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A great day - scenery as varied as you could get complete with a relaxing dip in the warm waters of the Myvatn nature baths.
We first drove past the mountain voted the best in Iceland. We were lucky to view it without the usual layer of fog at the top. It is called "the lady with the broad shoulders".
Morning tea at the highest farm in Iceland (470 m above sea level). Fresh air and a delicious coffee sitting outside looking out towards the snow capped mountains.
Next stop was Detifoss waterfall which is 100m wide. It is the most powerful in Europe and drops 44m. There are great rainbows and lots of spray. The waterfall was used as a site for the filming of Promethius , the movie.
A swim at natura baths followed where we floated in the mineral rich warm waters surrounded by the lava fields. The best part though were the shower like pipes carrying water which you could sit under and get a great neck and shoulder massage.
Next stop was the sulphuric mud fumeroles. The temperature of the mud pots can reach 100 degrees. Sulphur was extracted from here
for use in gunpowder. It is like a lunar landscape surrounding the pots which can collapse at any time.
Overnight in the Sel-Hotel Myvatn (means lake of the midges).
Geo thermal green energy used in 90% of Icelandic homes. Water is their oil. Cold water to drink and hot water to heat. This gives them very cheap electricity.
Today we were told of one of the traditions in Iceland at Christmas. For the 13 days before Christmas children out a shoe in the window and they are visited by one of the 13 Yule tide lads ( their Father Xmas) who delivers a treat if the child has been good or a potatoes if they have been naughty. We visited a lava labyrinth where the yuletide lads "live" and prior to Xmas can be seen and photographed with children.
Game of Thrones was also filmed amongst the lava labryinth.
Next stop Godafoss falls - waterfall of God. It is so wonderful to see natural wonders like this that have not been turned into tourist attractions as in some other countries This was the site of the conversion of Icelanders from paganism to Christian Catholosism in
1100. The country later changed in 1500 to the Lutheran religion.
We then visited an old turf farm Laufas which is a wonderful example of Icelandic building style of earlier centuries. It was the house of the priest and is built with timber and covered in turf. The rooms were very small and would have been very damp in winter. The turf is packed around the building for insulation and must be renewed every 5 years.
We drove along a beautiful fjord today and drove through three tunnels that have replaced treacherous mountain roads. One of them was single lane so every 100 metres there is a lay by where you move to if a car is approaching the other way. It works but is a little scary just the same.
Overnight in Siglufjordur at the hotel where they filmed the bar scene of the TV series "Trapped".
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