Iceland 3: July 9 - July 17

 Day 11, July 9: We spent today in the Lake Mývatn area, starting with the Krafla Volcanic Zone which included a couple of short hikes.  We checked into our hotel, Hotel Myvatn by Berjaya and grabbed a quick bite to eat.  We were a little overwhelmed by the hordes of tourists so skipped the big sites and opted for a 5 mile hike from the lava fields and up the side of a volcano and the around the top edge of the volcano.  

Viti - a volcanic crater in Krafla

Leirhnjúkur - geothermal area in Krafla

Leirhnjúkur -the other side

"My bottom is getting warm"

Dimmuborgir Lava Field - on the way to the crater

On top of the crater looking inside 

The hike went all the way around - and was pretty windy in spots

The path down the outside of the crater - it was a tough climb up and kind of a slide down

Dinner was back at our hotel- lamb and Arctic char. 

Day 12, July 10:  Today we drove around the "Diamond Circle" and spent some time at Dettifoss Waterfall and Ásbyrgi Canyon.  Dettifoss (which we call dentifoss) was huge and is Europe's most powerful waterfall.  

Dettifoss

To ensure we would be not overrun by tourists we picked an 8 mile hike in Ásbyrji Canyon and went there next. After about 1/2 mile we climbed up the side of the cliff on ladders and ropes and then continued the hike from there. It was pretty isolated where we were, but we could see the many tourists on platforms below us. After following the cliffs to the south, the hike turned to the east covering some rocky terrain until we made it to the river and turned north.  The trail back to the parking lot from there was very overgrown but we found our way back to the car before the rain. After the hike we had tickets to a bath house along the coast and then went back to our hotel to complete the circle.

On the cliff (just after we climbed up) in front of the canyon

At the edge of the cliff before turning east

Small surprise waterfall

Surprise rocky terrain on the way to the river

In front of the river

We named this rock "puppy dog rock"

Almost to the end of the hike in the overgrown grass

Soaking our sore feet at Geosea Geothermal Baths

Day 13, July 11:  Today we had a super jeep tour to Askja Caldera. Apart from being the only Icelandic name that is easy to pronounce, the Askja caldera is unique because it is a caldera within a caldera.

The super jeep tour was a full day leaving around 8am and returning at 7pm. Our first stop was at a small crater where we hiked to the top for some beautiful views while our guide deflated the tires for off-road driving. 

Views from the top of the crater

In front of Herðubreið "Broad Shoulder Mountain" or the "Queen of the Icelandic Mountains"

Filip vandalized a bus with a Filicki sticker at a bathroom stop

We stopped at the Herðubreiðarlindir fresh water springs next which included a small hike to a shelter of a legendary Icelandic outlaw who lived in this shelter for one winter (it was uncomfortably cold on our summer afternoon). 

At the springs - trailhead for the hike to the shelter

Our next stop was for lunch with only an 8k drive to the caldera followed by mostly flat 2.5K hike through the main caldera.  At the second caldera, we hiked down to the water and around- we were able to hike/climb to an area that was pretty isolated- and got a little nervous that we would have a hard time getting back, but we made it. 

Askja Caldera

In front of the Víti explosion crater

Red lava rock, black ask, snow, water, mountains...

On the drive home, our guide made a turn and said something about going "off-road" - keep in mind we were already very much "off-road".  We climbed a series of dirt hills, each progressing getting higher to a very high point on top. We got out of the car, and in true sun-downer fashion, he had a bottle of Brennivin, a traditional Icelandic spirit nicknamed "Black Death",  in the back panel of his jeep. We each had a thimbleful while Filip flew the kite.

Sundowners

Kite flying

Day 14, July 12: Today we moved over to the troll peninsula - although so far we have so no trolls. 

Our first stop along the way was at Goðafoss Waterfall. It was beautiful and for the most part we beat the cruise ship traffic.  (And bonus- there was no Parka!).  

We then drove into Dalvik and began a hike to a hut named Kofi- in what seemed to be a hut-to-hut hike. At first the hike was a little disappointing - mostly following a road but then once we got over the first pass it improved immensely - lots of shades of green, well marked and a good path that followed a stream. It was a very overcast day though so we couldn't see far. When we got to Kofi there was picnic table, the clouds parted and we were treated to beautiful mountains while we ate lunch.  After lunch we took the upper path back- this was not as smooth of a trail, lots of mud and water crossings - and not so great for our knees and ankles, but we made it back to the car without any new injuries and only one wrong turn.

Early in the hike

The many shades of green were incredible

A picnic table appeared and the clouds parted for our lunch

Filip continues to vandalize Iceland with Filicki stickers

One of our river crossings (the only one with a bridge)

Mountains with the stream

The views of the cliffs and ocean were pretty amazing as we drove along the peninsula to our hotel for the next 4 nights, the Soti Lodge - a small 7-bedroom house with views of the mountains (sadly not out our bedroom window).  Dinner was at the lodge.

Day 15, July 13: The day started with no real plan and we were a little unsure what we were going to do. AllTrails had almost no hiking trails (which seemed weird given the terrain), but after a little bit of research we discovered another hiking app - wikiloc - with many hikes on the Troll peninsula. We picked one to the highest point on Þórðarhöfði (although we didn't realize that was the destination until we got there).

