Iceland Day 8
Yet another eventful day. Starting with Eldborg (a large crater of many inland a few kilometers from Snæfellsnes Peninsula), we walked a rather long and winding trail up to the crater for a great view of the crater and countryside. We then visited two impressive waterfall systems, Hraunfossar and Barnafoss. Hraunfossar is quite interesting, in that its source of water seems to sporatically leak from inside the lava rock that forms its surroundings. The next step was to make our way to Þingvellir National Park and walk around the Mid-Atlantic Rift Valley, which is the only place in the entire world to see the crest of the Mid-Atlantic rift above water. We finished the day at our digs, Laugarvatn Hostel.
Eldborg
The trail to get to this crater was one of the longest trails we took during this trip. "How many steps do you have on your FitBit now Amy?" There are many craters in the area like this, but this is among the most picturesque.
The trail to get to this crater was one of the longest trails we took during this trip. "How many steps do you have on your FitBit now Amy?" There are many craters in the area like this, but this is among the most picturesque.
Hraunfossar and Barnafoss
You just can't get enough waterfalls in Iceland. They come in all shapes and sizes, and these were quite unique themselves. Barnafoss was upstream of Hraunfossar. Hraunfossar is actually not considered one waterfall, as it is more closely described as a "series of waterfalls."
You just can't get enough waterfalls in Iceland. They come in all shapes and sizes, and these were quite unique themselves. Barnafoss was upstream of Hraunfossar. Hraunfossar is actually not considered one waterfall, as it is more closely described as a "series of waterfalls."
Þingvellir National Park (Mid-Atlantic Rift Valley)
This slideshow is quite large (>100 photos), as there was lots of photogenic sights. There's a reason it's included in the most popular tourist destinations in Iceland. We walked down into the rift valley to start this trip. There was quite a long trail that brought us up to a waterfall, Öxarárfoss. We then continued to travel between large cliffs of rocks and dropped down into the rift valley, where we saw the crest of the Mid-Atlantic ridge and the crystal clear glacier water that flows through it (we later go snorkeling in this crest). We continue through the rift back to where we parked. There were a ridiculous number of flies irritating us (no biting), which was helped by walking quickly! Otherwise, this is a beautiful location, right on the banks of the largest natural lake in Iceland, Þingvallavatn.
This slideshow is quite large (>100 photos), as there was lots of photogenic sights. There's a reason it's included in the most popular tourist destinations in Iceland. We walked down into the rift valley to start this trip. There was quite a long trail that brought us up to a waterfall, Öxarárfoss. We then continued to travel between large cliffs of rocks and dropped down into the rift valley, where we saw the crest of the Mid-Atlantic ridge and the crystal clear glacier water that flows through it (we later go snorkeling in this crest). We continue through the rift back to where we parked. There were a ridiculous number of flies irritating us (no biting), which was helped by walking quickly! Otherwise, this is a beautiful location, right on the banks of the largest natural lake in Iceland, Þingvallavatn.