Mývatn had been our halfway point on the trip and we had left the next couple of days open. We now had a bit of a feel for the ring road and about how steady we wanted to progress without rushing it. We weren’t really sure what Northern Iceland had to offer and with bad weather in the forecast, we didn’t want to make too many plans. Before taking off into the Northwest of Iceland, we visited more sights in the Mývatn area, namely the Hverfjall crater, Grjótagjá cave, Kálfastrandavogar and Dimmuborgir lava field.
The first person we met when crawling out of the tent in the morning was no one other than Peter from the Czech republic, whom we had met on our third day in Vatnajökull National Park and who had generously given his stove to us so we could make some dinner. I couldn’t believe my eyes and was so confused at first to meet someone I knew from somewhere, in Iceland of all places, that it took me a moment to remember how I knew him. His face was just as puzzled to see us. We had breakfast together and chatted about our further travel plans – Peter was planning to hitch-hike to Akureyri right away, we wanted to explore the Mývatn area and then drive further than Akureyri – and said goodbye for the second time.
Heading south around the lake, our first stop was Grjótagjá, a small lava cave with a thermal spring inside. It was a popular destination for bathing until eruptions from 1975 to 1984 caused the water temperature to rise to more than 50 degrees Celsius, leading to the closure of the cave for bathing. Grjótagjá was used as a location for filming the fifth episode of the third season of Game of Thrones.
We then continued on to Hverfjall. By the time we got to the tuff ring volcano, which erupted in 2500 BP, it had started raining. Steps lead visitors to the rim of the crater; it took us about 10-15 minutes to go reach the rim. From here, we enjoyed amazing views of the surrounding area and Lake Mývatn as well the magnificent, black crater itself, which, in contrast to other craters I have seen, looks like it’s filled with a powdery substance rather than rock.
When we arrived at the Dimmuborgir lava fields, from where visitors can do multiple hikes from a few hundred metres to several kilometres through the stunning volcanic caves and rock formations, several busses were already unloading even more visitors at one of the country’s busiest tourist attractions. We took a brisk walk and then headed on to our last stop around Mývatn, Kálfastrandarvogur bay, which is also famous for its unusual lava formations both off and onshore, and is said to be one of the most beautiful areas around Mývatn.
It kept raining on and off throughout the day and consequently, we agreed to keep pushing on to the Hostelling International (HI) Sæberg Hostel. Located at a fjord halfway between Reykjavík and Akureyri, this hostel is set in a renovated farmhouse in Hrútafjörður and it features a couple of hot tubs outside which are operated with water from natural hot springs. We quickly grabbed a can of beer each and sat down to soak in the hot water, right next to the ocean, while the drizzling rain covered our hair with a fine layer of cold mist.
Total driving distance and time with detours approximately 400 km / 5 h
