Iceland - a travel blog

Mist, city life, fish It's Saturday again. Exactly one week ago our adventure in Iceland began. We're both a bit surprised that we're only halfway now. Judging by the number of things we've seen so far, or the pictures on our camera's, it could already have been a whole trip. At the same time, we feel a bit sad too. The fact that we're over the halfway mark means that the end will now rapidly start to come closer and closer. We have another breakfast with pancakes and waffles at the hotel. After checking out and loading the car we leave Mývatn and its annoying midgets behind us. Because today's planning is a bit more flexible, we decide to take a walk on the Vindbelgjarfjall. A mountain to the west of the Mývatn lake that gives a great panoramic view on a clear day. As of this morning, the sunny days have left us and clouds with sometimes rain are forecasted for the next couple of days. Because the weather is so dynamic here, we decided to make the walk to t...

Mývatn area Having finished an extensive breakfast with waffles and croissants, we start our last highly filled day for a while. We decide to kick start it with Dettifoss. Yet another waterfall, but one that holds high expectations as it's the most powerful in Iceland. To get there, we have to pass the Mývatn Nature Baths again. In this area there are various landmarks to see and from the car we can clearly see the white steam from Hverir. An area that we will visit later today. During the first couple of minutes into our drive, the car continued to make some weird noises, but by the time we arrive at the Dettifoss parking lot, all seems to have stopped.  The parking lot isn't yet crowded and we quickly jump out of the car to enjoy this waterfall without too many tourists. To get to the waterfall we need to take a short walk of about 500m that leads us into a grey and deserted landscape. We can hear the waterfall from far away, but it's only when we climb over the last litt...

Alone in this world As dawn breaks, we have another early morning start. The drive on the Sprengisandur will take almost all day, so we have to start early. After a simple breakfast on our wellness slippers, we check-out. Actually, we just have to leave the key on the counter as most employees work in the restaurant/breakfast area in the morning. When we walk to our car, we see some huge trucks parked in front of the hotel. These cars have been adapted to travel anywhere at any season. We hit the road once more and after 10 minutes leave the comfort of asphalt for a day of shaky loose rocks. Unlike yesterday this road doesn't have that many potholes, it's mostly rocks and evading the biggest ones. We're lucky as the sun is shining upon us today allowing far views in the distance. We spot huge mountains and glaciers. After a couple of hours, we cross two bikes. Amazed by the dedication of those people, we stare at them as we pass by. They must have spent the night somewhere ...

Colourful highlands It's early morning when the alarm goes off. The sun has just risen and during breakfast we check again the Icelandic road service website. Nothing has changed: the nearest road into the highlands is still closed. Turns out the daily refresh is only at 7AM. We will be driving by that time, so we plan for the longer route which takes us all the way back to just before Selfoss. A town we passed by on our second day.  Town of Vík At last we leave the ring road and turn on road 26. New, undiscovered, ground that will take us further inland. This road turns after a while in the F26 which we will drive all the way to Mývatn on the next day. All F-roads in Iceland are off-road tracks and require a 4-wheel drive car. Just before the asphalt stops, we turn right onto the F225, our first F-road. We quickly read the signs sayings that 4x4-cars are mandatory and that there are possible river crossings on these roads. The speed limit is reduced from 90 km/h to 80 km/h on thes...