I ventured outside of Akureyri, Iceland, today. I wanted to see some of the lava fields, a famous waterfall, and the bubbling hot water springs nearby. Here's my day in pictures:
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| The Fnjoskadalur Valley, where clear geological remains of glacial and post-glacial times. |
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| There are paths among the labyrinth of stone magma structures that were formed here. |
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| Much of the area looks like another planet. |
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| Next, drive directly to the Lake Myvatn area, stopping to view the rather unusual craters at Skutustadir. |
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| Water seeping from the ground is boiling and releases steam. |
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| Note the people who climbed to the top of this mountain. It kind of looks like you are on Mars. |
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| The area has a distinct smell of sulfur. At all of these places there were flies that would get in your ears and land on your head. They did not bite, but were a nusiance. |
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| I didn't venture as close as these folks to the boiling pools of water. |
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| Iceland has been able to harness the energy from hydro dams to natural steam to generate very cheap engergy for the citizens of the country, |
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| A closeup look at the lava flow. |
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| The next stop was Godafoss Falls. |
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| The falls were beautiful. |
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| Another view of the falls. |
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| The water of the river Skjálfandafljót falls from a height of 39 feet over a width of 98 feet.. |
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| There is argument over the meaning of the name: it is "waterfall of the goð (pagan idols)" or "waterfall of the goði (chieftain)." |
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| It was great to get back to the ship after a long and very busy day. |
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| When I returned to my stateroom I had a certificate for crossing the Arctic Circle the night before. I've not crossed both the Arctic and Antarctic Circles in my travels. |
