On the second day, we could choose from several activities. The first choice was a free day on our own in Reykjavik. A second choice was a 4-wheel drive "superjeep" tour of the volcanic area of Landmannalaugar. The third choice was a short flight to the northern town of Akureyri and a bus tour of the colorful Lake Myvatn area. We chose the latter and were quite happy that we did as the weather was quite a bit better than in the south for most of the day. As elsewhere on this page, you can click on the photos for larger versions with details.
Photo by Bill McLaughlin
The first stop after leaving Akureyri was Goðafoss, one of many waterfalls that we would visit during our Iceland trip.
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After Goðafoss, we stopped at Lake Myvatn, which translates as Midge Lake. Even in September, there were enough pesky Midges to justify the name! Below are three panoramas that I took at Lake Myvatn.
Photo by Bill McLaughlin
Photo by Bill McLaughlin
Photo by Bill McLaughlin
Dimmubórgirs, or "Black Castles" are black lava pillars. A large area of these can be found just to the east of Lake Myvatn.
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Iceland sits on the mid-Atlantic ridge. In fact, it is the only part of the ridge that is above sea level, the remainder is underwater. This is the area where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates adjoin and are spreading apart. This was illustrated in no better place than our next stop. The "sea-spreading" rift was right there for us to see and jump over. One small jump would take you from Europe to North America!
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From the rift area, we climbed into the mountains to visit the colorful Viti crater area. Along the way we passed a geothermal electrical generation facility that supplies much of Northern Iceland with electricity.
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The final stop of the day was a colorful area of boiling mud pots and roaring steam fumaroles.
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On the bus ride to Akureyri and our return flight to Reykjavik, we had occasion to photograph a few distinctive aspects of the rural Icelandic scene. One of the more amazing aspects of the Akureyri excursion was the total (and refreshing) lack of airline security. Just get on the plane and go!
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