Dutch border in this doubtfull stage.

And then finally I reached this little town and saw a gas station. I felt my world fall apart as it looked so abandoned. But well it wasnt. It was selfservice and it was such a relief. So now I never again pass any gasstation if I am left with only 25% of fuel.
Happily I drove back to the ringroad, which now of course felt much faster. The weather was awesome now, with clear skies, less wind and sun shining in my face. The area to pass was stunning, with mountains and open plains, and soon it became more volcanic too. The climbs were higher than before and smooth rolling down the hills was now sheer pleasure without the winds.

My first stop would be at Goðafoss. I had no idea where I was because I miss the navigation. So funny how you can get used to things like that so quickly. But then on a volcanic rock plain I saw mists rising up. I thought that must be Goðafoss. But the parking was empty and I almost passed the sign because my expectation was different.

Goðafoss, waterfall of the Gods

Looking away from Goðafoss, stunning autumn colors are on its canyon edges

So I was all alone with Goðafoss for time being. And thats amazing, to take unspoiled pictures. Goðafoss is one of my favorite waterfalls, I dont know why. Unfortunately the winds came south, and Goðafoss was partly hidden in its own mysterious mists. The tickling on my face was amazing however. I climbed some of the rocks, you can go to the top of the waterfall quite easily because you approach it from above. The autumn colors of the herbs growing there are stunning. But all the berries have been picked. I enjoyed my moment alone with Goðafoss and felt blessed to be somewhere touristic without Chinese or Americans. Then 2 cars arrived. But they were Icelandic people :-)

I continued my way and more and more lava creations appeared, and finaly lake Mývatn, with its many pseudocraters from a time when lake Mývatn was a whole 'sea'. During under water eruptions those pseudocraters developed. The are no real craters, but when they were still lava, the interaction with water was so explosive that crater shaped hills remained. Other less explosive lava created lavarock formations you will encounter at Dimmuborgir. The place I wanted to visit for sure today, and I came across not much later.

The raincurtains on this picture will come closer and eventually pour out over me. On the left you see the polution plume from Holuhraun eruption.

Dimmuborgir is a place where tales about trolls come naturally. There are faces and shapes every where. There even is one formation called cathedral, because it looks like it. And once a year in August there is a special church service held in it. I didnt see this cathedral because the clouds that loomed above the south reached Dimmuborgir and were quite nasty rainshowers. Now I could wait or move on to come back later. I decided to put Dimmuborgir on a next trip list, as it deserves much more than a quick visit and left.  












The to my surprise Grottagjá was almost next to it. It is a wonderfull crystal clear blue water underground geothermal pool, most of the time you can take a bath, but temperatures vary a lot. But to reach it you need to cross a gravel road. With this wether Im not tempted. So Grottagjá also goes on the next to do list.

Then it was my plan to visit Krafla volcano but had no idea how to get there. I followed a sign to Krufluvirkjun which means Krafla geothermal energy plant sort off. Thinking that must be close enough to the source. Another steep rise to get over one of Kraflas eruption craters, here you see the slid streams of lavarock, and what Holuhraun must lok like in a few years too. On the other side of the ridge, I already smelled the sulphur.
Hvelir is a field with active sulfators blowing out sulfur stream. There are also bubbling mudpools. But it still rained and it was still windy, I decided to not leave my car when I saw a bus of tourists wearing plastic covers over their shoes. Your car would become just as muddy as this whole area.

I moved on and I was sure to be on the way to Husavik to make a bit of the Diamond circle. I drove a long way through isolated lavafields. Nothing lives here, not even sheep.
And then there is a sign to Dettifoss and Asbyrgi. Strange.... How can Dettifoss be on the left of this road.... And then I noticed I actually was on the ringroad towards Egilstaðir.... I opted to go to Dettifoss, but it was a gravel road and there was a sign of restriction due to the eruption at Holuhraun and the massive flood that would pass here if the glacier melts. So I didnt opt for Dettifoss and returned to Krafla. The sun started to shine and at Hvelir I took a few photo's outside the car. And my car looks like a mudpool now too :-)

I decided to take a look at Krofluvirkjun, the place where geothermal energy from Krafla is harvested. There was not a lot to see there, but there are quite a lot of walking trails there in a beautifull area. I did not take one however. Its not that I dont like to take a hike, but was not prepared for longer hikes. I should do so in a next visit when I spend some more time in this interesting area.

