Myvatn, Maars and Mars

Myvatn

Myvatn is yet another ‘must see’ of Icleand. Julie and I had been very much looking forward to visiting, after seeing pictures, reading and listening to other traveller’s stories. The area is full of remnants of volcanic activity, birdlife, and active geothermal sites.

Our first win was that it really was a short drive from our ‘campsite’ at Godafoss. The area of Myvatn with most of the sights is also fairly small so it’s easy to explore this diverse part of Iceland in a day or so.

Dimmuborgir

The first stop was the Dimmuborgir lava fields. These were so different from the lava fields at Beserkersville. The rocks formed really cool shapes, reminding me of the Dark Crystal. Continue reading

The Long Way Round – getting off Route 1, Iceland

From Route 1 to Kicks on Route 76

Having a campervan and wanting to see as much as possible of Iceland in a week means a lot of driving. Julie and I had put in a lot of kilometres since Reykjavik and the Golden Circle so we’d planned a shorter drive after our pony trek, hoping to arrive in our next stop of Akureyri before dinner time (a first on this trip). However, we were persuaded by the talk from the folk at Hestasport to take the time to explore the peninsula on the way. Being told it was one of the best drives in Iceland and that we’d pass through the fishing village which is the setting of an Icelandic TV show Julie was watching, Trapped, convinced us.

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One Sunny Day in Iceland: Hvammastangi

There was one sunny patch in Iceland. The northwest.

Julie and I eventually escaped the rain and clouds on Snaefelsnes Peninsula and, after a reasonably short drive, found ourselves in a sunny (but windy) Hvammstangi, a coastal village on the Midfjordur (fjord) on Vatnsnes Peninsula. Hvammstangi is known for being a top seal watching place. We did not see any seals.

We did see an old church, which kept me amused for about 10 minutes. This church at Kirkjuhvammur (funny, ‘kirk’ means ‘church’ in Scots as well) was built in 1882 but there has been a church on the site since at least 1318. That’s a pretty long time.

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Iceland – The Golden Circle to Snaefellsnes Peninsula

The Last of the Golden Circle

Driving along winding roads, we passed calm still rivers and gushing waterfalls, seemingly at every turn. The day was still incredibly windy but there was a lot more sunshine. The sunshine seemed to bring even more clouds so Julie and I were keen to head north.

After turning off one minor road we came to an unusual looking peak. There didn’t seem to be too many cars so we pulled in (the cars and buses arrived moments later). We had found ourselves at Kerid.

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