Day 6

We woke up to snow! Just a skiff but enough for Iceland to close some roads! Given most communities in the areas we have been in have had under 2000 people, I can imagine they don’t have man power for salting and sanding the roads in a timely fashion. Thanks to road.is, we were able to see road conditions and road cameras and plan our route for the day. Other than having to skip Dettifoss due to a road closure, we were able to stick to our plan.

We drove out to Hengifoss (the Hanging Falls) to start our day, which is a 128m tall waterfall and the 2nd tallest waterfall in Iceland. It is unique as it has red clay stripes sandwiched between basalt which is 5-6 million years old from volcanic eruptions. While standing infront of Hengifoss, there was snow blowing towards us. Even though it was blue skies, the air was causing the mist from the waterfall to freeze and blow through the valley as snow.

The hike to the waterfall was picturesque, following along Hengifossárgil gorge with view points of Litlanesfoss along the way - a waterfall with basalt columns, some straight and some curved, on either side. The basalt columns are among the tallest in the country.

After our hike we drove to the Myvatn region which is known for its geothermal activity. We started at Hverir which is otherworldly - with boiling mud and hissing rock chimneys. We didn’t stay long as the sulfur clouds were overwhelmingly. We drove down the road to Grjótagjá, which was a local swimming hole (aka. cave) up until the early 80s when geothermal activity caused this area to be too hot for swimming. Definitely wished it was not the case as it would have been a secluded spot for a dip!

In the same area we visited Dimmuborgir and the Pesudocraters (Skútustadagigar), which are 2 different rock formations formed when hot lava flows over a lake or marsh. It causes steam to escape upwards through vents or explode.

On the way to our destination we stopped at Godafoss (waterfall of the priest/chieftain). It gets its name from legends of a local chieftain who threw his Norse God statues into the river after he converted to Christianity.

Weather was pretty chilly today, hovering around -2 to -4 for most of it. We arrived in Akureyri at 6pm, just in time for happy hour and to watch half of the Liverpool game. Akureyri is the largest town outside of Southern Iceland. We took a break from dinners in the van and enjoyed a dinner out!

We are staying the night at Camping Hamrar tonight and we continue further west tomorrow!Read more