I hopped back in my car and took some more pictures on my way back to Skjalðarvik. I now finished the roundway around lake Mývatn. I stopped at a silica lake, the water was as blue as at Blue Lagoon, but it could not beats it stunning nature around it, as it was in a sort of sandpit.

While driving back I just had going home on my mind. I wonder why I sometimes have this on my mind. So much beauty to see and I just have going home programmed. I think it has to do with the amount of impressions, the better the day is, the quicker I want to go home. In any way I am happy there are so few tourists here. Well lots of busses to Nature baths, which I wanted to visit too. But as soon as I noticed it is today not the less visited version of Blue Lagoon, I changed my mind.
Like I say its better for me to visit this area in more days. The amount of beauty I saw and impressions I got is too much for me. I already feel like Im here for weeks, but its just my third day in Iceland.

I stopped at a supermarket to buy some things to eat, and went back to my guest(rest) house.

At night I got blessed with my best northern light experience so far. I went out quickly after sundawn, because in Scandnavia the sky was on fire already. I went down to the little beach belonging to the guesthouse. It took a while to see something, because it was not completely dark, but steady flares of northern light crawled up from the east, and soon a ribbon was cast from east to west. It sadly wasnt dynamic, but just a glow. I worred why all photos seemed to fail, but it was just the nature of todays lights I thought. I watched for an hour, together with a local friendly cat who came snuggle up with me. The whole sky was green and first time ever I saw it faintly green with my own eyes too and not white. After I returned from a short break inside, there were a few flares of dynamic lights (dynamic means in my terms, you see the curtain in the wind like mmoving northern lights). I just have to see back home if I managed to capture it. My camea appears to have a hidden setting that turns all photo's a bit on the dark side :-(

I didnt stay much longer to watch it. I went inside and told the receptionist the lights were out. They dididnt even realise it. I dont know what their wake up service is, but this time you could even see from insude the northern lights were playing big games in the skies. It was awesome!

On my ipad I was very sad that most photo's turned out almost solid black with bits of green. And I saw the ISO was set on 400, which was impossible as I put it on 1600 manually and auto iso is switched off. But it seemed to have screwed all my photos. ***Back home I retrieved back most auroras like you see them here, however it had to sacrifice most of the quality of the photo's. So thats why I put them up small size here, they look best due to the bad resolution that left of it***

Iceland 2014 Day 2. ~~~ To Akureyri ~~~

A weather alert has been issued for all of Iceland due to storms that will visit Iceland next 3 days. Do I have fun? It is adviced to not go out if you dont have to. Well I have to, and think about the tender relationship I have with my Spark. This will be fun. I shiver with the look out for the day ahead of me. I had to get to Akureyri, but my hopes and plans to visit and take short hikes during my travel shattered to pieces.

I wont have a lot of photos of this day, as it was in most cases safer to stay in my car and focus on driving. So lots of text here.

Its pouring outside and optimistic me hopes it will be dry to pack my car after breakfast. Oh silly me... 3 days or more Reykjavik will be blessed with this mess and I hope for a dry moment. Not this time. But Im leaving to dryer places, I hope. The forcast shows it will be better up north already from Bífrost on.

Breakfast is another adventure. The breakfast is served in what else than a viking room. With beerbarrows as tables or tree trunk furniture. The food is 100% Norwegian (modern mondial name), skyld (pickled herring), porridge, vegetables, rough rye bread, cooked eggs and for the worried eater, there is a toaster and marmelades. Nothing really special, but I got attracted to a cave with an altar to Loki, some stuffed polarbears, a driftwood horse and carved runes. It almost sounds psychodelic. Yes maybe a bit, with the purple and pink lights.

