Iceland Part 5- Reydarfjordur to Husavik

The morning after the Northern Lights we slept in a bit and then began the drive up north. For the record- this was the most boring drive of the whole trip! It was basically driving through a very arid area for hours. Sarah and I joked that I always drove on the boring days, which sucked for her as a passenger (we traded off driving days and it certainly was fun to be the passenger on the scenic route so you could take it all in!).

Our first major stop was Dettifoss waterfall! It turns out we were very lucky to make it to Dettifoss as some of the roads had been closed due to the volcano eruption (the eruption itself wasn't much of a danger, but eruptions+glaciers= flooding!). However everything was all good and I managed the 30km drive through a FREAKING DESERT without problem. Unless you count inhaling the smell of dust for a long drive a problem (which we did). Thank god for the 4wd, which made me able to pass all the smaller cars that needed to drive slow! I heard there is another road that is paved, but it was closed that day (we had intended to take that road back out and found out from a local that it was closed).

We kept driving down this road (which looked like this for the whole 30km) wondering how in the world there was a waterfall at the end of it. But finally we pulled up to the small parking lot at the top of a gorge and there is was! It was a gorgeous (pun intended) sight after all that dust.

Dettifoss is the most powerful waterwall in Europe, but there is nothing stopping you from walking right in it, except you know...not wanting to die! It seemed crazy dangerous, and Sarah kept getting mad at me for getting too close :)

There was also a gorgeous double rainbow by the falls- and y'all know how much I love rainbows!

After Dettifoss we drove back down to the main road and continued up north, stopping by Krafla Power Plant (I was SOO excited to pee in the outdoor toilet by Krafla, but it was GONE. Only the shower remained. So sad.). But across from Krafla is Namafjall, which has neat bubbling mud pools and steam vents.

After these stops, we drove north to the town of Husavik. We decided to go for a hike on mount Husavik and we got a map from gas station, but struggled to find the turn off for the road to the hike start point. I finally turned up this gravel road that lead up the mountain, BUT THE PARKING LOT NEVER CAME. I found myself driving UP this mountain on a rough gravel road that was on the edge of a cliff. It was like a 90 degree incline. Oh my goodness did I ever need the 4 wheel drive at that point. Finally I found a safe place to park the car and we got out and hiked the remaining distance up! We had heard there were natural hot springs on the top we could get in, but we never found them :(. And yes, somehow I managed to drive back DOWN that mountain and the car and Sarah and I all survived! I just went sloooow and in a low gear.

Top o' the mountain

After that adventure, we decided to visit the Husavik Whale Museum. We actually both really enjoyed it and learned a lot about various whales and their habits. My favourite part was the skeletons on the 2nd floor. Each whale died of natural causes or accidents and the museum even listed where they came from and how they preserved the bones. It was really quaint and neat to hear about how Magnus from the next town over found a beached whale on his property and the museum came out to get it.

After the whale museum we headed to our hostel on a farm called Arbot. It was alright, but definitely not our favourite hostel of the trip!

But let me leave you with a shot of the friends I made in Husavik! I went up to take a picture and all the horses in the paddock came up to say hi :)