Iceland 2016: Ásbyrgi to Reykjahlíð

It was cold last night! Even sleeping in the back of the 4x4 was chilly in a down sleeping bag. There was ice all over the ground this morning. But hey, it’s Iceland what do you expect. Before jumping into the daily recap- here’s a quick update on where I’m at. Use this map as a guide. When I flew into Keflavík near Reykjavík, the capital city in the southwest corner of the country, I got on the route 1 the ‘Ring Road’ and headed east. Then, southeast towards the town of Höfn I then zig-zagged in and out of many of the East Fjords on the eastern side of the country, making my way towards Egilsstaðir, sort of in the middle of the eastern side of Iceland. From their I headed due north along the coast, passing a few more fjords and ended up yesterday evening at the farthest, most northern point you can go in mainland Iceland near the Herring fishing village of Raufarhöfn (the northern most and coldest community in Iceland). After walking out to the lighthouse and far shoreline, where the Arctic circle was only 3km north, I headed south and then west towards Ásbyrgi. The remaining six days will be spent heading north again into the Tröllaskagi Peninsula briefly before heading southwest and then due west towards Snæfellsjökull National Park. I’ll then drive east to do the famed ‘Golden Circle’ route for a few days and then spend a night in Reykjavík. True fact- I’ve been using a big paper map every single day when driving around Iceland. The country is phenomenally easy to navigate. It’s a lovely, now-wrinkled map that will be framed and proudly hung-up in my apartment when I get back home.

I woke up this morning once again in Iceland’s biggest national park: Votnajökull. Except this time in the northern Jökulsárgljúfur unit near Ásbyrgi. Like previously mentioned, it’s a mega park, made up of both formerly Jökulsárgljúfur National Park in the north and Skaftafell National Park in the south, where I did some epic hiking the other day. Camping was just 1600 ISK for a night here in the northern unit. I chatted with a park ranger about national parks and state parks and how it’s crucial to support them, he gave me a few tips on his favorite places to hike and see some of the key highlights of the Jökulsárgljúfur area. What’s insanely cool about the Jökulsárgljúfur part of the Votnajökull National Park, is that it’s like Iceland’s own Grand Canyon. It’s a region filled with a treacherous, long, narrow, dark cold canyon, powerful waterfalls and a few dense patches of forests. Ásbyrgi is a must-see in the national park because it’s a horseshoe canyon. And it’s wild. I hiked a few hours in the morning up to the ridge above Eyjan hill. It was a chilly, windy morning and today the sun honestly didn’t seem to fully rise. But the gloomy cloud cover spurred strong feels of desolation, remoteness and solitude. At the top of Eyjan, you can see for miles in all directions. Huge snowy peaks looking east and west, the North Atlantic Ocean looking north and south, the deep horseshoe canyon a few hundred feet below. It was surreal. Then it started snowing and the hike felt like I was walking through a shaken snow globe. Perfect for an outdoor adventure in Iceland.

The ranger at Votnajökull recommended hitting road 864 west of the canyon to check out Dettifoss, the most powerful waterfall in Europe. So I did right as the snow started falling harder. Even in four-wheel-drive and going at 40-50kmh, with spiked winter tires….the Jimny was fighting a war against the incoming front. The dirt road was super rough, and anything more than three bumps in a row threw the Suzuki sideways and sliding towards the ditch. I was the only one on this remote road for about an hour. It was like driving through this barren, frozen blizzardy environment that you’d only dream about. But it was so beautiful. Bare, distant Iceland. I reached Dettifoss after stopping at a smaller yet still impressive waterfall called Hafragilsfoss. Dettifoss is unreal. Peak deep into this dark, glazed with ice canyon and you can both hear and feel the rumble of the rushing water before even seeing Dettifoss. It’s measured at 44m high and 100m wide, yet some 193 cu meters per second of water collapse down its face. When I’m back in the states I’ll figure out how to convert that into gallons per second. It was neat to see Dettifoss in a winter environment too, snow and ice covering all terrain surrounding it. You can view it from the east side off route 864 or west off of route 862. But please, if you’re already heading in that direction, drive a few more minutes and go explore the northern Jökulsárgljúfur unit of Votnajökull National Park.

