We did not drive that many miles today but the variety of landscapes we saw was incredible. We started by driving through the biggest valley we’ve ever seen! It took us 45 minutes and it was just ONE valley. We saw just five other cars. One of them was a local who sped by us like he was Max Verstappen. We drove through what looked like a gravel pit. Miles and miles of gray rock – no vegetation which meant no cute sheep to look at. (It occurred to me today that Iceland produces a lot of lamb, it’s more common on their menus than anything else, even their hot dogs are made from lamb. What occurred to me was all the sheep we see must have babies in the spring. I don’t want to think about that so it’s a good thing we came in the summer/fall!) But I digress… we also drove through what looked like Mars and fall!
It look us 35 minutes on a gravel road to get to Dettifoss , which is located in Vatnajökull National Park – It’s the most powerful waterfall in Europe.
Sellfoss is another beautiful horseshoe shaped waterfall just next door to Dettifoss. It’s a 3 mile (round trip) hike scrambling over boulders. They have the trail marked by yellow posts so you don’t get lost going over all the rocks.
The wind started to pick up while we were at Sellfoss. It was 30 mph with guts to 40. That 30 mph was constant! It did not let up even for a second. It was so windy I told Jon I couldn’t even think. It almost blew me over… I am NOT kidding. Jon said it was the worst conditions he’s ever tried to take pictures. This area didn’t even have a yellow alert. That’s what Safe Travel, the Iceland app, gives weather conditions that are dangerous.
After recovering from the wind we decided to brave it again and get out of the car at HVERIR which is a geothermal area with sulphur mud pots and steam vents. You could see the area from a few miles away. The brown, orange and yellow colors were a stark contrast to what we had been driving through. There was a strong smell in the air of rotten eggs due to the sulfur!
Our hotel has hot tubs – not the kind that we have back home. These are filled with the geothermal water from deep in the earth. They look just like the ones we have at home but they most definitely are not the same. As is Icelandic tradition, you must take a complete shower before you enter. Since they do not have outdoor showers they gave us robes and told us we could shower in our room. It felt so good after the wind. Today’s temp was 50 but with the wind it felt like 39 degrees.
We ate dinner at the best restaurant in Northern Iceland. The hotel recommended it and called to make reservations for us. It was another farm-to-table restaurant where they grow everything they serve. Just like the ice cream place, the dining room had a window into the barn. We stopped to pet the cows on the way out.
Finally Jon gave me a heart attack getting so close to the edge of Dettifoss.
BONUS
I thought I had finished the blog for the night… but our phone rang at about 10 pm. We signed up to be notified if there were Northern Lights. The cameras on the roof had detected some. Ring, ring, ring!
We drove 3 minutes up the road to get away from the light pollution – at least that’s what the lady at the front desk recommended. I thought it was cute. She considered the 4 buildings in the village to be light pollution.
I could see them out my window as we drove! We watched them for ~ 2 hours before the clouds came. They filled almost the entire sky! The last hour or so we watched them from the car since it was still windy and cold. Here’s two that I took just using my iPhone. A bucket list item for me!
Two that Jon took that turned out much better!
Halfway Round the Planet, Part 2 