Jeffrey Donenfeld

Tag: Myvatn

  • Iceland Day Five – Myvatn to Seydisfjordur

    Iceland Day Five – Myvatn to Seydisfjordur

    Today we woke up bright and early in the small lakeside town of Reykjahlíð, surrounded by the apocalyptic volcanic landscape of the Myvatn region.

    The entire area surrounding Myvatn Lake is bubbling with volcanic activity, and remains very active to this day. It sits on top of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and had a landscape unlike anywhere else in Iceland. Scanning the horizon, you can see plumes of sulfur steam coming from vents, and volcanic cones and craters looming.

    We started the day after packing up the campsite by driving straight over to the nicest, and only hotel in town, Hotel Reykajahlid for a long awaited buffet style breakfast. We got our helping of eggs and bacon and toast, and then headed out to hike up to the Hverfell volcanic crater. The 463m high crater is about 2500 years old, and was formed as part of the Ludentarhid eruption. After a brief hike around there, surveying the dry crater with recently created lava dome at the bottom, we hopped back in the car, and drove a short ways down the road to the Dimmuborgir area. Here, in recent geologic history, a large underground lake was covered with magma, which vaporized the lake, forcing steam out of the earth through large, spindly steam vents made of cooled lava. We did the hour long “Church Circle” hike around the whole area, exploring lava tubes, collapsed ceilings, and caves made by cavities in the lava. It was quite stunning to see how much diversity can be created from the variety of geologic events.

    After Dimmuborgir, we headed over for a long awaited soak in the Myvatn Nature baths. Here, the sulfur-rich water comes out of the ground at a scalding 100 degrees Celsius, and is eventually cooled to a manageable temperature, and pumped into a public pool. The experiences sitting in a bubbling, steaming, geothermally heated pool in this volcanic wasteland was very dramatic, and afterward, Sari, Petra and I relaxed in the cafe for some tea, before moving on.

    By far the most interesting stop of the day was the Leirhnjukur lava flow and Krafla Caldera. This field of hardened lava was created in 1727 and is so recent that there are still huge plumes of sulfur steam coming out of the rocks. The hike around was incredible, and it felt like we were in another world, with intricately hardened rock domes, needles, flows, and tubes running all over the place, amidst a fog of sulfur.

    Finally, before hitting the road to Sedisfjordur, we stopped at the bubbling mud field Namafjall. Here, the ground is still hot from volcanic activity, and the field is covered with bubbling pools of mud, superheated by the magma below. The terrible sulfur stench of the place was barely manageable, but we took a good walk around the area, and marveled at how many formations the volcanic activity could make.

    From there, we got back in the car, and and after dropping Petra off at the campground in Egilsstadir made it to our campground in Seydisfjordur.

    Tonight, this town has been amazing – we’re staying in the quaint campground, and made it over to the local restaurant/gallery/bar/coffee house for a round or two, and a chat with the locals.

    Tomorrow, we’re looking forward to a twisting drive down the eastern Icelandic coast, all the way to the mountain town of Skatafell.

  • Iceland Day Four – Akureyri to Myvatn

    Iceland Day Four – Akureyri to Myvatn

    Although Iceland lies far north, its only stake of the arctic circle lies in the middle of a small rock island in the North Atlantic called Grímsey.

    We woke up early this morning at Joseph’s apartment, and make a quick getaway back to the bus depot in the center of Akureyri. We took the local bus an hour up the fjord to the small fishing village of Dalvik. Dalvik was a quaint fishing village, and from there, we caught the Grimsey ferry to Iceland’s northernmost point, and the only spot that crosses the arctic circle, Grimsey.

    The ferry ride was 3.5 hours, and for the first 2 hours of the trip across to Grimsey, our boat was surrounded by a thick, surreal layer of fog. Since we were sailing directly north towards the arctic circle, it felt like we were going into an unknown apocalypse – random sea birds swooping out of the fog at us, occasional dolphins swimming with the ship, and a stiff breeze over the bow.

    In addition to being a passenger ferry, the ship also acts as Grimsey’s main lifeline for food and supplies. While all the passengers were loading on, forklifts also loaded the cargo hold with palates of groceries, farm equipment, and empty fish containers coming back from a successful day at the market.

    Once we had docked in Grimsey, we were greeted by some of the locals – there are only 90 or so permanent residents of this northern rock, and the only real source of outsiders is from the three-times-a-week ferry, or daily prop plane flights into its small landing strip. Because of the predictable weekly small influx of tourists, the one restaurant and one shop get staffed by a few of the local kids on just these days.

    Along with our new Czech friend Petra, the three of had a relaxing lunch at the one restaurant, and then started the northerly hike towards the arctic circle.

    The actual crossing is somewhat un-spectacular – a simple signpost and line for photos – but significant nonetheless. After the line, the hike continues north another hour, to the puffin-inhabited northern cliffs of the island.

    Our stay at the northern tip, looking off to the north pole was short, and after that we hiked back to the harbor to relax before our ferry ride back.

    We returned by ferry to Dalvik, and then by bus to Akureyri.

    Petra was still with us, and we piled back in the car, picked up Petra’s gear at the camping site, got a quick Indian Food dinner at the Curry Shack, and then hit the road for Myvatn.

    Tonight the three of us are camping by Lake Myvatn, and plan on waking up early tomorrow morning to try out the Myvatn Nature Baths, and then explore the volcanic landscape.