Today we were driving along the east side of Iceland. The Ring road weaves in and out of the fjords on this side. Our first stop was a lighthouse along the way.
We drove on to the small harbor town of Djüpivogur. Over at the new harbor area an artist has created an art installation. He has made granite models of the bird eggs that come to nest in the area. I never realized that there is not much variation in the eggs of birds. Some may be a little pointier or smaller, etc, but still pretty much the same. And like the U.S. they outsourced the molding of the eggs to China because it was cheaper.
Then we made the short drive over to the cute old harbor and a bite to eat.
Lagarfljöt and the search for the worm. The worm is said to be a relative of Nessie (the Loch Ness Monster) in the waters of this lake. But we didn’t see Nessie when we were in Scotland nor did we see a sign of the worm either.
We made a stop at the last major town that we would see for a little while, Egilsstaðir. This town also has an airport with a runway capable of acting as a secondary airport if Reykjavik gets shut down.
We were driving along and saw a pretty waterfall. So, we pulled into the pull-out to take a look. It was the Fossà area (waterfall river). There are about 30 waterfalls along the river and there are hikes that you can do going along the river. We didn’t know this at first and Dan was looking for a place to cross the river to get a better view.
Lo and behold there’s an overlook when you drive up the road. Once we saw a couple buses drive that way, we thought maybe we should check it out too.
Then it was a quick stop Blábjörg (blue cliffs). They were created from a volcanic eruption about 9 million years ago. The blue color comes from chlorite that was in the metamorphic rock.
We were running short on time and decided that the long drive to Stuðlagil Canyon wasn’t in the cards. But Dan found a great substitute that was almost right off the Ring Road. It was the Foot Bridge over Jökulsá a Brú. It was beautiful and the perfect alternative.
Right before our turnoff for the night’s camping spot was the Rjúkardafoss. It’s 139 meter high waterfall that is right off the Ring Road. Comes with sheep.
Lots of driving today, pretty scenery but not many stops.
Made our way to the campground and got there earlier than our usual at the Möðrudalur Farm. It’s a nice place with a cafe and a store. Dan managed to finally score a bottle of wine. Yea!
As is typical of Iceland, the farm had a church. The landowners built their own personal churches on their farms. It was difficult to travel very far and this way the farm hands and any other locals would be able to worship.
Day 5
We got an early start which was great as there weren’t many people at our first stop of Dettifoss yet. The wind was also down somewhat as we headed to the most powerful waterfall in Iceland, Dettifoss. When you’re walking up from the parking lot you really don’t think there is anything around, let alone a huge waterfall.
There is also a path to another waterfall there, Selfoss. It has a pretty horseshoe falls that reminded us of a small Niagara. On the walk back to Fifi, we got pelted with sand. The wind had picked up and the gritty sand got everywhere.
We headed on to the Ásbyrgi Cliffs. These are thought to have been formed when a glacier retreated from the area. Drove down to the lagoon area and had some nice views of the cliffs and the small picturesque pond. Especially since the sun poked its head out for a minute.
And on to Húsavik. Húsavik is known as the whale watching capital of Iceland. It was too rainy and cold for us to go whale watching. But we did make a stop at the whale museum. They have a number of whale skeletons and some really good info on whales and their habits, etc.
We drove on to the Lake Myvátn area. We were trying to make it to the geo thermal plant before they closed as we thought they had a guided tour. No tour, but they do have a short video and some signage on how electricity is made from geo thermal heating. They also offer free coffee or tea and have restrooms so it might be worth a stop.
We made our way past the power plant to the overlook and then on to the Viti crater. The water is a beautiful blue.
We then drove to the Námaskarð geothermal area. It’s pretty colorful and was interesting to see the boiling pots.
We stayed the night at the Vogar Travel Services campsite. Our first scan and pay campsite that we had run across.