Iceland Day 5

In an effort to rid myself of the smokey taste of my dinner last night I had a coffee which was a bad idea - I was still buzzing at 1.15am but the benefit was that I was awake to see the sun set over the mountains. I slept a bit between 3 and 4.45 so have felt tired today.

That didn’t stop me enjoying the scenery though. First stop was Dettifoss, Europe’s mightiest waterfall at 100m wide and with a 45m drop into the craggy canyon below. Nearby was another waterfall the it was on to Namaskard, where steam rises from the sulphurous terrain, with its emitting the rotten egg smell and the bubbling mud pools. (Our shower water in Reykjavik smelt the same). We could have done to have had a bit longer there, though having been to the thermal area of Chile and the stunning Artist’s palette in NZ, as well as White Island which was REALLY acid yellow, we didn’t mind moving on to Dimmunorhir lava stacks for another walk. Then it was on to observe the pseudo-craters at Skutstadir near Myvatn. The flies were a pest there, getting into ears and mouths. Our last stop was Godafoss, a lovely crescent shaped waterfall.

We are now at our “guest house” which is really a hostel. 20 people have to share 2 toilets and 2 showers on our floor. I’m past the age where I don’t mind trekking down a corridor in the night. Still it’s only one night but I suspect tomorrow will be similar. The joys of budget travel.

We have walked 7 miles today and we are not done yet. We have to go out to eat, then walk to the place we from where we get our whale-watching boat, postponed till 8.30pm. Even if we see no whales the scenery around Akureyri is beautiful and it will still be light when we come back at midnight.