Day 4 — Longest Day (2 July) — 5 miles, unofficial

We were on the bus from 8 AM until 8 PM visiting the major sites in the northeast section of Iceland. Towards the end of the day, a majority of our group opted for a spa visit while six of us went on a mile walk around a well kept botanical garden next to a river. I estimated that those of us who walked the garden logged about 5 miles for the day. I can’t say what our fellow spa members would claim for their mileage. Hence, the designation – unofficial.

Whether because of feedback from previous hikers or from his inner sensitivity, Mike, our guide, planned several strategic nature breaks during our bus trip. One of them occurred at a rest stop with a small but welcoming cafe at a highway junction. With mountains in the background, the area surrounding this cafe was flat and desolate like the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. It stretched as far as the eyes could see. Here is Mike in one of his typical poses looking out over the countryside. What was he thinking about? The time — we certainly stayed on schedule. The next nature breaks? The weather? In any case, we all appreciate Mike’s effort in making our tour interesting and the going smooth.

Before moving on, some photos from the cafe that served pastries and hot drinks. Although I did not have one, I was struck by the item, love ball. I wondered about what ingredient in the fried dough that would induce love. Also on the menu was Iceland’s fan favorite hot dog. I was compelled to include the condiments in the cafe cooler that could be applied to the hot dog. Amongst the Icelandic bottles was Pennsylvania’s finest — Heinz ketchup. For those in the know, the label is shaped like a keystone — the motto of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

I don’t recall how long it took to our next destination — perhaps 45 minutes? We arrived at Dettifoss (foss meaning waterfall). Mike said this waterfall has the highest volume of water cascading over its edge in Europe. I’ll take his word for it. It beats out the Gullfoss on the Golden Circle and the Rheinfalls in Switzerland that are pretty impressive waterfalls.

In order to see the falls, we walked through ancient lava flows. I am always taken how big boulders are found in the middle of nowhere. One has to be impressed by the sheer force of a lava flow. When I have watched videos of volcanic eruptions, I was unaware about how immense and chunky the lava mass must be. I thought its texture was more like smooth peanut butter.

While on the way back to our bus, I could not resist taking a photo of the lone food stand that stood amongst the rocks. Entrepreneurship in action.

A relatively short distance away (no nature break facilities here) was Namafjar Hverir, a field of exposed geothermal pools and vents. If you have visited Yellowstone NP, you will have seen a similar area. It is clear that we are in an active geological zone — the meeting of two major tectonic plates and the resulting mid-Atlantic Ridge. The smell is what one expects. The vents soundlessly spewed out its fumes.

Before leaving, I tried to capture the beauty of man made construction (our road) within nature. I entitled the image — Elegant Curves.

Mike must have sensed that the natives were hungry. Lunch was at the Kaffi Borgir, an all you want soup and bread buffet. My favorite was the coconut curry soup. Again, the mystery of how curry was discovered in Iceland. Where and when did the Vikings and their descendants discover coconuts? This soup proved to be my #1 over the vegetable and meat soup.

The Kaffi is right next to the Dimmuborgir, an area with pillar like lava remains. Several of the formations are imposing either alone or in a group. One line of formations reminded me of the Manhattan skyline. Local mythology believes that trolls live here.

Before dropping off some of our compadres at the spa, we visited Grjatagia — an easily accessible segment of the rift where the tectonic plates meet. Laird took a more cautious pose than Mike and Nicole while straddling the rift. A quirk of geography to be able to set foot on two continents. I took the liberty of using the preposition “of” instead of “on” because Laird in Scotland and Wales means head of the clan. Hail to chieftain.

The non-spa group walked a garden along the shores of Lake Myvatn. Here were lava pillars partially covered by water. The foliage was in bloom showing a pallet of colors from yellows to purple.