Relaxing, Iceland Style

     After a short drive (well...2.5 hours which is short for Iceland), we departed Egilsstaðir and landed at the Myvatn Nature Baths.  The drive was pretty tame compared to the last couple of days, but the landscape change constantly.  We drove up through black mountains that looked zebra striped with snow, crossed over long barren stretches of rocks and old lava flows where you could almost see just how the liquid rock oozed from the crater, cooled, and cracked into its final rocky state, and finally came to a terrain many compare to the surface of Mars.  The red rocks and craters are home to dozens of fissures, crater lakes, and our first stop of the day, the Myvatn Nature Baths.

     The milky blue of the water at the spa comes from the combination of sulfur, silica, and various salts, and algae.  It's heated naturally from the middle of the earth, and that all comes together in a wonderfully lovely hot bath in the middle of the mountains.  The colors are amazing, and after our last couple of crazy days of driving, it was a much needed rest for us all.  We got there right after it opened and stayed a couple of hours...just before all the tour buses arrived for the day.  Score!  We scurried back to the camper with wet hair, wrinkled skin, and hungry bellies, and after a delicious lunch of Ramen noodles, we hit the road again.

     After leaving the hot baths, the next stop was just a short 45 minute drive away and is one of the most iconic waterfalls in Iceland.  When I say there is a new waterfall at every turn, that's actually a lie.  Sometimes, there are 5 or 10 waterfalls in just a few miles, without any turns at all.  They are literally everywhere!  But, Goðafoss, or the Waterfall of the Gods, is the largest waterfall in Iceland in terms of the amount of water that rushes over the falls each minute.  We were able to view it from the east, hike a bit over to the west, and view it from there too.  We even went for a little hike down to the bottom of falls for another view and to taste the sweet water.  It's a well known fact that all water in Iceland is safe to drink, even right from the streams and rivers.  The falls were right off the Ring Road, so it was an easy and awe inspiring stop.

     After that last waterfall, we headed to the unofficial capital of Northern Iceland, Akureyri.  In order to get to the town more quickly, a 7 km tunnel was dug under one of the mountains.  It took us just a few minutes to drive through, and deposited us right next to the second largest town in Iceland, shaving off 1.5 hours of driving time on the Ring Road.  The town was lovely...nestled right in the side of a snow covered mountain, with a finger of the Atlantic Ocean right at its center.  Fishing is still a major export of the town, but it has grown up over the years into a vibrant community with a cute little downtown filled with fun shops, restaurants, and residences.  We ate dinner at the local fish-n-chips shop where Drew and I had plokkfiskur, a traditional mashed fish dish with potatoes, fresh cream, and a bechamel sauce on top.  It was incredibly rich and delicious!  We walked around the town square a bit before buying some more Icelandic treats at the local grocery store and heading back to the camper.  We are staying at Camping Hamrar, a very nice local camp ground just outside the town.  

The 7km tunnel...the longest tunnel we've ever driven through.

We found a hotel with my name...first a mountain in Hawaii, now a hotel in Iceland?

The candy was yummy, the cake tasted like powered donuts with icing, and the sodas were very sweet!

     Tomorrow is a day of mostly driving, but the scenery is supposed to change constantly again and be very interesting.  The last big thing on our to-do list here is to see the Northern Lights, and our best chance will be tomorrow on the western side of the country.  We all have our fingers crossed in hopes that we finally get to see them!