Fire and ice: Iceland road trip, day 5

Examples of local food in Iceland: lamb, salmon

Our final day in Iceland was typical with rain and wind and cold. We had all day so we decided to head out to the Golden Circle area that is most often visited as a day trip from Reykjavik. As was to be expected, the area was crowded with busloads of tourists. And because it was raining and cold, we didn't walk around much. Marko explored the Þingvellir area where Iceland established its first parliament in the year 930.

Þingvellir

We then went out to the geothermal area where it stopped raining just enough so that we could walk around outside. Compared to the many geothermal areas I visited in New Zealand earlier this year where I saw water and steam gushing from the ground, there wasn't much of the same in Iceland. It seems that in Iceland they don't make tourist attractions from their geothermal sources but rather build power plants and swimming pools in such areas.

Geothermal area

Finally we made a stop at the Geyser, the originally discovered geyser after which all subsequent geysers in the world are named. The original geyser actually erupts infrequently but there is a smaller geyser nearby where eruptions happen about every 10 minutes. It's not too difficult to catch an eruption on camera.

Geyser eruption

And just like that our Iceland trip was over. We saw evidence of fire from the volcanoes and we saw ice in the form of glaciers. That's why they call it fire and ice. The natural beauty of the country was even better than I imagined.

As is so often the case, Iceland remains on my list of places I would visit again. Because we planned our vacation around the Reykjavik marathon in August, we missed the midnight sun which happens during the last week of June and we didn't see the northern lights which are visible only in winter. All I can now say is: "Good bye Iceland, we may be back some day."

Fire and ice: Iceland road trip, day 4

The roads have high poles in anticipation of snow

There was a snow warning for the following day. All drivers were advised to stay away from higland roads and tourists were advised to plan their trips accordingly. It was August, still summer in our minds, but Marko and I weren't sure how serious the snow warning was so we decided it best to get back closer to Reykjavik as we were due to return our rental campervan the next day anyway. Besides, it was cloudy and rainy again and there isn't much to do in such weather. We originally thought we might drive to the northwestern fjords but there was no point going there in complete fog. So we just drove to get as much distance on the ring road covered as we could.

Getting sheep home from pasture

The snow warnings seemed to be serious as we saw local people herding sheep from highland pastures closer to their homes. And many roads already had high poles along the sides in anticipation of snow. We later learned that the snow warning was taken so seriously by the locals because the year before, they had a snowstorm on September 12 and it was so sudden that many of their sheep froze. So this year they were better prepared for the onset of winter.

More rain and more waterfalls

We had to make breaks during the long drive but these were quick stops to take a photo and quickly return to the warmth of the car. I didn't even bother to go out each time we stopped, allowing Marko to go out in the rain, wind, and cold.

Rainy, windy, cold

Our last night on the road was miserable. Although we had the campervan with heating, which is much more comfortable than a tent (and yes, there were people camping in tents in the campground, I really felt sorry for them), there still wasn't anywhere we could go or anything we could do in the evening. It was not only raining, it was also getting considerably cooler, the temperature dropping to 6 degrees Celsius. We finally discovered that a nearby gas station had an adjoining fast food restaurant and mini supermarket and we just sat there in relative comfort, reading and having hot drinks until it was time to go to sleep.

Fire and ice: Iceland road trip, day 3

Hraunhafnartangi, northernmost point of Iceland

This was a historic day for us. We came to Hraunhafnartangi, the northernmost point of mainland Iceland (there is an island further north) that is just 3 kilometers away from the Arctic circle. It is the closest we have ever been to the Arctic circle and the closest I hope to ever be. Ironically, it was another pleasant sunny day and the warmest we had while in Iceland. It didn't really feel like we were getting closer to the North Pole.

Raufarhöfn

Lighthouse in Raufarhöfn

We stopped at Raufarhöfn, a nearby village with a bright orange painted lighthouse. They are building the Arctic version of the Stonehenge which will eventually become a massive stone structure aligned just so to be able to catch the rays of the midnight sun.

Arctic Stonehenge

These northern parts of Iceland are quite deserted and we often found ourselves alone on the ring road in the middle of nowhere. The road once again left the coast and led inwards, towards the snow capped mountains.

Endless road

Our destinaton for spending the night was lake Mývatn, a popular tourist vacation spot around the picturesque lake full of volcanic islands.

Lake Mývatn

Our welcoming committee was a swarm of midges! We didn't expect to encounter midges in Iceland because there is so much wind. But these are a special kind of Arctic midge, big and fat and obviously adapted to the wind. They were all over us, in our eyes, ears, mouths. We had to pull our hoods over our heads and stay indoors as much as possible or walk very quickly to outrun them.

Big fat midges (you can see the black spots in the photo)

The area around lake Myvatn is obviously volcanic which we could tell while walking through lava fields.

Lava field

We finished our day by soaking in the Mývatn Nature Baths. The water source is very hot but the temperature tapers out as you wade further away so you can find a temperature that suits you. The water is full of minerals and has a slight sulfuric smell. These nature baths are the second largest in Iceland, not as popular as the Blue Lagoon (where we didn't go because we thought it would be too touristy) but still very pretty and enjoyable.

