Looks like we made the right decision with yesterday’s itinerary. Today’s weather was completely the opposite. We woke up to fog, cold, and drizzle and scrambled to pack up our things and leave the cottage. Made one last stop in Husavik to try the bakeri. I was overally impressed with the pastries we picked up this morning. Joe liked what tasted like rye bagels and a chocolate chip muffin top while I preferred only the bottom part of a chocolate covered cinnamon roll of sorts.
From Husvik, we drove south towards Myvatn around 10am and arrived within an hour. Once again the landscape changed as we drove around the perimeter of the lake. In Myvatn, there is a huge lake with ducks surrounded by lava rock structures and stretches of rocks covered in yellowish moss/vegetation. Many craters of various sizes and a volcano lie outside along the edge. I can’t even really describe what it looked like except to say that the volcano/rock rising out of the water somehow reminded me of Lanakai Beach in Hawaii.
We made several stops along the road. First we walked through Dimmuborgir, an area that had rock “castles” where yule lads supposedly lived (Christmas elves). Picture land of trolls! (p.s. We actually saw a troll in Alafoss yesterday…just like the once everyone collected in the 90s!) We quickly braved the cold, windy rain for another stop at Krafla, an active volcanic crater that could erupt any day. Stopped at some hot mud pots as well where steam was rising high in the air. Lots of geothermal activity in this area. We drove by several smelly plants where the steam was rising and the air was pure sulfur, a smell I still can’t get use to in the hot water here.
Our final stop in Myvatn was at the geothermal Nature Baths (Jardbodin vid Myvatn). I’m not crazy about swimming on a warm day nevermind a rainy, windy one, so I opted to stay dry inside the cafe. Joe will have to give a description of the baths. In the meantime, a few words about the food. The only things we disliked about Switzerland was the cost of everything, especially food. Guess we had no idea what we were in for in Iceland. Food here is ridiculously expensive. A small cup of soup served with a small iceburg salad for dinner last night was 2,500kr ($25 USD) and beer was 1000kr ($10 USD). On the other hand, fish and chips was just a little more than you would pay at home at 1,900kr ($19 USD). I guess when you get things that are local and not imported you can keep the cost down so you have to chose wisely. Only thing is…not much is local! Luckily today I found a large bowl of mushroom soup with sundried tomato bread for 1,100kr ($11 USD). It was perfect on such a raw day. Thought about getting hot chocolate but they pretty much use only Swiss Miss mix here which just isn’t rich enough for me! I went for the water instead. One good thing about the food here: Iceland is proud of their glacial water so they keep free pitchers on every counter that you can help yourself to.
From Myvatn, we set off for 7+ hrs of driving to southeastern Iceland starting at 2:45pm. The first two hours brought us inland through the rolling hills and past many small waterfalls until we reached the town of Egilsstadir where we stopped for gas and food. Saw signs along the way for reindeer but much to our dismay, we didn’t see any. Therefore, when Joe and Chris saw reindeer burgers on the menu, they couldn’t resist. The burgers were topped with blue cheese and served with spicy fries. Laur and I went for the much safer bet of Kjoris ice cream (more like fro-yo, but not bad). From here, the road went up through the mountains, past several tall waterfalls, and into the valleys, and alternated between paved and gravel surfaces until we reached the coast and ocean. The road then followed the inets on the coast winding in and out of tall cliff peninsulas, some green (think Napali Coast-ish) and others snow-capped. Even in the rain that has been steady all day, it was very scenic. We encountered just a few other vehicles on the two-lane roads and even fewer homes or buildings. As we got closer to Hofn, we were on a raod that reminded me of the Pacific Coast Highway with the ocean waves crashing below. Made a quick stop in Hofn for gas, then continued on our way to our guesthouse at on the water at Gerdi.
We made it to Gerdi just around 10pm with still lots of daylight, of course. Our room had plenty of space for four and was very clean. It also came with sheets, pillows, and towels which you normally have to pay extra for. The guesthouse had a trailer out back with cooking facilities. Chris whipped up some tortellini and buttered noodles for dinner. Took advantage of our clean room for a long, warm shower before bed that for once was sulfur-free!
No comments:
Post a Comment