Siglufjörður to Mývatn

First, let me just say that, yes, we saw the aurora Borealis, known to most as The Northern Lights. But I’ll quickly add that, no, I do not have any photograph, nor video. There is a fairly methodical way to catch them with your camera, which I’m not too familiar with, and experimenting in the dark, with temperatures below the freezing point, and the wind blowing, was not in the cards, neither last night, nor the previous. I’m just content that I saw them, and that will have to suffice.

But now let’s review the day. While everyone still slept, I went into town to snap a couple of photos and get myself a cappuccino and pastry.

Siglufjörður

Soffia's House, our residence for the night

Our drive today took us through some pretty spectacular areas. Our destination was Mývatn, which is not really a city, but a region, which many consider the most interesting in Iceland. I’m not sure I would use the superlative, but it is definitely an incredible place. The entire region is home to between 200 and 300 people, in a place the size of Rhode Island.

Getting here, the scenery, in places, was simply jaw-dropping…

Goðafoss waterfall was also super cool.

We had lunch in Akureyri, the country’s second largest city, where we made a brief stop at the botanical gardens, which surprisingly at this latitude, still managed to retain much greenery.

View of Akureyri from across the fjord

Mývatn centers around a lake, located in a very geologically active area. As the rest of country, it’s origins are volcanic, and geothermal activity is abundant. The lake is quite scenic, pastoral, and very dramatic.

I found the Námafjall area more exciting than Geysir. It is a bit unsettling knowing that not far below the ground we are walking on, there flows enough magma to cause rain and other water that penetrates the soil to bubble back to the surface so dramatically.

Tomorrow, we’ll be heading to the Eastfjord region, a (need I say it?) sparsely populated area that is as scenic as it is lonesome. Let’s get a good night sleep, then we’ll take you there.