The northeastern coastline of Iceland
Day 11 in Iceland. Halfway through our Iceland trip, feeling extremely satisfied with all the wonders of nature we had visited so far. Next on our agenda was the discovery of the Diamond Circle with the highlights of the North.
It was going to be a very long day because we had chosen to drive to Mývatn via the northeastern coastline. We had seen pictures of the Arctic Henge and decided this was something we wanted to see with our own eyes. The first stop on our route was the fishing village of Vopnafjörður. There was a small harbour and it even looked like a cruise ship had docked here but we were not really sure as the village itself did not appear to be a big tourist location.
The second stop was the Arctic Henge in Raufarhöfn. It reminded us a bit of Stone Henge, however, it wasn’t quite finished yet. As expected, there were not many visitors to look at this artistic construction since it was a bit off the beaten track.
The village itself had a lovely little church as well as a very small harbour. All in all a pleasant photostop that we did not regret !
The Diamond Circle – Ásbyrgi Canyon
The third stop was the Ásbyrgi Canyon … So beautiful, a real surprise since we had not expected it! We did a walk in the canyon itself and visited a number of lookouts where we could see the canyon in its entirety. Very picturesque!
The Diamond Circle – Waterfalls
Then we set course for some powerful waterfalls… First we saw Hafragilsfoss. We walked to the edge of the abyss to take a few pictures. It was possible to walk further along the rising water but unfortunately we didn’t have time for this.
The second waterfall was the most powerful in all of Europe, Dettifoss. We were glad we had chosen the Eastern side… to get there it took about an hour on a gravel road but it was totally worth it since it was the most photogenic side to photograph the waterfall without getting wet. The power of the water was enormous…
Then we clambered over boulders to the road that would lead us to Selfoss. This was undoubtedly the most beautiful waterfall of the day, at least for us.
The small pesky flies were typical of the new environment. Luckily we had brought fly nets from home and they came in handy here! The excellent preparation of our Iceland trip turned out to be worth its weight in gold.
The Diamond Circle – Mývatn
Finally we drove another hour to Mývatn where we rented the Aska Modern cabin with a view of the lake. The doors and windows had to remain closed because the number of flies wanting to get in could not be counted…. a pity because it was very hot inside… Later in the evening we were able to open the window a bit without letting in too many flies.
It was a very long but beautiful day… We were on the road for 10 hours, so a big ‘thank you’ to the driver!
