Day 12 in Iceland, we continued our discovery of the highlights of the North and visited places in the vicinity of Lake Mývatn. Here we got acquainted with the volcanic and geothermal nature of the Mývatn area such as the pseudo-craters, Höfði, Dimmuborgir, the Viti Crater, Leirhnjukur, Námaskarð (muddy hot springs), Hverir (boiling mud pits) and the Sulfuric smoker.
Pseudo-craters in the Mývatn area
We started our day at Skútustaðagígar where we saw pseudo-craters, a special phenomenon that appears when lava flows over moist soil or water. The steam gradually builds up and escapes through an explosion. We walked around the lake where we saw a few waterbirds. The scenery was really beautiful !
The little flies accompanied us during our walk, although in smaller numbers than yesterday, still annoying enough ! The water’s edge was in certain spots lined with a yellow-orange foam…very special!
Boulders and volcanic rock formations
Our next stop was Höfði where we saw boulders in the water that looked like sculptures. Very picturesque!
Then we drove to Dimmuborgir, a place with volcanic rock formations. The English translation of the name is ‘Dark Castles’ and indeed, it looked a bit like that but a more appropriate name would certainly be ‘land of trolls’. Several short walks were indicated at the entrance. We did not see the entire site, but certainly enough to get a good idea of the area.
Lunch in the Mývatn area
During our trip, we came across a farm, Vogafjós, where it was possible to have lunch. We decided to stop as it looked amazing.
We opted for the sharing plate with homemade mozzarella, smoked lamb/salmon and raw salmon in dill. Lava bread was served on the side. We finished with a chocolate cake covered with pistachios and caramel. We immediately made reservations for the evening as the other dishes that were served looked also very tasty.
Yellowstone in Iceland
Then we drove to the geothermal power station and the viti crater, the favourite place of the pesky flies ! The constant noise at this place reminded us of jets flying over.
We continued our way and stopped at Leirhnjukur where we took a walk between an old lava flow and fumaroles (openings in the earth’s crust through which gases escape). We also saw bubbling mud. A great place for photo’s !
Final stops of the day were Námaskarð (muddy hot springs), Hverir (boiling mud pits) and the Sulfuric smoker. Like the previous stop, the whole thing was reminiscent of Yellowstone (In miniature of course !). Therefore the ‘wow’ factor was slightly less than seeing the ‘real thing’ in mega format. However, it should not stop anyone from going there since it was still a fantastic landscape and above all a very nice photo opportunity !
Another great day in Iceland came to an end. Tomorrow we will drive to Akureyri with a pitstop in Húsavík.
