Mývatn

This afternoon we spent our day in Mývatn which is a volcanic and geothermal area in the north of Iceland. The whole area lies along the Krafla fissure which is 90km long! Our first stop was the Grjótagjá cave which was once used for swimming but geothermal activity in the 80s caused the water temperature to become too high. (Fun fact, this is one of the caves where some iconic scenes of Game of Thrones was filmed.) It was very peaceful in the cave and the water was so clear and bright blue. We dipped our hand in the water and it wasn’t as hot as they were making it out to be, honestly just like the temperature of a bath. Apparently the water temperature is now dropping so in a few years it might open for swimming again. We then walked up our first volcano ever! Called the Hverfjall volcano that erupted about 2500 years ago and the explosion crater is 1km wide. We climbed up the path that was 90m high and 600m in length, super steep and insanely windy. The climb was well worth it though. We finished our day off at the Hverir geothermal area which contained bubbling mud pots, mineral deposits and steam vents from water heated from magma underground. All mindblowing to look at but the smell was disgusting. We both were struggling and by the end tried to get out of there as fast as possible. The smell was from hydrogen sulfide which smelt like a mixture of rotten eggs and burnt rubber but was so strong. We both decided that after that experience and now we have seen them we aren’t going to visit anymore geothermal steam holes.Read more