Day 5 - Diamond Circle & Whale Museum
Today we secured our campsite for another night. There is a lot to see in this area and the camp manager would reserve our space (including electric hook up) if we prepaid. This was an easy decision. Now off for the day's adventure.
Diamond Circle
We decided to drive the Diamond Circle. This drive will take us up through the Thorne Peninsula through some of northern Iceland's most spectacular sights.
Husavik & Eurovision
First we drove up to the town of Husavik. This is the oldest settlement in Iceland as well as the Whale Watching Capital of Iceland, and a very cute town. It is also the town featured in the Will Ferrell movie Eurovision.
It is not currently whale season, so we toured the Whale Museum. This is the best museum we have seen on this trip. It is very well put together and has lots of great information on whales and whale hunting (and cool whale skeletons). This gift shop has many great items and all profits go back to the museum. We also grabbed lunch here and saw a continuation of the trend where most restaurants offer burgers, pizza, expensive lamb, and maybe fish. Wendell is getting bored of the largely “American” food options.
Husavik Whale Museum
We continued our Journey to Dettifoss. On the way there, we stopped at a cliff viewpoint that marked the location where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates met. So we technically drove our RV from North America to Europe!
We finally made it to Dettifoss West. This is the best side to view the falls as it faces west. Also the roads are better on this side. However, the weather had another plan for us. As we approached the temperature dropped to -1 Celsius and it started to snow. At first it was light, but after we parked the RV and started hiking to the falls, the wind got stronger and the snow was more intense. It seemed like a blizzard! We crossed a seemingly alien landscape to reach the falls, a treat itself to see another biome in the country. The falls are amazing. It is the strongest falls in Europe with 200 cubic meters of water per second plunging over the edge.
West side of DettiFoss
Lake Myvatn
The central part of the Diamond Circle, this lake is known for its unique volcanic landscapes, abundant bird life and geothermal activity.
After warming up and drying off in the RV, we continued the drive towards Lake Myvant. Here we explored the Namafjall Geothermal Area. There were hot mud pots bubbling and smoking fumaroles.Theses are hydrogen sulfide fumes coming out of stacks of rock. The smell was very pungent. The area has been privatized and now you will need to pay for parking.
Steam vent
Just down the road, tucked in the middle of nowhere, there is a hidden cave filled with natural thermal waters. It is called Grjotagaja Thermal Cave. It was a filming location for Game of Thrones with Jon Snow and Ygritte if you are familiar with the show. It was a popular bathing site until the 1970s when it was shut down.
Now back to the campsite to buckle down for a cold and snowy night. So glad to be in a heated RV! (Editor’s note: We finished our last hamburger helper meal tonight, it will be missed)
Cocktail time!
The end of the day gave me an opportunity to use my recent souvenir, my puffin glass! The RV frig was making ice and I had the Gin from Costco still.