I had a good stay here, but it was time to move on. Trying to find a supermarket on the way to buy lunch and dinner, but I first felt a terrible need to leave Reykjavik as soon as possible, because the wind tossed the car and still I had my problems with my little friend. Several towns passed by and the road got more and more empty. I hated the gusts of wind, this circumstances make you very tired because you need to concentrate on driving and roads you dont know. And then I made a stupid decision at Hvalfjorður. The tunnel or scenery route of the old road 1. Because the tunnel is a long dark narrow cave I still felt uncomfortable after driving it with the bus. I choose the scenery to save money too (but of course it doesnt save money on gas and time). I after all visit Iceland and want to see and enjoy it as much as I could. It wouldnt be so bad at Hvalfjorður.... maybe it is even sheltered from the worst storm.

It soon became clear to me why I was almost alone. Winds are in fjords much stronger and unpredictable. On the southside it was not so bad, but the northside is more rough, higher cliffs and I had to cross a bridge which was continiously was swept with water from crashing waves, and I even saw some waterswirls dancing on the surface. I was mixed with emotions, this was so beautifull, so rough, so wild. Countless waterfalls and I kept searching for Fossarétt at which we stopped on a tour last year. I did not find it and got confused. Hvalfjorður was shaped different than I expected and I had the idea I lost my way. Then suddenly I saw Fossarétt on the north side of the fjord, which I didnt expect.

Fossarétt from a rainy car, sweeps couldnt keep up with it. But beauty still shines through.

There were some army guys. Strange... Iceland has no army. Probably from UK practising here.

They waved hello and after a quick attempt to picture it without leaving the car, and muffle a cookie in my face, I continued. I wanted to leave this fjord as soon as I could. One hour seemed to last forever. With my only hope I was lucky to drive the lane on landside. Not the feeling of being swept down to the fjord. One hour an I was happy to be reunited with the fast ringroad. No more canyons and deep fjords, I thought!

Then we approached Borganes. I feared the bridge and the powers of nature. Borgarfjorður is known for the strongest windgusts ever recorded in Iceland. You dont want to know the strongest one ever... But the true fear came from the ever ongoing road/bridge construction. Their earthed ground released stones that got picked up by the winds that hurled around the passing cars. Normally Icelanders arent annoying in traffic. They pass you when they can, but here that is not possible. And I had such a trunkdugger behind me, I could not stop, slowdown or do anything else to avoid this stone storm. Five or six stones hit my car and left it scared. I really hope my insurance does cover gravel damage, because I rejected it at the rental desk feeling so sure I had it covered. Never again I rent without being sure about gravel insurance, because I hear stones hitting the bottom all the time. You simply cant drive here without risking gravel damage. And my case was just bad luck. :-(

At Bífrost (student town in the middle of a lavafield) I took a break for quick photos as it seemed to be dryer. There also was a supermarket so I could finally team up with my loved skyr. But they had no blueberry :-( so I stucked with vanilla and pear.

Baula, seen from Grábrok volcano

Lava field near Bífrost

Grábrok crater

Baula, different angle

I decided to drive on few meters to visit Grábrok volcano. Iceland is really great with parking places and giving information about the area you stopped at. Most also have walking trails connected to stretch your legs or see Icelands wonders closer. But it started to rain again. I put on my rainponcho and just stretched my legs marveled with the views and feeling my heart bouncing of happiness just to be here. But I will be here again on my way back, hoping to have better weather. With this weather the only thing I wanted is move on to Akureyri as quick as possible. Soon after I drove off from Grábrok, the rain stopped. And at some places wind was completely gone. But with certain mountains you could be sure to expect huge windgusts. And after I passed Gauksmyri where I will stay later this week, mountains got higher and more dramatic. Lots of steep climbs and wonderfull smooth rolling down of the same steep mountains. If the wind wasnt here, it would be much more relaxing, but this kind of driving was exhausting me terribly. You cannot let go your concentration for even a second or you might seal your faith when wind tosses your car to the side of the road.


