Today we explored the local Myvatn area, which is known for its local hot springs. The Myvatn area had been the location of a volcanic eruption which caused dramatic changes to the surrounding area. Today we visited the following sites:
- Dettifoss Waterfall
- Hverir
- Dimmuborgir Lava Labyrinth
- Grjótagjá Cave
We passed Dettifoss waterfall on the way in yesterday so we had a rough idea how to get there. Today had by far the worst wind we have seen yet. We had gale gust warnings of 20+m/s (72 km/hr) and of course I didn’t head the warnings too well. We were on the main road to Dettifoss about 2.5 km in on the 10km road, when we came up on a tour bus going at a crawl. The road was listed as a 90 and the bus was going about 60. The bus was going to Dettifoss falls but oddly was driving in the wrong lane. He was completely in the incoming traffic’s lane but luckily no one was coming. So of course I am start to slow down as we approach the bus in the proper lane. I sit behind him but in my lane for a few seconds until I decide I want to pass him (I didn’t really want to try crop out other tourist from my pictures). So as I saw him drive more over onto the wrong side I assumed he was letting me pass. I sped up and, wham as soon as I reached the bus a guest of wind knocked us into the snow covered shoulder. Since I was reaching an over taking speed the snow literally just ate up the car and pulled us in. Within seconds we were stuck 5 m off the side of the road.
Now this is the thing about driving in the snow, you are screwed if you can’t get any momentum and your wheels just spin. Luckily we had our heavy 4×4 with studded snow tires, but even with them I couldn’t get any forward movement. Just a small amount of backwards movement. So I rocked the car. Back and forth. Until we got enough speed to try and turn to climb the side of the road. Didn’t work as our car was parallel to the road. Swinging the wheel around didn’t do much since the front tires don’t have enough traction to do anything. I relied quite heavily on a previous Canadian winter experience, and reversed the car. By doing so the back tires take most of the brunt of the snow and the front tires have some traction. So I was able to swing the car perpendicular to the road and point the car at it. Unfortunately by doing so we got stuck in some deeper snow.
So back to square one, I rocked the car back and forth again. While we were rocking a elderly British couple drove by and stopped in front of us (in a bad spot since if we did get free they were directly in our way). They kindly offered to help by getting the ranger from Dettifoss waterfall and we kindly accepted their offer while I waited for them to move. Once they were on their way I continued the rocking process earning us foot by foot more room. Until finally our front tires made it to the top of the road, but they didn’t have enough traction and they started to spin again. I knew we were free at this point as I backed the car up. We made one final push after making sure no traffic was coming. We jumped up on to the road and were free. We were about 5 minutes behind the elderly couple as I sped up to catch up to them to let them know we were okay. As we drove the rest of the way we caught up to that bus and got stuck behind it again. This time I decided to wait and not waste another quarter tank of fuel.
Dettifoss falls is quite nice if you can make it there with out being blown away, both in car and on foot. When we got to the parking lot everyone was holding onto their cars as they attempted to walk towards the falls. we dawned our crampons again and marched towards the falls. The path was only 700m long but felt quite longer as the wind pushed us. Our crampons allowed us to walk at a normal pace instead of the snail speed everyone else was going at but we still had to lean quite heavily to advance. Overall Dettifoss falls is quite pretty, has two viewing points (one is much better then the other and is labeled accordingly). We managed to get to both viewing points unscathed but had lots of fun walking in the wind. These conditions most likely make everything quite difficult but if you come prepared nothing is unreachable. There is a second set of falls nearby as well but it was too windy and no one was going that way so we decided to skip it as well.
Hverir is a set on hot springs that super heat water deep underground. This causes steam and hydrogen sulfide to rise to the surface. So the end results you see large bubbles forming in the pools and the smell of sulfur is strong. Since hydrogen sulfide is released, the surrounding hot springs are acidic. This makes the surrounding area unsafe not only due to the low pH but high temperatures as well. Nothing grows here and it smells like rotten eggs. All the mud in the area has a reddish tinge to it giving the feeling of being on Mars. It’s quite a unique experience up until the smell makes you sick.
we stopped off for lunch at Cáfe Sel near Lake Myvatn. I had a smoked trout on rye bread and Yve had a vegetable cheddar soup. The smoked trout is recommended by lonely planet. Both dishes were okay, soup was on the saltier side and you definitely have to be in the right mood for the smoked trout as it was a little fishy.
Dimmuborgir Lava Labyrinth is a pretty fun stop. Its right next to Lake Myvatn and there are washrooms (cost 200 ISK), a gift shop and a cafe on site. There are several hiking paths, ranging from easy to difficult. The twisting paths of the labrynth can be quite confusing and we actually got lost from our path. There are quite a few maps found through out the stone maze so we were able to navigate out eventually. While walking through, there is a small scavenger hunt where you look for the 13 trolls that are living in the labrynth (part of the local lore). You can see the camps and caves that they live in while you walk along the red trail of the park. They explain at the beggining of the park that the labrynth was created when the lava poured into a local lake, causing steam to rise and create void channels in the lava. Once hardend the lava pillars are all that remain of the lake. The lava labrynth is defintely an easier activity on the windy days as the rock pillars block out most of the wind and we were able to hike in peace.
Grjótagjá local hot springs was used in Game of Thrones for “that” scene with John Snow and Yrgitte. So the hot springs have become quite the popular site. Just off the main road it is a little hard to find if you turn down the wrong street. The cave it self is quite dark and steep when descending, as well the water was too warm to swim in. Just touching it started to burn after a while. The temperature of the water in the cave changes day to day especially when there is seismic activity.
For dinner we went back to the local restaurant Dalakofinn, were we split a large pizza. I’ve accepted the fact now that just for food it will cost a couple around $50 CAD, and if you want drinks its about another $15. Surprisingly the 16″ pizza cost just over 2600 ISK and fed us with some leftovers. The pizza was quite good considering how large it was and how many orders they were getting at the time.
Tomorrow we leave Myvatn and Laugar area to head North West. We cross most of Iceland to reach West Iceland just below the Western Fjords.
-Dan
P.S. No astro. The website couldn’t track the clouds to well with the gusty winds. Basically it’s never right. I’m not sure if we will get to shoot the stars or see the northern lights.
YipYip 