Iceland is known for its volcanoes. There are quite a handful of big and little, active ones that erupt frequently. Remember how back a few years ago ALL air traffic to/from Europe was canceled, delayed for weeks or re-routed because of the ash in the air? That plume of volcanic ash came straight from a volcano down in the southern part of Iceland. On your way into the Mývatn area, you can actually go and hike around a geothermal power plant nestled at the base of a 2,000 year-old, active volcano landscape called Krafla. Iceland is also known for its ongoing, pro-green attitude and sustainability efforts. So let’s put these two claim to fames together. The Krafla Power Station (which you can tour!) is a geothermal power plant that uses hot steam from underground magma to power the nearby area. Unlike power plants in the United States, where if you get within eyesight of one, paranoid security personnel automatically think you’re a ‘terrorist’, you can actually see up-close how the power plant works. All over this volcanic area, you see steam pouring out of ‘boreholes’.  Underground magma heats the groundwater above, causes this steam which then goes through these big long pipelines. The pressure and heat differences from that steam spin turbines in the big powerhouse building.  A rotor inside the generator is driven by that turbine, magnetic magic occurs and finally electrical current then flows to the power lines. (Thank all the super informative displays for that lesson). The cooling station, with the huge vents on top, even recycles the water back. When you’re next to the cooling building, you can see water just falling down through the grates. Cool stuff.

There’s a ginormous crater in the Krafla geothermal areas called Viti or which means hell' in Icelandic. You can hike up along the rim of it and stare down into a big pool of sky-blue water. That masterpiece was believed to have been created as a result of an explosion during the Krafla Fires (eruption) in 1724. How fun would it be to take a kayak, slide down the rocky face of the crater and splash into that pool of geothermal water? I mean I do have trip insurance for high-risk activities and a SOS beacon. The coolest part next was hiking around at the Leirhnjúkur Solfataras, a craterous area where lava spewed out of the ground about 40 years ago. You guys, this was SO cool to hike through. Literally standing where lava was spilling out, so you can see all the hardened, black lava rocks and sprawling lava field. It’s like you’re on a different planet. The weird colors plastered into the ground, floating sulfur smell and the rushes of hot air seeping up underneath your pant legs as you walk. You get to walk past steaming vents releasing that hot air built up below the active volcanic area ground you’re standing on. You can see the many scorching mudspots that bubble. It’s just unworldly. You’ve got to see the pictures below.

Still hooked on all things volcano and geothermal, I stopped at the Bjarnarflag active geothermal area to see the alien-like big mudspots making slow burping ‘bluuuppppp’ noises as they bubble. Then there’s this insane ‘vent’ where steam is just flying out at an ungodly loud volume. So, so, so, so loud but the screaming from below reminds you that yes, your planet is alive and well. Make sure you watch the video clip I took of this from-Earth steam vent at the bottom of this blog post. It's crazy!

Guess what, I brought a swimsuit to Iceland, in the winter season. Why? To soak in the geothermal pools around the country. You can take a ‘nature bath’ where you dip into this relaxing lagoon of warm heavy sulfur water littered with minerals. I felt like living it up for the night, so I did at the Mývatn Nature Baths and it was amazinggggggg. You can swim in these crystal neon-blue geothermal water pools that are outside. Yeah, the temperature was freezing out of the water, but with the water super warm and enriching, you can rest on the edge of one of the pools and stare off into the Icelandic sunset falling behind the snowy mountains in the distance. It was surreal. There’s also a sizzling hot tub and geothermal steam room. Imagine a typical steam room but like….20 degrees hotter. I chatted with a few New Zealanders about traveling to places like Dubai, Shanghai, Vietnam and Berlin. All three of us were hysterically shocked to see the lifeguards wearing full, reflective Arctic gear and also taking and serving you beer, right at pool side. Paradise = found for $24. Totally worth it. Bring a towel! Otherwise you'll pay to rent one, and don't leave it hanging on the railing by the water like I did, Iceland's insane winds will blow it into lagoon haha. It’s just one of the many things you have to do in Iceland. When in Iceland, right?

After a few hours of pure relaxation and straight-detox, I was craving a sit-down dinner. This delicious place was called Vogafoss or ‘TheCowshed’. Home-made mozzarella cheese, geyser bread, craft beer and windows in the dining area that face out to the indoor pasture where the family cows are kept and milked twice a day. I opted for the big vegetarian omelet and some coffee. Gosh Iceland's coffee is rich and good.  Moo. Lot’s of Moo.

I love you Iceland.

Cheers,
Robby

Related/Past Posts from Iceland:
Egilsstaðir To Ásbyrgi [Read this Post]
Höfn To Egilsstaðir [Read this Post]
Where, Why And How To Camp In Iceland [Read this Post]

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Iceland 2016: Egilsstaðir to Ásbyrgi

Hey-o it’s Friday! 

