Two days on the road

Tyler Reporting:

Day 5

Beyond Eskifjörður, the Ring Road heads away from the East Coast, and overland toward Iceland's Northern Coast. So, loading our car up that morning, we had some overpriced breakfast at the towns one open restaurant (really just the dining area for a hotel). then set off inland. 

I little over an hours' worth of driving, and a diversion down a a long dirt road brough us to Stuðlagil Canyon. Stuðlagil Canyon is a brilliant blue river cutting through a dramatic canyon of basalt rock formations. In an ideal world, we would have parked an hiked down the far side of the river, a several kilometer round trip that rewards you by letting you explore down to the rivers edge. But, because of my bum knee and our limited time, we limited our visit to just taking in the view from a precarious viewing platform on the main side of the river.

Looking one way down the river.

Some of the dramatic basalt formations.

Otto, who has a fear of heights, wouldn't come out on to this part of the platform, that hung over the river.

After a snack of Happy Wedding Cake and Kleine at a food cart, we climbed back into the Rifter, drove back down the dirt road and continued our trip into the interior of Iceland. While I'm not sure how high we were, the terrian had a definite altiplano feel to it, with little in the way of vegetation or landmarks. Then, rather suddenly, we found ourselves to be approaching a thick cloud bank that almost reminded us of a sandstorm out of something like Fury Road. Plunging into it, we were amazed at how deep and dense it was, turning the whole would claustrophobic and ethereal. 

"Nothing to see here, move along."

At other points, driving, we noticed rows of large cairns running roughly parallel to the highway. Knowing how comparatively recent the modern Ring Road was, Sarah and I hypothesized that perhaps -pre-road- people traveling overland would simply follow this trails of cairns to get to their destination. 

You can see the row of cairns on the left side of this image, which also shows what a lot of the terrain we drove through looked like.

Our next destination was Krafla. Krafla was a site of a string of volcanic fissures that opened and spewed lava between 1975 and 1984. Today it a blasted, alien landscape of twisted black volcanic rock and cracks which still vent sulfurous steam. 

This image gives you a sense of the size and scope. The hill in the mid-right part of the photo is a lava crater where you can almost picture the way the magma poured out.

Striking a pose on a viewpoint. You can see the lava field spreading into the distance behind me.

A surreal pale-blue pond. It's edges bubbled and sputtered as gas continued to vent from below. 

Thunder stomp! An example of the striking rock formations.

Also part of Krafla was this striking, if had to photograph, crater lake, You used to be able to walk all the way around it, but one side has collapsed a bit, making it unpassable. 

Back in the car, we headed another 45 minutes or so down the road to Goðafoss, or the Waterfall of the Gods. Purportedly, when Iceland converted to Christianity, around 1000, a local lawspeaker threw his idols of the old pagan gods off the waterfalls. 

The falls were large and striking, even from the highway, but after hours of driving (and many, many waterfalls... like a LOT of waterfalls), they ended up warranting only a brief stop. 

One of only, like, 2 or 3 photos of the whole family from the trip.

From there, it was only a short drive to Akureyi, Iceland's second largest city. But, first, we would pay our one toll of the trip, to drive through the 2nd most epic tunnel we'd drive through on the trip: 7.4km long!

Entering Akureyi and driving straight to our apartment, we got checked in, and then it was time to reward the kids with a trip to the pool. As I''ve previously mentioned, photos aren't allowed inside the pool areas, but Sarah snapped this photo from the outside, that gives you an idea of the waterslides, at what was probably the largest and fanciest pool we visited the whole trip.

Otto stares longingly at the waterslides.

After an hour and a half at the pool, we headed into town for dinner, but the kids were fading fast from a long day of driving then swimming. So, while Otto went back to the apartment fro some screen time, the other three of us walked to a 24-hour grocery store to stock up for breakfast, and tomorrow's day on the road. 

Day 6

The next morning, it was back on the road again. The drive to Reykjavik would be roughly 5 hours, so unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of time to linger in Akureyi. (Akureyi, we hardly knew ye!) Also unfortunately, Stella woke up sniffling and feeling under the weather. Stella has already struggled with allergies, so initially that's what we presumed she was struggling with. But, as we continued our drive, it became more and more apparent that she was struggling with some sort of head cold. Ultimaitely, she would spend most of the day napping in the backseat, as we raced across the Icelandic landscape.

The drive from Akureyi to Reykjavik isn't as loaded with natural wonders to stop and check out, but our first stop was Borgarvirki, a "volcanic plug" that had been converted into a fort during settlement times. While the fortifications themselves were basic (basic rock walls built to reinforce the plugs natural defenses), you could definitely see why the site was chosen. From the "walls" it was easy to see dozens of miles in every direction.

The kids in the parking lot. Unlike some of the main sites we visited, we largely had this to ourselves.

The epic view from the fortification's walls spreads out behind me.

From there, it was on to Grábrók: A striking volcanic cone and crater, with well-constructed gangplank walkways allowing you to explore around its edges. 

Climbing the stairs. My poor old-man knees.

A second, smaller crater next to the one we hiked around. 

Otto virtually skipping his way around the ring.

After that, it was on the Reykjavik. But, first, it was on to the most impressive tunnel of our trip: The Hvalfjörður Tunnel! At 5.77km, it isn't as long as the tunnel outside of Akureyi, but it goes under a fjord!! I mean, how often do you get to drive under a fjord?

The fjord we drove under. Apparently, the tunnel reduces the drive time from over an hour down to 7 minutes.

The tunnel entrance. Sarah also took a photo inside the tunnel, but really all you can see is all the bugs splattered on our windshield... we'd drove something like 1500k by this point.

Arriving in Reykavik after a week on the Ring Road, the city seemed comparatively crowded and hectic. But, despite some confusing directions, we managed to find our rental, the Ice Apartments, and get checked in. We looked forward to exploring the town a bit more, tomorrow, but the time being, we were happy to let the kids rest and veg in the apartment, while Sarah and I went out to dinner at a fancy food court. 

Sarah outside the Ice Apartments. Surprisingly quiet, despite being one block off from one of Reykjavik's busiest intersections.