Gigur Hotel Myvatn

... flooded a large area. That area now is a several mile long plain of volcanic ash (looks like black sand), and rocks. It did not photograph well, but was quite impressive. It washed out the main highway as it carried huge ice boulders along with all the other debris out to sea.<br><br>The next series of photos shows Mt. Hekla, famously mentioned in Moby Dick. Mt. Hekla is one of the two most destructive volcanoes in ...

... br><br><br><br> Après un voyage de quelques minutes, la fusée ayant fonctionné parfaitement, nous alunissons près de Reykjalid, pas très du cratère de Viti (en langue lunaire, cratère de l'enfer) La base autrefois utilisée par les Russes est encore là dans le même état vétuste. <br><br><br><br><br><br> A pied nous partons à la d ...

... a nice variety of flowers. We ate lunch at a restaurant there before continuing around the lake. The west shore is primarily a protected preserve for nesting birds so there is no hiking, and we saw few birds here. We did stop at the fairly new Bird Museum where we could take a close look at hundreds of mounted bird specimens. Then back to camp on the northeast shore. <br><br>One of the ...

... with bright red sand and orange rocks. The fissures were stone cairns, chalky white with lime green pustules of cotton baton mineral build-up. Even now we can see the steam rising in the distance. At 10pm yesterday we drove through the steam fields, it was like a bleak caricature of industry with greasy trucks and steel cauldrons stet up around the valley. In some ways it was like how one might picture Hell. But it was awesome to see ...

Today I got up early and headed for the tephra ring (crater) Hverfell. It´s about 5km to get from town to the top. On the way you pass two hotsprings that are really cool. The first, Stóragjá, you used to be able to swim in but now it´s only 20deg and full of algae. The second one, Grjótgjá, is really beautfil and is in this cool cave that you can climb into, but the water is too hot for swimming (45deg). I ...

What an incredible day! First I took the bus to Mývatn with my British friend from yesterday (I never got her name so I´ll call her Sally). It was a 2-hour ride so I thought I´d read, but the scenery is just so crazy that there´s no way I could. My original plan was take a route that stops at the waterfall Dettifoss on the way, but this would have cost an extra $60 or so so i decided not to. Next time... We arrived in Mývatn, which is ...

... yet as we are still hiding in the hotel waiting for breakfast. Someone said they don't bite -- they just swarm into your nose and mouth. Lovely. good source of protein. Not sure I believe th no biting thing though so out comes the Buzz Off clothes nd the jungle juice. Which is always nice as it doubles for nail polish remover. Off to tour the lake and watch the whales.

... water and colourful landscapes. I must say that we in NZ do bubbly mud far better than what´s here in Iceland, but it´s pretty cool here all the same. Fizzing, bubbling and colourful things are always fascinating. The other thing that´s great about the geothermal activity here is that you can walk around it all for free (have to pay in NZ) AND you walk at your own risk! So, if you fall in and get burned, it´s your ...

... The low clouds and drizzle dampened our view and enjoyment of the site.  Magnus met us at the road and we drove into Krafla Caldera, passing the geothermal power plant.  The wind and rain at the Viti shortened our visit.  The lighting did not show the spectacular colors I've seen there in the past.            We drove to the Leirhnjükar parking lot and ate lunch on the bus to keep out of the weather.  The rain stopped ...

... we were getting more hungry than concerned when the lost boys finally returned. They had taken a wrong turn and ended up at the Mývatn Nature Baths. Motley made some superb salmon patties for dinner. After dinner, I took a much-needed shower. It felt great. I went to my tent and wrote for a while before turning in around 11:30.