Ásbyrgi

Having finished an extensive breakfast with waffles and croissants, we start our last highly filled day for a while. We decide to kick start it with Dettifoss. Yet another waterfall, but one that holds high expectations as it's the most powerful in Iceland. To get there, we have to pass the Mývatn Nature Baths again. In this area there are various landmarks to see and from the car we can clearly see the white steam from Hverir. An area that we will visit later today. During the first couple of minutes into our drive, the car continued to make some weird noises, but by the time we arrive at the Dettifoss parking lot, all seems to have stopped.

The parking lot isn't yet crowded and we quickly jump out of the car to enjoy this waterfall without too many tourists. To get to the waterfall we need to take a short walk of about 500m that leads us into a grey and deserted landscape. We can hear the waterfall from far away, but it's only when we climb over the last little hill that we can see it. Once again, it does not disappoint! Dettifoss is only 45m high but is fed by a 100m wide river with a strong current. The grey/brown water carved its way into the rock and made like a little canyon. When standing next to the edge of the waterfall we can't even see the bottom. The mist of the crashing water is too thick and makes you immediately realize the power of this massive spectacle.
The mist carries back up in the air and floats further down the canyon. There are various danger signs here to warn tourists in winter times of extremely slippery trails and danger of falling into the canyon.

From Dettifoss we walk another 500m upstream to another waterfall: Selfoss. Much like Goðafoss, this one has different falls spread out over the width of the river. With more people slowly arriving to this stop we take our pictures and decide to move on. According to the guidebooks there's another waterfall a bit further downstream the river. However, this one we can't reach by foot. So, we get back in the car and find an off-road track that takes us to a viewpoint. Not far in the off-road track the car suddenly decides to start making a lot of noise. And not the most healthy sounds... Like a piece of metal that is scratching constantly against another piece of metal. At the parking lot we carefully inspect the vehicle but can't see anything suspicious. On the other hand, I really don't know that much about cars.
We're alone at the viewpoint and although the waterfall is quite far away down in the canyon, we soak in the magnitude of the landscape around us. Without too much exaggeration, this country has reminded me many times of places in the U.S. that I've visited. Places that are many miles away, whilst this is only three hours flight time from Brussels.

We drive back the off-road track to the main road and continuously wish for the, now very worrisome, sound to stop. Asphalt roads don't make the car feel any better. Every turn makes a death-screaming sound that makes us wonder if the car is going to fall apart within the next couple of meters. As we arrive at the camping and parking area of Ásbyrgi we consider our options whether or not to call our car rental company. If they have to come over to check the car or bring a new one, we lose a lot of time in our schedule. Also, they will most likely blame everything on yesterday's river crossings which are never insured. So... we decide to wait and see. If the car breaks down, then we can call them.
Ásbyrgi, or burrow of the gods, is a canyon with a dead end and a little pool. Down in the canyon there are many trees, which is a rarity in Iceland because of the climate. According to legend the gods had their meetings at the end of this canyon.
Our plan takes us on top of the canyon to "Klappir", a viewpoint at the end of the canyon. In my opinion this would be way more rewarding than walking down inside. Just after we set off, we hear an airplane right overhead us, but because of the clouds we didn't see anything. Not much later the sky is filled with parachutes. Someone must have marked the canyon as today's drop zone.
When we arrive to the canyon wall there is a steep climb to the top. Luckily there are ropes and stairs to help you. Quite and adventurous start of the walk!
We continue over the side of the canyon and start to see various autumn colours in the vegetation. The view is spectacular but doesn't change that much during our walk. Every now and then we have to walk whilst waving our hands before our faces because of those annoying midgets. After about 3,5km we arrive at Klappir and have a beautiful sight on the pool below us, right at the end of the canyon. We can see some tourists walking near the pool. We're happy that we did this walk, it gives a better perspective. After a short drink and cookie, we head back the same way that we came. It's hard to take pictures with those midgets constantly flying in front of your lens or buzzing around your ears. Neither does it make drinking or eating any easier.

Next on our planning is Hverir where we passed by in the morning. It's quite a drive back to the Mývatn area now and we're baffled to discover that our car has decided to no longer scare us. All weird and scary sounds seem to have disappeared. The best hypothesis I can come up with, is that whatever was stuck and scratching came loose when I reversed the car at the parking lot. For now, we cross our fingers that it stays this way.

When we open the door at Hverir we get hit by the strong smell of sulphur. Hverir is a not incredibly big area of high geothermal activity. Very similar to some parts of Yellowstone National Park in the U.S.
We walk between various boiling mud pools and smoking cracks. The ground is a palette of different colours. It's weird how nature can be so brutal and unforgiving but also can create these immensely beautiful landscapes.

On the other side of the road, there's a path that leads to an old geothermal power plant. The many pipelines and industrial look make it a somewhat unique sight. Unfortunately, the plant is already closed in September for visitors but we decide to have a quick look at the crater lake that is just above the plant: Víti.
The walk on the edge of the crater gives us a nice view over the power plant and Hverir in the distance. In the crater there is dark blue water.

With the start of the evening light, we continue our trip to Hverfell. This is another explosion crater with a diameter of 1km. The climb to the top of the crater and walk around it provides beautiful views on the surroundings and the Mývatn lake. It's only now that we actually spot the black sanded crater. We've passed by this road already two times by now and it just didn't catch our eye. That by itself has to say something about the many things one can look at travelling through this amazing landscape.
Having arrived at the top of the crater we can understand why NASA did various moon exercises in this (and another nearby) crater. When you're down in the crater there's nothing but black and grey around you. Nothing that grows, nothing but sand. From the edge the view is indeed spectacular. Especially with the almost setting sun over the lake. We walk around the crater and head back to the car to go to our last stop of the day before daylight leaves us.

Most of the tourists have left when we arrive at Dimmuborgir, a maze of lava formed structures. There are various walks throughout the area, but with time upon us, we decide to take a route that leads us past the most famous structures: a hole and a church. I can't say this was a disappointment because it is something that's worth seeing. After all, you don't see lava every day. Also, we're maybe already too spoiled with all the other gems we've seen. We found it was a nice walk but didn't stand out as much as all the other things we've seen so far. Nevertheless, happy that we can check this one of our list we take some last photos of the sunset and go back to the hotel.

During our dinner in the hotel, we admire the different glass printed photos of volcanic eruptions. Turns out these were all taken during the biggest eruption in Iceland. According to the waitress it was huge. She said that the current volcanic eruption in the Reykjavik area is a joke in comparison to the one on the pictures. The total amount of lava that has been spit out by the volcano today was ejected in a single day back then. Also, turned out geologists predicted another volcanic eruption today at Askja. A volcano not too far from where we are today and that was originally on the planning but didn't make it. Amazed by how the Icelandic people can live with this dormant but unforgiving fireball below them, we go to bed. Tomorrow is the start of our first less busy day, phieuw!Read more