We slept in bit today and started exploring the Lake Myvatn area around 10:30 after a big breakfast at our hotel. Before we even got out of our hotel we saw a rare Arctic fox. There are a lot of volcanic attractions packed into a small area. We began right across the street from our hotel. The lake is quite big, but the portion of the lake that was by our hotel is special because it is full of pseudocraters. Normal craters form at the top of a magma chamber. These are "false craters" because they form with the help of water. The valley that is now the lake was filled with lava. Liquid water was trapped under it and turned to steam. This steam led to an explosive eruption in a place that usually has nonexplosive eruptions. You can see that water vapor was involved in the eruptions by looking at the rocks that the pseudocraters are made of. Notice all of the holes in the rock from the gas bubbles. Just a few minutes down the road we went into an interesting cave called Grjotagja. The cave has a lovely, natural thermal pool in it. It was used by locals recreationally until the 1980s when an eruption from Krafla filled it with lava! The lava is now gone but the water is too hot now to be pleasant. If you are a Game of Thrones fan, you might recognize it as the cave where Jon Snow and Ygritte spent some quality time together. Donna and I both agree that the highlight of our day was the Hverir geothermal area. We saw steam vents that were very powerful. Our favorite part of that were the mudpots. They were numerous and in many sizes. They form when sulfuric acid is created in groundwater and dissolves the soil as it bubbles away. Click here for a video of a mudpot in action. Just a few miles down the road, we visited the Krafla Geothermal Power Plant. They are boring into the Earth close to magma intrusions where steaming groundwater is plentiful. There are about 30 different bore holes to provide steam to this power plant. The steam is channeled in an extensive network of pipes to turbines that activate a generator to create electricity. There is no carbon dioxide or pollution from this process. Over 99% of Iceland's electricity comes from geothermal or hydroelectric power. That is why Iceland makes less greenhouse gas per person than any developed country. Click here to see a quick video of the power plant. About 2:00 in the afternoon we headed out of the Lake Myvatn area with intentions to visit some quaint fishing villages and find a thermal pool to soak in. We came upon some road construction and it was a bumpy ride through gravel. About 30 miles later, our car said we had low tire pressure. We stopped at a gas station to fill them with air. One was low, but not exceptionally so. About 30 miles after that, the low tire pressure warning came on again. We ignored it for a while and convinced each other that it was a faulty sensor. Once we got to a small town, I got out and told Donna I found the low tire. We had a flat! I called the car rental company and they basically told us to figure it out ourselves. Donna saw two men coming out of the only cafe in town and asked for help. They turned out to be the only mechanics in town! The were very kind to us and filled our tire and took us to their shop to repair it. The had us one our way in about 45 minutes. We feel very lucky to have found them. We had a delicious trout dinner in the next small town. It was $39 and was probably our best value. Our meal probably would have been at least $25 in the U.S. The fish was a big portion. I think I forgot to mention that you don't tip here, so that helps a little. We did get to finish our day at a thermal pool. It was in a little town called Hofsos. There was a big swimming pool that seemed like an infinity pool because of its proximity to the ocean. The hot tub was the best after a kind of stressful day. Tomorrow is our last day as we he back to Reykjavik.
3 Comments
Mom
7/1/2017 05:19:17 pm
PTL for Villi and David!! What would you have done without their help? More beautiful pictures and your last at the pool looked amazing, especially with the ocean in the background. Maybe just one more post before your trip comes to a close. And....your favorite memory is?? Love you.
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Scott
7/2/2017 05:59:45 am
Sorry I missed yesterday morning but I am now caught up on the adventure. Incredible pictures from the glacier and the pool looks great. Enjoy your last day. One question...did Donna eat all the trout?
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Morgan Meadows
8/17/2017 11:32:17 am
This is amazing ! You guys are very lucky :)
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