Oxnadalur was really the most beautifull part of this ride. Its a deep narrow canyon where sheep and horses roam free. At the Akureyri side there are farms with the typical Icelandic scenery of a farm and horses grazing at the foot of huge mountains. 
Halfway the canyon there is a restingplace overlooking the canyon. I parked there but didnt leave the car, as I was afraid I would be blown in to the canyon. Because here winds were vicious. But then another horror. My car was in second gear when I tried to drive up the hill to the mainroad. And the engine quit because I have a lazy car I still could not find the chemistry between gas and gear. Few meters behind me was the gorge and no rock or fence would stop me if I rolled backwards and was too scared to turn left or right. I yet start to learn the symbiosis of gas and gearing with this car, but driving away on a hill usualy failed. 
But thank goodness it all went ok. My heart was raging. I had it all with this winds. But one hour and I'd be at my next destination. However I doubted to go to Akureyri town first to fetch a pizza or a shop. I was so hungry. But so tired of this day, I went to Skjaldarvik first. And there I sort of dropped dead. 

I dont know what to think of this place, its nice and clean, friendly people that rely completely on trust. But this guesthouse looks and feels like a hospital or something. It lacks warmth and coziness, way too much white and bare rooms. I wouldnt say it is a bad place, but I feel like being locked up in a nut house. Just because the way it is furnished doesnt appeal me. I wouldnt like it to book here again. Nothing to complain about the facility itself, but the feeling it gave me was not right.

I was so tired that I surrendered to just skyr for dinner and some goodies I took with me from home. A poor mens diet. But I can handle it ;-) 
I trusted the hotels wake up service for auroras, but I either didnt hear it or they didnt notice themselves. But I missed some splendid aurora activity deep in the night. What a shame....

Iceland 2014 Day 1 ~~~ Hafnarfjorður ~~~

I made it back to Iceland! 

Maybe a bit impulsive, but more a matter of keeping sane in my life. Early summer I had to make my decision to book or wait for prices to sky rocket. And so I choose the first option. And rented a car, because that would be the same problem, more expensive if I wait too long.

Since going to Iceland is getting normal business to me, I did not pay a lot of attention to it anymore. And one week ahead, I got shocked about my car rental. They require a €1500 deposit for possible damage, but my creditcard only allowes €1200 and I cannot raise it due to financial status. It was a living nightmare to get it arranged. By Saturday I had almost €3000 euro on the way to get this money on my account. But.... Banks dont work in weekends! And I leave on Sunday. So I saw the axe hanging over my whole trip to Iceland, because the car was the heart of it all. Just prior my departure I got the helpdesk so kindly to raise my limit to €1500. That was such an emotional relieve! I now could focus on enjoying my holiday!

When getting to the gate, I passed the new security system. We now have body scans, a big cone you have to stand in with your arms above your head. A quick scan is made. When I was ready, I saw my image full of squares and patches, so I was suspecting. I had too much and too heavy clothes on (because I always put on the heaviest clothes to save valuable luggage kg. So I had to undress, take my shoes of, a woman was doing an examination and it felt terrible ashaming to stand there in public while she took special care checking breasts and crotch. Because thats places where women would put drugs. :-( I so hated this moment.... it took 15 minutes before finishing and putting everything back on and I could go on, and lucky me got to go to gate D67 or something like that. I basicly couldnt get further away... Double check if I had the right plane, because on Sundays there is a Æroflot flight served by Icelandair leaving at the same time and luckily the gate next to my flight. There were few people waiting for the wrong plane, but not me. The other plane took off first despite of it being scheduled 5 minutes later. That plane was Katla, and I had Laki. 

Then, during the flight I enjoyed myself with an Icelandic movie about Icelandic horses, Hross og Menn (of horses and men). It was a very very strange one but just lovely to see the round-up a little bit and get my cheer back.

The plane circled around my home town straight after take off.

Drinking water reserve where I like to go for a hike.

Westmann Isles, first time ever to see it this clear.

Heimaey, capital of Westmann Islands, with on top the volcano Eldfjall which partly devoured Heimaey in 1973 after a very sudden eruption.

