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It’s day five in Iceland and we spent the better part of the day in Dalvik (the main village of Dalvíkurbyggð) watching herding of horses.

This was an unexpected treat for us! We met the local fire chief Anton, who chatted with us about some of the popular past times in Iceland, and soon invited us to watch the event. Just over 100 horses return to their farmers as the winter season approaches.

Not only do the farmers come out, but it is a community event. Anton told us afterwards they come together to enjoy treats and a few laughs!

Oh, and I made a new friend. 🙂

Thanks to all for the hospitality today!

Another busy day in Iceland! Today we toured the Mývatn region – Mývatn is a shallow eutrophic lake situated in an area of active volcanism in the north of Iceland, not far from Krafla volcano.

This area is known for its geothermal areas, including Namaskard with its hot sulfuric mud springs. The smell is the first thing you’ll notice as you approach this area. The second: how this looks like another planet!

This region also has Nature Baths, but not intended for swimming because hot spots are still contained underneath.

One of our biggest feats of the day was climbing the Skútustaðir pseudo craters in the Mývatn area in northeast Iceland.

And a quick stop to the bizarre Dimmuborgir lava formations.

We had to make a detour back to check out the Kafka volcano, one of the country’s most visited volcanoes. We walked the entire path way, muddying our boots entirely!

And to finish off a busy day, we managed to get some shots of the Góðafoss waterfall. But here’s one of me after I climbed through a rocky pathway up to this peak! I was pretty proud!

Day three in Iceland started with an exploration of Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon – an incredible visual display.

According to Wikipedia, the glacier is situated at the head of the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier, and developed into a lake after the glacier started receding from the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.

The day flew by afterwards. We continued our way along the south east coast, pulling over every time a neat photo opportunity presented itself.

At times, we faced winds around 80 km/hour. The photo below was snapped at one of the more gusty locations on Ring Road.

And before we got to our hotel in Egilsstaðir, we stopped over in a little village called Reyðarfjörður. That’s where we picked up some groceries, and filled the car.  To my surprise, I also spotted more elf homes!

 

Day two in Iceland started bright and early with an action-packed day along the south coast. Among our stops included Seljalandsfoss (pictured first) and Skogafoss waterfalls.

We also drove by some elf homes, otherwise known as Drangurinn in Drangshlíð, located in the foothills of Eyjafjöll! I am so happy we saw these early on in the trip.

Much folklore surrounds this area – much, much too much to write.

The day didn’t end there. After that quick snap, we headed off to do see the Sólheimajökull glacier, and the Reynisfjara shore (black beach), near the village Vik in Myrdalur. The black basalt sand beach is also located right near the puffin cliffs — although, we didn’t see any on our journey today.

But I must say, my favourite was Diamond Beach near Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon. We arrived just in time to see the sun go down. How breath-taking.

I arrived in Iceland at 4:45 a .m. this morning, local time. After picking up our SIM card at the Duty Free shop (approx. $24 Canadian dollars gets you 3 GB of data), picking up the car rental, we headed straight for the capital to … take a quick nap in the grocery store parking lot.

But by 10 a.m, we were on the road to the Golden Circle, about 40 minutes southeast of Reykjavik. We began at a pull-off to shoot some quick photos, and check out the lava rock. It was so barren in this particular area, it felt like we had stepped foot on Mars.

We then continued on our way to the Geysir geothermal area, where the Strokkur geyser sprays up to 30 metres of water every 4-8 minutes.

After spending the early afternoon hiking to the peak of the area, we drove over the Gullfoss Waterfall. According to Reykjavik Excursions, the waterfall was created by the river Hvítá, which tumbles and plunges into a crevice some 32 m deep.

We didn’t stay out late. Bought a few groceries and tonight we stay at Hellisholar Cottages – where we hope to be viewing the northern lights after midnight.

UPDATE 11:29 p.m. local time: The northern lights came out in grand fashion, dancing in the night sky over our cabin. What a way to end day one.