Mývatn Nature Baths

Fire and ice: Iceland road trip, day 2

Sunny day in Iceland

We woke up into a beautiful morning with clear blue skies. After spending a week in Iceland with almost constant rain it was such a pleasant surprise. The temperatures rose during the day to as much as 16 degrees Celsius, making Marko go out in short sleeves and allowing me to strip down my layers of clothing to just one cardigan.

We drove along the coast, following the ring road along fjords, admiring the beautiful sunny day and nature all around us. The pastures were full of grazing sheep and horses and the waters abundant with countless bird species.

Sheep

Horses

Swans

The road led us inwards over a pass where a severe wind was blowing but it was still sunny and the views were magnificent.

Windy mountain pass

We visited Lake Lagarfljót which was muddy and unimpressive. But we stopped because the lake is known for alleged sightings of a worm monster, the Lagarfljótsormurinn or what we understand to be the Icelandic version of the Loch Ness monster. We didn't see any monsters which is good because seeing one is supposed to bring bad luck.

Lake Lagarfljót

We spent the night in Vopnafjörður, another one of many pretty little sleepy fishing villages.

Vopnafjörður

Fire and ice: Iceland road trip, day 1

Southern Iceland from the ring road

The only way to visit Iceland properly is by road trip. Marko and I hired a campervan to drive the ring road all the way around the country. We asked the lady who handed over our vehicle for directions to get out of Reykjavik. She eagerly punched the name of a town into the Garmin navigation device and waved us along.

A pretty church in a small town

We allowed the Garmin to lead us and thus we ended up in a town where we learned our first lesson: supermarkets in Iceland don't open until 11:00 AM. We were there almost an hour earlier. We needed supplies for our road trip so we decided to wait by browsing through brochures in the adjoining tourist information office and then by having coffee in a nearby coffee shop, both of which were open. Traveling through Iceland is easy. Everyone speaks English and plenty of tourist information is available.

One of many waterfalls

As we continued our way along the ring road, we excitedly stopped for our first sight, a waterfall. It wasn't until many waterfalls later that we realized that the country is so abundant with waterfalls, they aren't really attractions.

Lava field

The scenery became more interesting as we approached first an intriguing lava field and then the two glaciers on the south, first the Mýrdalsjökull and then the much larger Vatnajökull. They looked ominous with their icy flanks reaching out from behind mountains and their upper sections vanishing into the clouds.

Vatnajökull glacier

The most majestic and amazing sight was when we reached the point where the Vatnajökull glacier is melting into a short river that leads out towards the sea. This was my first encounter with a glacier up close and I was totally in awe with the huge proportions of the ice blocks that were floating out. The weather had cleared up and it was sunny so that the ice sparkled beautifully. But a fierce wind was blowing that seemed to remind me that we were still dealing with nature at its strongest.

Glacier melting

We ended our first day in Höfn, advertised as the lobster capital of Iceland. We decided to head into a restaurant to try the langoustine. It was delicious and came with beer made from glacier water.

Running in the rain, swimming in the rain

Rainy start of the race

Once again, I registered for a half marathon in an exotic location based on the photographs they advertise on their website. In much the same way as I thought it might be fun to run the Angkor Wat half marathon in Cambodia last year (in extremely hot and humid weather) I wanted to try the Reykjavik half marathon because I thought it would be nice and cool. The photographs on the website show runners in shorts and short sleeves running under a blue sky. The reality is rain, wind and cold.

But, what could I do once I was already there and ready to run. I dressed in warm running clothes which I brought with me just in case, gritted my teeth when stepping out of my pleasantly heated hotel into the awful weather and joined the hundreds of other runners who were there in the same conditions.

Running along the coast

The race route wound around the city in two large loops, allowing me to see the outskirts of Reykjavik that reach all the way to the ocean on two sides. I'm sure I wouldn't have gone to these areas otherwise so I'm glad that the race allowed me to go there.

View from the race route

Many local people were cheering us on along the route. There were music bands and makeshift cheering squads where people used pots and pans and wooden spoons to make noise. There were plenty of water stations where I forced myself to drink even if I wasn't thirsty. The water was so cold! No, it wasn't refrigerated, it was just standing outside where the temperature was about 9 degrees Celsius.

No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get my pace to under 7 minutes per kilometer. I used up too much energy just to keep going in the cold. I made it to the finish line without incident, happy that it was over and deciding that this was another of those experiences that feels good to have done but I wouldn't want to do again.

So happy this one was over!

After the race, Marko and I took advantage of the free entry vouchers for a swimming pool that were given to us in our race packs. We had heard that Iceland has numerous hot water swimming pools built around geothermal water sources. A soak in hot water in the Laugardalslaug swimming pool seemed just right after running in the miserable weather all morning.

And yet there was another unexpected element when I entered the swimming pool area: the pools are outdoors! Well, yes, it's fine to soak in the hot water, even outside in 9 degree weather when it's raining. But how does one get into the hot water? Through the changing rooms where it is first mandatory to shower before entering the pool and then by walking outside totally wet, wearing only a bathing suit. I ran straight into the hot water as fast as I could before freezing for good.

The temperature of the water in the swimming pool varies. It's very hot near the water source and cools down further away. Thus I could wade as close or as far away from the water source as I felt depending on how hot or cold I was. After the soak, my body was warmed up so much that it wasn't too difficult to get out of the pool again and walk outside back to the changing rooms. And I felt warm even for hours after that. Yes, Icelanders definitely know how to keep themselves warm.