Iceland – the North
Iceland and many of its beautiful places are so famous that there’s really no need for a proper introduction. Despite being expensive and still not completely tourist ready, it has become a popular destination during Summer and many places, specially if close to the ring road, may be a little crowded if visited during peak hours; nothing really annoying, I’ve seen far worse, but it is better to plan accordingly when possible to enjoy the best spots…and usually the best pictures are taken early in the morning or at sunset, when most people are not on site. It may be very cold at those times even in Summer, so be prepared!
Getting to Iceland with the Norrona means starting the tour on the Eastern side, while almost anybody else getting there by plane will begin around Reykjavik, on the other side of the country. Doing a self drive with my car this was not a problem, but it was often funny when exchanging travel experiences with people met on the way since they were often assuming I had already seen the same places. For the same reason it may seem strange to most the order of my posts and pictures in the gallery, but I’m following my travel plan around the island anticlockwise in chronological order, nothing else.
My first day in Iceland was a shock. The moment I left the ferry and finished the quick formalities to enter the country with my car, it started raining and, despite the local saying “if you don’t like the weather, just wait 5 minutes”, it went on the whole day. On the way it became also foggy so in the end I was not even able to at least see anything I had planned for the day, which included Dettifoss, Selfoss, Jokulsargljufur and Husavik. I will show no pictures of the area since I have none. The day and the rain ended on the shores of lake Myvatn, my final destination and base of operations for the following days.
Fortunately that turned out to be the worst day of the entire trip and the morning after the sun was shining. That is a must in the Myvatn area because of the colors of the volcanic craters around the lake and in the geothermal area of Krafla volcano. There’s a lot to enjoy here, even a full day may be not enough to see it all. If possible, it is really worth to spend multiple days around.
From lake Myvatn it is also possible to get on a day tour to Askja, which I highly recommend even if a little expensive (in case you are wondering, yes unless you are driving a 4×4 vehicle and know what you’re doing, a guided tour is the only safe way to reach Askja). The place is wonderful and I got to see it in fresh snow even in the middle of August since during my horrible first rainy day Askja got 30cm of snow. Also along the way there are remarkable views well worth the rough off-road trip and for me it turned out to be one of the best days even if for once I had to adapt to a small group instead of exploring at my pace.
The other main hub in the North, and my next destination after a stop at the famous Godafoss of course, is Akureyri. The city itself is nothing special in my opinion with only the gardens and the modern church worth a visit, but the fjords in the North and the countryside heading West provide a lot of sightseeing opportunities.
