Wednesday, 19 April 2017

Waterfalls, Volcanoes & Hot Springs



The unappealing combination of strong winds, high temperatures and poor visibility, meant that skiing was off the menu today. We hung out until midday in case the lifts opened, but once they'd decided to stay closed for the day, we headed east to better weather and to see a bit more of the country. 
It soon became clear that it was a good decision to get on the road as we'd soon left the cloud behind and by our first stop, the sun was fully out. Godfoss Waterfall was another impressive natural wonder and we were able to get right up close to the action!

 

 

The scenery changed as we drove on and there was a real lunar feel, with volcanic craters and steam rising from various cracks and crevices.

 

The afternoon was spent soaking up the atmosphere at the Myvatn Thermal Baths. The skies stayed blue, but the wind was whipping across the pools. My ears and head were frozen, but the water was lovely. The others all had the good sense to wear a hat as there were almost standing waves in the first pool we went into, but we soon found a sheltered spot where the hot water was getting piped into. 

 

I think the pools must have been cooler that the previous ones we visited as after about three hours, I felt great rather than totally exhausted. Which was lucky as we had a long drive back still to do. One final stop was had, to check out some bubbling mud pools.

 

The ground was steaming with all the hot water vents.

 

And some spooky holes of hot stuff...



And most mad, were the little cones - like mini volcanoes - that were pouring hot steam from them.


 

The drive back home took us back into the clouds and through a thick blizzard, which only became semi-stressful when in the middle of nowhere, the fuel light on the car came on! Luckily, we rolled into town on vapours and all breathed a sigh of relief! 

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