This morning we woke up and immediately headed north towards the town of Húsavík for our 9am whale watching tour. Joey’s been whale watching in New York before and said it was a waste of time after our trip in Húsavík. We not only saw humpback whales, but a lot of other wildlife as well, including puffins, arctic turn, and dolphins! We booked our tour through North Sailing, and while we cannot compare them to other tours, the service and experience they provide was amazing. They gave us these ultra stylish waterproof and buoyant suits, provided a traditional, yet eco-friendly boat (converter to an entirely electric-powered engine keeping in mind pollution of the bay), and even hot chocolate and a cinnamon roll on the way back to the dock…outstanding.
After Husavik we headed towards Dimmuborgir, which are huge volcanic rock valley where Game of Thrones has and continues to be filmed (we haven’t seen GoT, so to us these were just really cool volcanic rocks…no pun intended). There is also a really awesome viewpoint of Lake Mývatn, which is nearby.
The Lake Mývatn area is also home to the beautiful Mývatn Nature Baths. These nature baths are nowhere near as popular as the famous Blue Lagoon in southwest Iceland, but they are still gorgeous…and relaxing of course! Tip: Icelandic bath/bathhouses are the best place to stop if you need a quick shower. The shower is included in the admission price, and while Mývatn Nature Baths are more expensive than the typical town’s bathhouse, we still found it to be a nice time to freshen up.
After spending some quality R&R at the beautiful Mývatn Nature Baths, we continued on to Grjotagja cave, which is also a filming location for Game of Thrones. Locals were once able to swim in it, but after a volcano erupted, is it no longer allowed. Joey went pretty far in and couldn’t get over how unsafe the place seemed. Rocks looked like they were just waiting to slide and there was a footpath above the cave itself…
After the now-defunct cave spelunking, we continued on to see Iceland’s own Yellowstone! Or maybe Yellowstone is America’s own Hverir? Either way, Namaskard, Námafjall, and Hverir are breathtaking sulfur fields that, yes smell terrible, but also shed some light on the amazing activing happening here on Earth.
Dettifoss and Selfoss were next on our list, and while many dedicate time for Dettifoss, they often leave out Selfoss…not sure why it’s not talked about more because it’s amazing! To get there, drivers have two options. If you do the Ring Road clockwise you will approach route 862 first and most people opt for this road as it is more paved that the next option. The second option is to travel approximately 10km past route 862 and turn onto route 864. The truth is both roads are unpaved and not the best, but any car is fine as long as you take your time. We chose 864 (option 2) because this route brings you right up alongside Dettifoss and Selfoss (along the rocks’ edge), whereas route 862 just brings you to an observation/viewpoint platform. Dettifoss is a short hike down some rather steep rocks, but once to the fall’s edge it is breathtaking…keep in mind that Dettifoss is the largest waterfall in all of Europe by volume! Tip: If you take route 864, make sure to take some rain gear, as you get pretty wet on approach.
After spending some time at Dettifoss and feeling the wind pushing and pulling us, we embarked on the 1.5km hike to Selfoss. A 1.5km hike isn’t too bad, even for an inexperienced hiker, but some of the rock scrambles definitely gave us a run for our money…
After a long and more arduous hike than planned, we continued east along the Ring Road towards our campsite for the night at Fjalladyrd. The little community is full of cute grass roof houses and the campsite even has a little restaurant and shop where we got some local sweets! The Loveball is a cinnamon-flavored baked treat and the twisted donut is made with cardamom…and love of course! Needless to say they were both delicious!
Tomorrow we’re going to start making our way to eastern Iceland where we’ll be on the lookout for more waterfalls, REINDEER, and PUFFINS along the way…so stay posted!
TIP: when you’re driving in Northern Iceland, make sure to get gas..even if you have ¾ of gas left because it’s pretty desolate and no gas station in sight for miles!
!! Love it, thanks for all the tips. Plan on a trip in ‘19 !!