no, i didn't forget... semester has begun...
well, Day 6..
we woke up early and left the best hostel of the trip and drove up to find a nice view point over the Fjord. there was no sign, but we found the path and took the tiny car off road, this car is low but it was doing just fine till we reached a steeper part and the car refused to climb it. so we assumed the end is close and the view points is just around the corner, and we walked on for a few minutes, till Shay spotted it, a rein deer. after trying a rein deer burger the night before, we now saw it in the flesh so to speak. it was a bull deer and it ran so fast of the rocks, we were moving slowly and it was moving like a cheetah.
after a few minutes we realised the end was too far, since we had a schedule to keep so we left this point with only a rein deer and no view point.
we drove up the pass for some nice none fjordic views, and arrived late to meet the rest of the gang, from here it was a couple of hours driving up the barren highlands, with hardly any village but with a water fall on occasion. the views became more desert like and after a while mountains became colourful, slightly yellow and reddish with smoke coming out of a couple places. we've reach lake Myva, the center of lots of hiking attractions. after trying to settle in (room is not ready) we spent time figuring out our next hike, it wasn't a long one, but we could put a car on the other side for the ride back, after few missed attempts we found the end, parked a car, went to the starting point and started walking. this hike is a climb to a large volcano. after a K or so on a service road where the ground all around is completely black we reached a placed with hot water emerging from the ground, this used to be a bath house but now its too hot. it started raining and again we were under dressed, but we kept going, actually back and forth till we found someone who knows where the trail continues. at this part the trail passes in some kind of rock garden, rocks in all sorts of weird shapes, and soon we reach the volcano itself, and it climbed up steeply, the rain picks up and so is the wind, my absorbent jacket is collecting water instead of repelling it. the higher we climbed the strongest the wind got, it was pushing us back. at the top we could see in the the caldera, this huge black circular hill , but the wind was making it impossible to talk or take photos. i suggested taking the long path around the hill, but was easily convinced not too, every step was a battle , you would assume that the round top of a volcano is the same height, but no, the other side was higher, very tough climb. on the other side the trail went down very steeply, as soon as we took 5 steep steps down the wind stopped, full protection from the mountain. we went down the on this black sand and in no time we were on flat ground where the rain hit us occasionally, but i was fully soaked and didn't care much.
the rock garden continued and the rock shape were impressive, some were shaped like arches, some like huge pillars, some like well, i cant even describe. later we would learn that random pillars are petrified trolls per Icelandic mythology.
we walked for an hour or so in this rock garden till we reached Dimmuborgir where Moti was waiting for us. Moti and libi went up the volcano but slow pace and the wind/ rain combo made them go down and walk around, they actually hiked longer, but avoided the mayhem of the volcano.
we went to get our rooms, the room is actually our sleeping bag on a bunk bed, followed by dinner at the cow shed. this place has actual cows in the restaurant, separated by windows. they make fresh cheeses and other things from the fresh dairy. I think i had a burger, since most food here had evil ingredients like mushrooms , but the rest liked this place. eating with cows was interresting, do they know i ate a burger?
the day was not over, and we headed for the hot springs. this is the 2nd largest hot spring resort in Iceland and the local favorite (the big one is touristy they say), so we hopped there as tourists, paid too much, got inside and took a shower next to the human sized size that instructs you of all the "critical" areas to wash. then we entered the blue warm lagoon. this pool is fed by hot springs, and you have colder areas and some really hot, mostly its nice and oily from the minerals. we soaked for an hour and a half relaxing weary muscles. we returned to the bunk bed room for a much needed sleep.
thus ends day 6
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