| 10:15am |
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| These Icelandic horses loved trotting. |
Thanks for Mývatn babe #1's arrangement, we went horseback riding in the morning.
The Icelandic horses came with the early Viking settlers, and since no horses was
imported for the last thousand years, they retained their original Scandanavian
breed.
We rode to a nearby hill to have a nice view of the lake.
They were very well-behaved; they followed the leader and obeyed
your instructions (by pulling the reins).
Moreover, they were willing to trot, at a speed which was fun and yet not scary.
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| 1:00pm |
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| This blue pool of water was very warm. |
The huge month of a steam vent -- see the steam? |
Green grass on the left, black lava on the right. |
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| Twisted volcanic fissures at Leirhnjúkur. |
After lunch, we went to Leirhnjúkur,
a series of volcanic fissures created by Krafla back in early eighteenth century.
Just next door from Viti, the volcanic activities were more intense here than at
Hverarönd, the rocks were still warm, and every crack in the ground was steaming.
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| 2:30pm |
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| Dark clouds over the RingRoad. |
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| We stopped for a while at this nameless little fall after we descended through
the fog.
It had got quite chilly; Esther and Thomas were shivering. |
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| Coastal hills hidden in the mist. |
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| The sun made a rare appearance over Fardagafoss. |
East of Lake Mývatn, the most desolate segment of the RingRoad ran through
Ódáðahraun (Desert of Misdeeds),
miles and miles of flat and barren lavafield where outlaws were once banished.
Briefly we stopped at Fardagafoss near
Egilsstaðir, the biggest city of the East.
Then we climbed south through the hills towards Höfn, 150 km away in Southeast Iceland, where we planned to spend the night.
As we climbed the hills, we noticed a white ceiling of fog above us, and the road
was heading straight into the fog.
Soon enough we entered the fog, and the visibility dropped to about twenty feet.
Huge rocks became dark indistinct shapes in a fog, and the electric towers looked
like giant robot guarding the uninhabitable landscape.
Sometimes you could hear a stream a long time before suddenly saw it running across
the road.
The rugged path twisted like a serpent, and sometimes one could not see the side of
the road at all (probably we were driving by a cliff).
Well, while it sounds dangerous actually it was quite fun; it was not really dangerous
as long as you drive slowly and carefully, like Thomas the driver, who enjoyed the challenge.
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| The sea near Höfn. |
The ladies were sleeping soundly in the back, while CK the navigator admired the
misty scenery at his leisure.
Eventually we descended from the hills and reached the coast again.
The fog was less heavy here, and we reached Höfn at around 8pm.
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| 8:00pm |
We seeked help at the Höfn visitor center
to find a guesthouse or a hostel.
At first the lady at the desk very dryly replied that there were no available beds
anywhere and we had to retrace our path 100km(!) for another town where
accommodation might be available.
Only after Esther's persisting questioning did she picked up the phone, and yes, there
were available beds at the local international hostel.
(By the way, most tourist agents we met in Iceland were friendly and helpful.
This lady must be an exception.)
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| Cute little kittie! |
At the international hostel we met a very adorable 6 month old kitten.
She was very clean and had the cutest little pink nose.
At first she was shy and hid beneath parked cars, but soon she was playing
"catch the mouse" (the mouse was actually a piece of straw we handled)
with all the energy of a six-month old (a lot).
Thomas and CK had a good sleep, sharing a room with a guy and a girl, who must
have sneaked into the boys room to be close to her companion.
Esther and Emily, on the other hand, did not get any sleep as one of the girls
in their room was snoring thunderously.
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