Day 8: Lake Myvatn to Egilsstadir
I felt like we were now starting to make our way back to Reykjavik and the airport. I was looking forward to the next several days because we would be experiencing some of the many attractions that East and South Iceland offer.
The main stop of the day was Studlagil Canyon (1 on the map) For most of the year the Jokla river at the bottom of the canyon has a turquoise blue color which contrasts with the tall hexagonal basalt walls of the canyon. The water level of the river is controlled by a dam and hydroelectric plant upstream. In the late summer the reservoir behind the dam overflows with glacier melt from the Vatnajökull glacier, which raises the river level and turns it a muddy brown color. The stunning features of the canyon were revealed fairly recently (2006 and 2009) and remained largely unknown until photographed by an Icelandic travel writer in 2016. I suppose it is still relatively unknown as it requires a bit of a drive off the main ring road, and a 5-mile round trip walk if you want to go to the east side of the canyon and walk down to river level. That’s the route we chose. Even though we were expecting brown water, it was a little disappointing to be there on a cold overcast and breezy day. Regardless, it was spectacular spot.
After having lunch in the car and returning to the ring road, we continued on to the east. Unfortunately the weather continued to deteriorate. We mistakenly drove by the stop to see Geirsstaðakirkja, a rebuilt viking turf church because it was in the middle of a pasture and there were a couple guys on quads that were rounding up their sheep. By the time we realized we’d missed the church, neither of us thought it was worth back-tracking to take a closer look. We did stop at Kirkjubæjarkirkja, an off the beaten path old wooden church, which was built in 1851. From there we went through Egilsstadir and on out to Seyðisfjörður, a small town and fjord in East Iceland. It was very dramatic dropping down into the fjord, and we were again disappointed by the low clouds and rainy conditions. We planned to find a coffee house or cafe to get an afternoon snack, but there weren’t many options in Seyðisfjörður and several were closed in the mid-afternoon. Seyðisfjörður is Iceland’s closest town Europe hosting a terminal for a car ferry that travels to the Faroe Islands and Denmark.
Day 9: Egilsstadir to Höfn
The rain and wind continued today. All day. We did our best to not let the weather get to us, but today’s itinerary was all about dramatic coastal views, all of which remained hidden from us. The south and east of Iceland are also known for wind. We did get to experience a taste of what that is like.