It was a smooth flight which made me happy because since my returnflight in 2012 I am not so sure anymore about flying. Im not scared, but planes tossed on the winds, dropping, shaking and beeping in complete darkness are not amusing me any longer. ;-)

I didnt have time for buying skyr, my suitcase came out first and so I didnt even have to wait a second for luggage. We landed at 15.17 and at 15.25 I was greeted by the rental agency. And at 15.50 I had the car and was wondering if it worked. It did nothing with the gasoline for the first 80% of the pedal and then it screamed but did not move at all. It really has a typical combination code with the gearing. I was happy for as long as it moved, but with stopping signs I am afraid I woke up half of Reykjanesbær with its roaring. Luckily I found my hotel easy, and it took me a long time to park it on a not flat parking lot. Lots of roaring again. What a nightmare car....

I stay this night at Hotel Viking in Hafnarfjorður, ever since I drove by here on my first trip I wanted to stay here for once. But you need your own car or at least it makes it a bit easier or else you need to take busses to Reykjavik, and not all (but most do) touroperators have pick up in Hafnarfjorður. So this stay was another Icelandic dream come true (the list is endless).

Beware of drunk Vikings.... ;-) Inside it had a red bar, stating forbidden for drunk Vikings.

I dont know about Vikings with a cross on the head.... this one looks like some kind of priest

I like to call this hotel Disneyland of Iceland. It is completely Viking themed. And every year the Viking festival I really want to join once, is held around here the week after midsummer. The hotel has lots of Viking art, the food is typical traditional Icelandic, with wooden plates and earthen mugs. Personell dresses in style, and during dinner you can choose for Viking buffet/dinner (if you dare, because that is hákarl (rotten shark), sheephead, foal meat, rams testicles and brennivin. And you will have some entertainment from Vikings telling stories or have you sing Viking songs accompanied by drums, some ancient snare instrument (like a Finnish kantele) and women with beautifull voices. The rooms are also very cozy in style. I had Viking themed one, but they also have settlement themed ones.

Next I decided to go see the elfgarden at Hvergerði park. It is a botanical garden with a collection of tree species on a lava field. Hafnarfjorður is completely build on a lavafield, and in this lava live the elves or Huldufok. These are actually not elves, but to the non Icelandic world they are called elves. But they are supernatural spirits, quite alike humans, but without a body. And Icelanders have always lived with them and it is still big part of Icelandic culture, folklore and even law. In road constructions it happens often that government calls in people who can communicate with them to see if they want to move or not. If not, most often a road will be constructed around or away from such place, because it didnt happen just once that machines broke down or bad luck struck when they ignored the elves. Thats why you happen to find a cluster of lavarocks somewhere where you wonder why they left it there and constructed around it. There are even perfect straight roads, that suddenly make a turn around some rocks to continue very straight. And you just wonder why they didnt shovel those rocks away. Well... the elves didnt want to relocate.

In the garden, two brave girls were tadpooling the water of the pond. Im not sure, it could be geothermal water, but they must be brave otherwise because all water not geothermal or otherwise heated is freezing cold in Iceland. Also from the tap. I wondered for a while next to the waterfall, but then the sky turned darker and went back to the hotel, hoping to return the next morning. But during the night it started to rain and a storm arrived..... a big one. Not just one, 3. All remains of some tropical hurricanes. No northern lights for me this night. Despite of the ideal look from my window.

Iceland part 4 Scary feelings something bad is going to happen....

Half a year ago I was jumping for joy, because at the point I had to decide wether or not to go to Iceland, ticketfares made me decide to 'just' book that damn ticket, because if not I wouldnt go anyway at all.
And I might have been jumped so hard, that I woke up Mother Nature. Just at that moment I finally could look forward to a trip with a bit more freedom and the so desired visit to Myvatn area with all its volcano activity, steaming grounds, hotpots, colors, mud and strange lavarock formations. And horses of course. But it was just thát volcano activity I asked for. Not the one Iceland deals with now.