The hike started with crossing a very rocky causeway to get to the island, fortunately it was low tide so we were able to do much of it through the marsh. The causeway was full of seabirds and sheep.  

Sheep along the causeway

When we crossed it was low tide and there were hundreds of rocks in the fog

Once on the island we were awed by the amazing views of the cliffs on the island- although the fog was so heavy that we couldn't see far into the sea. 

Cliffs reminded us a little bit of Point Reyes in California

We could just see the neighboring island through the fog/clouds

As we continued to climb up the ridge we got to the top of cliff and the fog lifted and we were surprised by the amazing views- and that there were neighboring islands that we had completely missed on the hike up.

Same island as the fog was lifting

We missed this island completely until the fog lifted - it was a neat surprise

Many of the "peaks" along the hike gave us 360 degree views

With the sun out - complimented by the amazing views we sat on a soft mound, turned on some music and ate our lunch in the sun. It was perfect - but we only had 1 (one) egg.

We continued to climb and eventually made our way to the summit- it was the true peak of the island- there were lots of flies, but the view was impressive.

At the true peak of the mountain

The path down was less well marked than the path up- in fact there really didn't seem to be a path, but we followed the GPS as best we could- jumping from the mounds in between the sheep tracks. It definitely made for unsure footing but we made it back to the causeway only to challenge our ankles more as it was no longer low-tide so we had to cross the 1.5 mile causeway over the uneven, slippery rocks.

We saw many more sheep on the way down than the way up

Causeway from the island

In total our hike was 12.4K with a 256m elevation gain and one of the best we have done in Iceland.

Day 12, July 14:  Today was a very low key day. We drove into Siglufjörour for the morning and went to the Herring Era Museum and then walked around the town a bit. The museum itself was impressive, particularly for being in such a small town, complete with a performance demonstrating how the "Herring Girls" salt and fill barrels with fish.

We drove back to our lodge stopping at a picnic table along the coast for a quick lunch. Our afternoon included a quiet walk near our lodge looking for birds with the Merlin app. Dinner was at the lodge again - our dinners have been set menus of home cooked Icelandic dishes - so far they have been great.

View from Siglufjörour park

Day 13, July 15: Today was our last full day in the Troll Peninsula and we a horseback ride scheduled for 11am.  We were the first to arrive so occupied our time hanging out by the horses.

At Langhus Farm waiting for our ride to start

Filip continues to vandalize Iceland with Filicki stickers

Filip rode Tarsan and Micki rode Eva, who was almost as beautiful as the real Eva. Ironically our wrangler (although they are probably not called wranglers in Iceland!) was Teresa from Czech Republic.

On Tarsan and Eva on the black beach

We got to try the Icelandic tölt, which is like a smooth trot, and when done correctly was actually very smooth. The saddles were like English saddles and to tell the horses to go you said "Hop Hop" and "Ho" to stop.  Overall, the horses in Colorado (particularly Estes), seemed more responsive than the Icelandic horses, but this was a fun experience- particularly on the beach. 

At the end of the ride- skies were still gray

We originally had plans to do a hike after the ride, but the ride took longer than we thought and the weather wasn't as great as it had been the last few days so we grabbed a quick bite and enjoyed a quiet afternoon at the Soti Lodge.

Day 14, July 16:  Today's drive was a long one so we skipped all the designated stops except for one, the Museum of Sorcery and Witchcraft in Hólmavík - a very small town in the Northwest. The museum was small- 2.5 rooms (one room had an entry way with a few pieces). When we walked in they gave us each a book  which described the exhibits by number (because everything was in Icelandic).  We learned about old spells for invisibility, love, money, illness, etc., as well as a list of people who had been tried and in some cases executed for doing magic (one for creating a farting rune - which Filip thought was hilarious). Interestingly many of the executions took place at Þingvelier - a park we went to early on in our trip.

In the museum 

See #6

Our hotel, Hotel Laugarhóll, was about 30 minutes from the museum and in an even smaller town than Homavik. Our hotel, the neighboring campground and tourist exhibit of a "Sorcerers cottage" and a big chair may have been the only things in Kaldrananeshreppur. After pulling our bags out of the car we went for a short hike to Goðafoss- which was great - we had it to ourselves and the short hike included a couple of river crossings.  

This large chair was outside of our hotel as part of a Sorcerers Cabin Exhibit

Goðafoss - about a mile from our hotel

 

Crossing the river just above Goðafoss

The gorge from the top of Goðafoss

Perhaps the most exciting thing that happened today was the eruption of the volcano in the south with the closure of the Blue Lagoon - which is particularly relevant given we are staying there in a week. Fortunately it was open by Thursday morning and we are keeping our fingers crossed that it doesn't start again.

Day 15, July 17: We continued our journey deeper into the Westfjords to Isafjurðor, one of the largest towns in the Westfjords (in fact there were 2 cruise ships in port).  The drive along the coast was pretty amazing- up and down the fjords, even despite the gray and rainy weather. We had planned a hike but it was too wet so we spent the afternoon at our hotel, Hotel Isafjurdor Torg.