When I woke up this morning I looked at the map of Iceland and decided to try and make it to the northern-most point on the island. Let’s do it. The campground I stayed in last night in Egilsstaðir had a café and I spent a couple hours this morning having a coffee and finally uploading a few blog posts thanks to the free WiFi the tourism official working the desk offered up to me.  I talked with her about all things Iceland and got such a good perspective and learned a few things about life over here. Her kids, like all in Iceland, are still forced to learn Danish in schools, alongside English. Even though Iceland has been free, independent from Denmark for quite sometime. She went on to tell me how she’s afraid kids in Iceland are going to lose the ability to speak and learn their native Icelandic language. Tourism continues to be on the astronomically high rise in Iceland and I agreed with her that there need to be two major concerns to be cautious of: damaging this precious environment by not teaching others how to respect it and the lingering question if Iceland’s infrastructure can handle the rush. I’ve said this for years- there’s a difference between a traveler and a tourist. A traveler is responsible, caring, courteous, eager to adapt and learn the new culture and ways of life they're exposed to. A tourist is one who is rude, not patient, lacks manners and appears completely oblivious to their surroundings as they refuse to accept and intermingle properly with the new culture and way of life they're currently exposed to. And there’s my morning thought haha. Blame it on the coffee.

After explaining to me how one of Iceland’s active volcanoes in the south of the country is longgggg overdue for an eruption, hilariously mimicking a pregnant woman about to pop, she gave me a few recommendations on where to go and then gave me a piece of advice. “What do you do if you get lost in an Icelandic forest?” she asked me and then laughingly responded…. “Just stand up!” Reason being is the very few trees that are rooted in Iceland, are smaller birches only a few feet high. Love it.

I hit the road and quickly took a detour through the wash area onto route 917, a precarious and adrenaline-rushed 73km dirt road that takes you towards the eastern coast and then up a ungodly tall mountain pass that scales 665m Hellisheioi. Like I mentioned I’m a sucker for good drives. The Suzuki 4x4 wasn’t keen to the wind, as having it in 2wd, on a dirt road with 60mph crosswinds knocked the car sideways and I almost lost control. I laughed in put it in 4wd for the rest of the trip. There was a 30-minute stint where I had the wheel cocked to the left towards 10 o’clock just to keep the little Japanese jeep going straight. Crazy crazy wind! But then the road went up, and up, and up into the mountains and it was spectacular. Views of the blue ocean and snowy peaks everywhere. It was breath-taking. When I pulled over at the top of the pass, I walked towards a ridge to snap a few photos. I unexpectedly saw an older man with a camo hunting vest on propping a shot gun over his right shoulder. We exchanged ‘Hallos’ and I tried to ask him what he was hunting but he only spoke Icelandic. He explained to me what the animal was but I’ll have to wait for a translation. I’m guessing reindeer? Down the mountain pass, the road mirrored the Vopnafjorour and Bakkaflöt bays along the North Atlantic, passing petite fishing towns like Bakkafjörður, which was the setting for prize-winning views of snowy 719m Gunnólfsvíkurfjall and sister mountains on the Langanes peninsula. Road conditions turned to winter, with snow and ice everywhere. Gorgeous though.

I was only about an hour away from the remote town of Raufarhöfn, which was near that northern most point in mainland Iceland. Just outside this fishing town, there’s this huge stone sculpture called Arctic Henge. Four bold, 21m tall gates open up to all cardinal directions representing each of the four seasonal solstices. You can see the North Atlantic and slow sunset through them. It was mysterious, magical. Then I followed a bumpy road along the water, north towards Hraunhafnartangi, the point on any map of Iceland where you cant go any further north. I parked and hiked about an hour to the end of the shoreline towards a lighthouse. I climbed up on to the rocks and stared out over the water north. The Arctic Circle was only 3km away.  Time seemed to be in slow motion for a few minutes and I did some reflecting on my travels, life and this part of the world. I don’t think I’ve ever been this far north in my life.

The sun was down and sky dark by 5:30pm, and I still had a few hours of driving until I reached Ásbyrgi, farther west and south, which is where I’d park and call it home for the night. A reason I chose Ásbyrgi is because it's the northern end of the incredible Votnajökull National Park and I miss it already haha (having visited the southern end three days ago). When I arrived, the sky above was explosive with Northern Lights, waves, flickering, shimmering and dancing. I was able to get a short glimpse last night in Egilsstaðir but tonight was insane. It was wonderful. I’ve never, ever seen anything like it before. Cross that off my bucket list. It’s just fantastic to see the black sky light up in a colorful astounding show. Literally, the whole sky was covered with the Aurora Borealis. Wait till you see the pictures below. I don't have my good digital SLR camera with me or my sturdy tripod so I did my best with my kick-ass point and shoot Canon. Also...did you know you can actually hear the Northern Lights? It's like a faint buzz, like the sound of static electricity.

Cheers,
Robby

Related/Past Posts from Iceland:
Höfn To Egilsstaðir [Read this Post]
Skógar To Skaftafell [Read this Post]
Where, Why And How To Camp In Iceland. [Read this Post]

Read More