Not much later, just after I returned from an Icelandic themed stay in Germany, Bárðarbunga decided to wake up at August 16th of August live on the webcams lave poured out of the rift that opened. It closed just as quickly, to be followed one week later by a more powerfull rift eruption. All nice and dandy, this was a tourist safe eruption, not causing too much harm at that stage. Up until today (September 15th) this eruption is ongoing, but this week started to cause problems with toxic levels of gasses. But it is not the only thing happening in the area of Bárðarbunga. A more, much more dangerous situation is looming deep under the ice. And the closer it gets to my departure to Iceland, the more likely this doom will happen anywhere in the near future. In a time scale from today until the end of this year. That is defenitely not the volcano activity I asked for....

If Bárðarbunga itself is going to collapse, which is almost certain it will happen, a big part of the 2009m high volcanos caldera will be demolished. Now that is not even the biggest threat. But Bárðarbunga is covered with a hundreds of meters thick icecap of Vatnajökull. And its caldera is filled with up to 800 meter ice. For over 2 weeks the caldera of Bárðarbunga is lowering making it easier for magma to surface. It even is possible eruption already started and the caldera is already filling with meltwater. It takes time to notice that because the ice takes away the visibilty to the caldera, but every day +5 magnitude earth quakes shake Bárðarbunga. Either be gas explosions or the caldera lowering. The ice in the caldera has lowered already 30 meter at a rate of 50cm per day now.

Before it collapses, all this ice or at least the most of it will melt into the caldera, before it destroys the craters wall and come rushing down as a huge jökullhaup which is basicly in nature more destructive than a tsunami. it follows the river Jökulsá á Fjöllum, which is already Europes most powerfull river without jökulhaup. It will demolish anything on its pathway, carrying house size boulders with the ease of a pingpongball, only the many mountain ridges to give temporary relief. But on its way are several powerplants who provide power to most of north, northeast and east Iceland. And there are several farms. And I am going to north Iceland. Not exactly the target area, I'd be rather safe for jökullhaups except for my short time in Akureyri which is also not directly target but is much closer to the danger and therefore has an increased risk to be affected. My main worry is during the horse round up. What if it happens while we are there deep in the mountains where you can only go on horseback... I wouldnt want to fail on my 'duty' to get the horses to the owners, I really would feel terrible if they only bring the humans home. Even if I think they already herded the horses to a safer place like they did elsewhere.

Another treat is the ash, icevolcanos always always always produce ashfall and it will easily reach 20km in the sky. High enoug to lame airtraffic once more, however Bárðarbunga is further away from Keflavik and generally used air corridors. But still a lot of nordic airtraffic will be affected if the eruption holds long enough. But a lot of lava already flowed from the Holuhraun eruption, the pressure in the volcano need to build up again and Holuhraun fissure first to be closed. But it is closing and the geologists know there is more magma flowing to the eruption than that actually erupts. It has to go somewhere.

So with all this doom in reach, I really look different to my supposed to be holiday. Chances are bigger that I will just have a good time with a bit of sleepless nights, but still... preparing takes odd forms of taking emergency supplies, enough thermo clothes, battery operated radio, masks, be sure to be registered with several emergency organisations in both Iceland and Netherlands in case a natural hazard will occur. Make sure my insurance is ok, and also however it sounds morbid, I will not pass by the small chance that I might not return to Netherlands ever again. Going to Iceland now, simply increases this chance, no one can deny it. But I of course hope it wont happen that nature turns against me. But an eruption of Bárðarbunga is no fun... all feared Katla would be first, but Bárðarbunga gives the Icelandic people a great way to 'train' for Katlas next eruption which will most likely claim lives as people live so close to that volcano, and if she erupts without warning, are trapped on her volcano bay.

Yup, you may understand me that I am really starting a bit to get nerves. But I will go. Like I say, I am quite a distance away from the 'fun'. And unless Bárðarbunga decides different, I take that plane. I always have the freedom to stay in the more safe west. I'd skip the Akureyri part if needed.

Still happy to go to Iceland. Volcanos are also why I feel connected to this country, it wouldnt be the same without. I think I should be like the Icelanders, not to get too worried. But it is not easy :-)