Hotel Reykjahlid Myvatn

... taken en route.<br><br>The next photo shows some columnar basalt which forms when lava cools relatively quickly. The basalt essentially chrystalizes into hexagonal columns. There are more impressive columns elsewhere in Iceland, but these were the easiest to reach by car. They are out on the Snaefellsness peninsula, an area with many volcanoes, although most of them are not active and have eroded down to crater "stubs ...

... br>Son message était effectivement brouillé par les glougloutages de la piscine lunaire construite par les chinois, au début de leurs explorations spatiales. <br><br><br><br><br><br>Quelques vues pour vous. <br><br><br><br><br><br>Au fait, il y bien de l'eau sur la Lune, mais un peu sale. <br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br ><br><br><br>

... flows covered with grey-green moss as well as those more recent that are still black.There is lava here from eruptions in 1724, 1975 and 1984. <br><br>The trail to the Krafla Fissure crosses lava rock passing steaming vents and boiling hotpots. It's an amazing experience to be in this place where the Earth is so obviously alive and active and constantly changing! <br> <br> <br><br><br><br>

... We can really believe that after our expeditions up the Oxi highway yesterday (really, over a mountain, giving true meaning to the word Highway). We, in our Subaru, climbed up up up nearly to the clouds and into the snow. At this moment we are driving in the mountains still and we have come across a frozen lake. Hard to imagine that until WWI, people have to commute along these mountains by foot for trade. It wasn't until 1987 that ...

... top had an amazing view of the lake and surrounding area, so i took lots of pictures. After that, I decided I wanted to go to the Mývatn Nature Baths (a hot springs very similar to the Blue Lagoon) to rest my muscles. It was 3km away and cost 1400isk ($20) but it was worth it! The water was so warm and relaxing, the surroundings were incredible (it´s totally in the middle of nowhere) and it was almost ...

... an active volcano) and then hike back to town from there (about 13km)...by the way, the town I stayed in (pop 100 or something) was called Reykjahlið. This was probably the coolest hike I´ve ever done (though I have a feeling I´ll probably be saying that more times on this trip). It started at a crater that was formed when they were digging a bore-hole for a geothermal power station and they hit a steam pocket which exploded. It ...

... Station, one of the largest geothermal power plants in Iceland. They started to build the plant in 1973 but were thwarted by something like 9 eruptions in 1975, one of which sent the drilling eqpt flying to about 3 km. away!! The eruptions also deflated the amount of power the plant would be able to generate but it opened up anyway in 1978. Krafla is expected to erupt again within the next couple of years. So right now there's all sorts of spewing ...

Day 8: July 14, 2007 Husavík, Ásbyrgi, and Dettifoss           Today was a day of exploration of a part of Iceland I had not visited before. After breakfast we drove to Husavík on the north shore and stopped for an hour to explore the town. Matt, Jeff, and I walked around the harbor and fotografed the fishing boats. The highlight of the town is unquestionably the Iceland Phallological Museum, where we had a Brevard College foto taken. I wonder what ...

... At the south end of the trail where marvelous tensional cracks leave little doubt of the tectonic stresses in the area, I climbed a steep hill to get a better view.  On the way up, I slipped and jammed my middle finger into the slope.  It looked really dislocated, but didn't hurt.  Magnus thinks it is broken but I think it is just sprained at the distal joint.              Everyone returned to the bus.  It was cloudy and ...

... came to the Blöndulón Reservoir where we stopped at the overlook and had a perfect view of the small Eiriksjökull ice cap.  I had forgotten what a perfect shield volcano it is.              After 80 km the road turned to asphalt.  We took it into Varmahlið , stopping above town at an overlook to view the Skagafjörður and glacial valley.  We ate lunch outside of the coffee shop/grocery store and then headed for Akureyri under pristine skies.  I guess I had ...