I think the biggest draw for me, when it comes to Iceland, is the scenery. The landscape and weather are predictably unpredictable. It rained pretty much every day we were there (all three trips), but not all day. We would start the day with some light rain, head out on the road, go around one of the millions of curves in the road or up another steep hill and suddenly the sun was shining. And that would go on pretty much all day. Some days were more sun than rain, and vice versa, but all days we were prepared for both, with our sunglasses ready and our rain gear in the back seat.
The day we set out to explore the Myvatn region, it was another very windy start. And rainy. A little chilly. We headed out towards the caldera Hubby had wanted to check out.
The rain was actually getting pretty heavy by the time we found it, but it was on the list. To me it looked like a pretty cool experience. So, slippery muddy path, pouring rain and wind be damned! I was walking up that hill!
I did not regret it. I only wish that it had been a little less slippery so that we could've walked a little farther up, but it was extra beautiful, I think, with the rain hitting the water.
But once my feet felt 50 pounds heavier, and I was having trouble walking straight and safely, we headed back down to level (paved) ground.
Once we decided our feet were too heavy, and the winds and rain were too strong at the higher altitudes of the caldera, we decided to press on with our adventure.
We had passed a parking area earlier that we agreed to check out once we found the caldera. Although I was excited to see there were restrooms...further investigation showed they were closed for the season. We did find some deeper puddles to clean some of the mud off our boots though.
We walked through more amazing lava fields as we saw the scenery changing.
()
We had stumbled upon another strange area of tan mud and steaming earth. The wind had really picked up and ...well, I really needed to find a place to relieve myself!
But, as with most of the places we found ourselves on this trip, I could've spent a whole day just completely mesmerized by the other-worldly landscape!
We headed back to grab pizza at one of the two restaurants in town, which luckily had a bathroom! YAY! That gave us the opportunity to visit one of the places Hubby had researched. This was one of those places with lots of walking trails, a small cafe and a souvenir shop. We headed out on a trail and stopped every 50 feet or so...so Hubby could add to his millions of pictures. It really is hard to stop yourself from just taking shot after shot. When you don't see lava field and waterfalls and high, snow covered mountain tops everyday, it really is breathtaking.
And there are sheep everywhere!
There are trolls in every rock formation. The stories really do get in your head.
And we found another cave. I love caves.
Once we finally found our way back to the parking lot, we headed back to the hotel. It was a long day of walking, but that is how our vacations always are. Iceland never disappoints with the scenery.
The past two years, because of my thorough research the first year, we always stop at the duty free upon arrival in Iceland, to get our booze. Alcohol is only sold at liquor stores, and the hours are unreasonable for Americans like us (most of them close at 5 or some ridiculous hour!). That meant, that after being awake for nearly 24 hours, and traveling for more than I like, we had to then make decisions on booze for the week AND think about currency conversion!
This year, Hubby suggested buying our booze before leaving Boston. It made a big impact. We spent the week rationing our Knob Creek, but we had whiskeys every night before dinner, occasionally after, and sometimes just to warm up in the middle of the day.
This night, I took mine by the room window and watched as the sky gave me this magnificent gift:
Clouds that Maxfield Parrish would swoon over!
After our 2 nights at the Fosshotel Myvatn, we headed out for our 2 day trip back to Reykjavik. It's actually only like a 4 hour drive, I think, but driving all day is a real bummer, so we divided the trip and decided to stop in Hvammstangi for the night. A town I pronounced correctly ('nailed it' as the receptionist put it)...but a town with not much more than a gas station, a swimming pool and one open restaurant. And our hotel was actually not in town, but just outside...not even close enough to walk.
It was a less than exciting evening, and the next day we were off to Reykjavik for our last night in Iceland. Always a real downer.