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Around Iceland in 14 Days August 2009 |
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East Coast |
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Saturday, August 22: We woke up to intermittent sunshine and 6 degrees C (42F). While we were making breakfast in the campground kitchen it started to drizzle so the tent got wet. Pity as it was crispy dry before we went for breakfast. In this county you must expect it to rain at any moment, even if there is blue sky around you. The local saying is, if it is raining now, just wait 30 minutes. We drove 45km (28 miles) back to where the jeep tour guide would pick us up to take us to the glacier. They picked us up at 9:30am. They drove us beyond the glacier valley to the icecap where there was a restaurant. They supplied us with helmets, overalls and boots. We were given a brief lesson on how to maneuver the snow mobile and then we all followed the leader at 20 to 35km/h. We were hoping to have a bit more freedom to ride around but we had to just follow in line. And, it was only about 15 minutes of drive time before we all stopped, got of and "had a rest". Then we all went single file back down. For about $100 / person it was most disappointing, though the view was pretty from up there. |
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From there we drove east along the fjörds, hugging the coastline to Neskaupstaður. This meant we got off the ring road. Most people skip the fjörd drive, which is a shame as it is breathtakingly beautiful. We were very fortunate to have crispy blue skies the whole way, which made it a very pleasant drive. It is a good gravel road with few guard rails and you are RIGHT on the edge of tall cliffs that bottom out at the lapping waves. As there is almost no traffic you feel like you are the only person out there. |
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We got to Neskaupstaður at 7:30pm and started looking for the campground. We found one at the very end of town - the road doesn't go any further - but the water was turned off in the bathroom. Luckily we saw the town policeman driving our way so we flagged him down and asked where we could camp. He took us to the "other" campground which was free to camp and had free, hot showers. They even had free hookups for campers. In all it was a very nice place to stay as it was quiet and we had a view of the mountainside behind us and the little town along the water below us. |
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Sunday, August 23: We started the day off with a wonderful, hot shower, packed up and drove back to where the road ends. The blue skies of the day before we replaced with heavy cloud all around us. We walked the trail a little to where you could see the other side of the fjörd, which is the most easterly point of Iceland. There is no road access to it so that was the closest we could get. We then headed back down Rt 95 and then north on Rt 926 to Húsey. |
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We got to Húsey (a horse ranch at the end of Rt 926) at noon. The farm lady convinced us to stay at her hostel rather than use our tent as she really didn't have the facilities for tent camping. So we made lunch in the kitchen and settled down on the comfortable couches in the streaming sunshine in the sunroom until we were so hot we had to move out of the sun. We lazed around reading until our riding time at 4:30pm. The sun was out but it was cool and windy outside. We set out with our guide, Anke, a German girl working at the farm for 3 months. There were just the two of us with Anke, which was lucky because that morning we saw her with a group of 14 people. The two horses we were riding were able to tolt, an additional gait not done by many horse breeds. It is like a very fast walk. You have to keep the reigns short and high, lean back and NOT clamp your legs around the horse. With almost no encouragement off they went. The white horse was better at tolt so we swapped horses halfway through to get a feel for this gait. If you clamp your legs around the horse, as you would instinctively do to hold on, that indicates to the horse that you want to gallop. And sure enough, clamp your legs and off they went. We were out for about 2 1/2 hours, riding along the beach and across grasslands. We even saw seals bobbing their heads out of the water to watch us go by. Anke let us ride where we wanted and go as fast as we wanted. It was a very enjoyable ride. Our room at the hostel could sleep 5 but we had the room to ourselves. We stayed out in the sunroom reading until bedtime. During the night it started raining and was still rainy, windy and cold when we got up the next morning. We were very lucky to have had sunshine for our ride the day before. We paid $100 for the two rides plus lodging for two. Not a bad deal. |
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Monday, August 24: We left the horse farm at 8:30 in the rain but within 30 minutes we were back in sunshine, heading to Mývatn. We were back on Rt1 so the number of cars on the road increased again. The guide book mentioned a lot to be done and seen in Mývatn so we were expecting to spend at least a day and perhaps two days there. We however found that the few interesting things to see in the area didn't take us long to see. |
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We stopped to look at the geothermal pools just before driving into Reykjahlíð. The smell of sulfur was really pungent. There was grey mud bubbling in pools and steam coming out of vents. It really looked unworldly. From there we drove down to the lake of Mývatn and went to the tephra ring, Hverfell, which is a near symmetrical crater stretching 1,040m across. It is quite an impressive crater. What struck me was the fact that there is absolutely nothing growing on it, not even weeds, and it is about 2,500 years old. |
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We walked a short trail at the lava field called Dimmuborgir with its oddly shaped pillars, arches and caves. There was a chill in the air but the sun was out so it was actually a really nice day. At about 4pm we went to the Nature Bath which is a hot spring spa just outside Mývatn. |
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The Nature Bath is similar to the Blue Lagoon near Reykjavík in that it has minerals, but it is all fresh water. We took the compulsory shower before heading outdoors into the cold windy air and quickly got under the water to warm up. There were hot areas and cool areas, and in general, the whole pool was just a bit too cold for my liking. After a time of lounging around I started getting cold, so we went to the area where the 100 degree C water enters the pool. The problem with this is that you get boiling hot water occasionally flowing right at you and you quickly have to swish the water around to mix it with the cooler water or it will burn you. It was an interesting experience but my hair felt like straw afterwards. Apparently the minerals in the water cause that. |
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At 5:30pm
we started heading for Dettifoss. The road was the worst gravel road
we traveled on the whole trip. Most of the way we could only go 20
km/h, but the waterfall was spectacular. It is a huge body of water
going over the edge with a loud roar. We made dinner in the
parking lot at Dettifoss then went the rest of the way of terrible
washboard to camp at Ásbuyrgi. It was a very nice campground with
multiple showers, a good sized kitchen and washers and dryers. |
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