Egilsstaðir to Mývatn

From our campsite we headed East fir s side trip to Seydisfjordur, as far East as we would get to in Iceland. The road twisted down to the harbour side town, passing a couple of waterfalls for good measure. Granted it was a Sunday but the place was deathly quiet. On Thursdays a ferry comes from Denmark so maybe it picks up then?

Known for its art culture we decided to check out Skaftfel Art centre. It had a small display of drawings of washed up dead whales. The woman sat behind the desk, waiting for voluntary contributions, was about as cheerful as the drawings. We didn't contribute anything, her scowl darkening even more. It was a bright day so we ate a picnic next to the water, took some pictures of the small street with a rainbow painted on it, presumably to try and cheer up the locals, a cute wooden church at one end, and left.

We drove back along the winding road to Egilsstaðir then headed north to Stuðlagil Canyon. The last few km was another bone shaking rough road ending up at a busy car park. We found a campervan sized slot and headed off along the trail. After 30 mins we reached the beautiful gorge, featuring basalt columns, clear blue water and the obligatory waterfall. Simi, Arushi and Eashan perched on the edge of a high cliff ,made of the geometrical columns for a photo, then we scrambled down to the waters edge over the flat stones. It was a very impressive sight,the glacial water rushing past adding to the sense of awe.

We returned to the car park and got our first hotdogs from a kiosk stationed there. These have become something of a national sensation, appearing everywhere, famously sampled by Bill Clinton and eaten with fried onions, ketchup, mustard and remoulade.

Campsites were few and far between asking the northern stretch of the ring road. We took a dirt road to the next one only to discover it was closed. We pushed onto Mývatn, with stinky sulphur billowing out of the ground on the outskirts of the town. We found an open campsite next door to a fish and chips takeaway, which was too hard to resist. It was a perfect meal to end a long day, especially as the rain rolled in.Read more