Volcano!

---

---

Todays weather was set to be cloudy but dry but then the weather can change in five minutes here so you can never be totally sure.

Ian is keen to visit the volcano crater and there is also a large lake which is said to be very scenic. It will likely be a shortish day but we are in no particular hurry. We have decided to stay another night at the same campsite and it’s good to get an early pitch as there are no reservations here and last night there was not a patch to be found.

For once we have got up early…I suspect it’s because the sun is shining brightly. We make use of the excellent camp kitchen and start the day with bacon, eggs, tomatoes and fried bread.

Breakfast done, we set off first to visit the volcanic crater at Krafla driving part way round the deep blue Lake Myvatn. As we turn off the main road to climb the mountain, we note that we are last in line behind a convoy of eleven huge (Winnebago type) campervans…I hope it’s a big car park up there!

The 800m+ mountain, is still an active volcano. The original mountain fires from 1724-29 opened up many of the fissure vents which are still steaming today. The Krafla fires began in 1975 and continued for the next nine years. We pass a power station which was begun in the valley in 1973. The 1975 fires threw the project into doubt but in the end it went ahead. There is a very strong rotten egg smell of sulphur in the air!

We have reached the top and the little car park soon fills with the line of vans. The car in front of us gives up and does a u turn, presumably returning to the lower (much larger) car park. This is lucky for us as we bag the only one remaining space…actually it’s not an official space but our little van is hardly noticeable amongst our monster neighbours!

We follow an extremely steep and muddy path to get some height and a better overview of the blue pool below.

Now back down to Hverir where we get stung for another large parking fee involving scanning of bar codes for the pleasure of exploring a lunar landscape of belching mud pots. The stench is so bad that I very nearly throw up! Half an hour is about all we can stand…and now our clothes appear to smell of rotten eggs too!

It’s time to head back to Myvatn Lake, bypassing the ‘nature baths’ which we have been warned also stink and do not justify the £50 per person entrance fee!

We take the road around the other side of the lake to do the full circuit. This turns out to be a good move as there are a couple of interesting stop offs in the way. The first is Grjotagja Lava Cave. It reminds me of the Mexican cenotes. People used to bathe in the blue water inside but due to further volcanic eruptions it is now too hot to use.

Our next stop is at a set of pseudo craters. Here fresh molten lava covered an area of wetlands or water, causing the water to form steam and burst through the covering lava, before cooling and leaving a crater. It’s a pleasant walk with lovely views of the lake.

It’s now almost 1pm and our sightseeing is done. We drop in at the campsite restaurant for lunch. Ian has decided to try the Icelandic meat soup which Ian now admits was middling. I have a pizza, yum.

The campsite doubles up as a sports centre so today, being a Saturday, means it’s full of cars and there is an event on the running track. We give the van a bit of a hose down…it’s getting pretty muddy, and then we are lucky enough to secure our same camp spot - it’s very near the facilities so suits us well!

We park up and I decided to hand wash our egg smelling clothes and peg them out as it’s such a fine day.

Right next to the camp is an excellent swimming pool. I drag Ian along, which in hindsight is a mistake as he is bored with swimming very soon! I manage to get 25 lengths of the 25m pool in so not too bad. The wind is chilly but the water is very warm. We then move on to the hot pools which makes Ian a little happier. We sit in the 30 degree pool which is very nice. Ian has had enough but I can’t resist trying the 40 degree pool before I leave!

---