Magical winter’s day at Myvatn

Magnetic Myvatn

Exploring the molten heart of North Iceland.

TEXT: Lisa Gail Shannen PHOTOS: Asa Steinars

Nothing compares to the brilliance of clear cobalt-blue skies and unimpeded Arctic sunlight bouncing spectacularly off endless snowcovered mountain vistas. It’s around 2 °C above freezing (36 °F) on an early April morning when we land in Akureyri. Despite the chill, it feels like we’ve hit the weather jackpot. It’s altogether different from the outlook in Reykjavik, where the effects of springtime are well underway and the snow has all but melted. It’s a mere 35-minute flight from the capital, but the contrast is so stark it feels like we’re in a different country. The door of the plane opens like a clam shell and as I step out onto the stairs I’m greeted by the chill of crisp, clean air clearing my head like an extra-strong mint, but also by the heat from the sun, blooming on my face like a fever. A battle of the elements is clearly underway, albeit an uncommonly quiet and pleasant one, and while I search for Asa – the photographer and my companion for the day – I’m glad I didn’t forget either my sunglasses or my thermal underwear.

Legendary landmarks

As we wait for our tour bus my sense of excitement builds; I’m thrilled to be back in North Iceland and in a way I feel like I’ve come home. I lived in Akureyri, the gorgeous northern capital of Iceland, for seven years, and I can’t wait to revisit some of the marvellous landmark locations lined up on our eight-hour tour of the North.

The road from Akureyri stretches north along the east side of the Eyjafjordur fjord towards the impressive Kaldbakur (“Cold Back”) mountain in the distance. The elevation is steep and the views from the windows of our Mercedes-Benz Vito are dazzling. The weather, which continues to defy the usual proverbial formula, is still glorious and pro-

vides the main topic of conversation between our small party of travellers and our driver/guide, Oskar Thor, who explains that the climate here is different from most coastal areas in Iceland, with warmer summers and colder winters. We also learn that it’s less windy because the town is surrounded by high mountains that protect it from strong winds. No need for a windsock to prove this claim, the air is incredibly fresh but as still as a millpond when we pull into the popular viewing stop overlooking the town across the fjord. Framed dramatically by some of the highest peaks in the Trollaskagi peninsula, the views are truly stunning. Apart from the sound of crunching snow under our feet and the caws and croaks of nearby ravens, the stillness and hush create an almost intimate tranquillity as we take photos of the picture-postcard scene laid out before us.

Our next stop takes us to Godafoss, not just a beautiful waterfall but a legendary landmark where Icelandic history was once made. Legend has it that Thorgeir Ljosvetningagodi, a local heathen chieftain and lawspeaker at the national parliament, Althingi, ceremoniously cast his collection of pagan idols into the falls in the year 1000, after determining that Iceland should adopt to Christianity. Therefore, the waterfall is known as “Godafoss”, or “Waterfall of the Gods”. Located just off the main road, you can hear the power of the falls before you can see them. The sound creates an effective prelude to the dramatic vision of the waterfall itself, where the frigid blue waters of the Skjalfandafljot river thunder into a series of terrific torrents over a semi-circular shaped chasm encrusted, for now, with giant sparkling icicles.

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Black, white and blue

From Godafoss our journey continues through the Reykjadalur valley to the

TRAVEL North Iceland

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Skutustadir pseudo craters, where we make another photo stop with accompanying geological insights from our guide about why they are not real volcanic craters, but in fact the result of violent steam explosions created when hot lava flows into a body of water. They are apparently a rare phenomenon outside of Iceland.

A progression of impressive sights awaits us in Myvatn, where we first stop to admire the peculiar twisted lava formations protruding from the lake of semi-frozen glittering blue water, like giant gnarled black fingers dipped in icing sugar. The show continues at Dimmuborgir (“Dark Castles”), where I try my best not to get lost in the labyrinth of snow-laden trails winding through an extensive field of the same dark and curious lava formations, sculpted by nature into all sorts of weird and wonderful shapes. Although I didn’t lose my way, I did lose track of time and was a little late for the next destination: Grjotagja – a steamy waterfilled chasm inside a cave where an equally steamy scene from Game of Thrones featuring Jon Snow and Ygritte was filmed.

The molten heart of Myvatn

Eruptions are far fewer in North Iceland, with the last volcanic episode taking place at Krafla in 1984. The years might have cooled the region significantly but as our next stop at Hverir (a geothermal field east of Lake Myvatn) proved, the area still beats with a feverous molten heart. When I’ve visited Hverir in the past, the steam from the hissing vents and bubbling mud pools is usually pressed by the winds in an almost-horizontal direction, rushing past you like a furious, fluffy, white

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08 01 View from the airplane. 02 Hverfjall crater – a famous dog-bowlshaped tephra cone, east of Myvatn. 03 Soaking up the winter sun in the pearly-blue waters of the Myvatn

Nature Baths. 04 Godafoss – “Waterfall of the Gods”. 05 Enjoying a steaming hot cup of geothermal energy at Krafla

Power Station. 06 Looking out across the geothermal fields. 07 Grjotagja – a hidden cave with a shimmering geothermal pool inside. 08 One of the many pseudo craters of Skutustadir at the southern shore of Lake Myvatn.

steam train. Today, because there’s not even a light breeze to play with, the copious clouds of steam are forming tremendous billowing vertical towers, which are thoroughly spellbinding to look at; at least until you get neck ache.

The Myvatn Nature Baths, our final destination, promise to cure any aches and pains, though, and just like its more famous counterpart in the south – The Blue Lagoon – it contains a unique blend of minerals, silicates and geothermal microorganisms, giving the water a pearly blue appearance. As I float in the wonderfully warm water, a well of fatigue dissipates and the exertions of the day dissolve into daydreams. I look out towards the lake and beyond, where I can see a soft pink haze slowly enfolding the Earth; I read somewhere it was called the belt of Venus. I could easily stay here until the stars come out, but after an hour of utter bliss, we must leave. I’m not too sad to go, though. I know I’ll visit again. The North is like a powerful magnet, always pulling me back.

GETTING THERE:

Myvatn Akureyri

Reykjavik

Air Iceland Connect flies daily from Reykjavik to Akureyri in only 35 minutes. From there it takes about one hour and 15 minutes to drive to Myvatn. The tour of Myvatn was run by Akureyri travel company SBA. → airicelandconnect.com