Reykjavík Grapevine - 03.02.2012, Qupperneq 26

26
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 2 — 2012 Lake Mývatn daytour was provided by Air Iceland.
You can book the tour at www.airiceland.is or call
+354-5703000
Travel | North - Words by Clyde Bradford and photography by Alísa Kalyanova
It’s 7:15 on a cold December morning, a hor-
rific time to be out of the house whichever
way you swing it. but there is good reason;
intrepid Grapevine photographer Alísa Kaly-
anova and I are embarking on a tour of the
Lake Mývatn area and its many delights.
After an uneventful forty-minute flight from
Reykjavík to Akureyri, the capital of the
north, we meet our guide for the day, Þórður
björn Steinke or björn for short. He guides us
to the van that would protect us from the cold
for most of the trip.
We make our way through three mountain passes
to our first stop at a farm, where we head swiftly
into the warmth of a workshop and then a high-
tech cow milking facility. After watching the milk-
ing, petting some newborn calves and meeting
some rad dogs, we head back to the van. It is 11:00
and the sun is only just making an appearance.
Next up is Goðafoss (“Waterfall of the Gods”),
which Björn told us was so named because law-
speaker Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði Þorkelsson
hurled statues of Norse gods into it upon convert-
ing Iceland to Christianity in 1000 AD. We trudge
through knee-deep snow to get a closer look at
the waterfall—half of it is frozen whilst the other
half is a crushing mass of water, howling as it
plunges towards Skjálfandafljót river below.
IT’S FREEzING
At this point the screen of my phone decides that it
will freeze in solidarity with my surroundings and I
feel a bit under-dressed. We rush back to the van
before the cold takes hold properly and advance
into the overwhelming white expanse, which is oc-
casionally punctuated by farms and houses. Few
people seem willing to venture outdoors on a day
like today.
Stopping at a vantage point overlooking Mý-
vatn (“Midge Lake”) so named due to the fly’s
prevalence during the summer, the wind rages
and tears at the skin. Time to put on my gloves!
Björn informs us that the temperature is -18 C and
my fingers on my left hand inform me that I should
have put gloves on sooner. It takes them a good
thirty minutes to feel normal again.
The snow covers much of what makes Mývatn
impressive and as it stands it's just a lake sur-
rounded by snow... and lava pillars and pseudo
craters. So not exactly shabby! As the journey
continues along the now barely visible road, Mý-
vatn on one side and lava pillars and walls on the
other, I begin to cheer up. My fingers are regaining
feeling, and our next stop will be at Dimmuborgir
(“Dark Cities”) followed by food at a nearby café.
FIRST FOOTPRINTS
Walking down a slope, surrounded by bushes that
look like over-sized snowflakes, we make the first
footprints in the snow. At the bottom we enter
Dimmuborgir, so called because the lava pillars
and walls resemble the wreck of an old city. It is
an incredible sight. The solidified lava reaches to-
wards the sky, about ten metres high—evidence
of a churning, popping, burning creation of land
some 2000 odd years ago. Back in the café it is
easier to see how gigantic the lava flow that cre-
ated Dimmuborgir and the surrounding landscape
must have been.
Fully fed and fuelled with two jólabjór (Ice-
land’s special Christmas beer), we set off; ten min-
utes down the road I need a toilet. It will be a good
two hours before I can find relief.
Time to look at a crack. Ok, technically it’s a
rift—the point at which two tectonic plates are be-
ing pulled apart—so it’s a pretty impressive ‘crack’.
It seems to stretch into infinity in both directions.
Were it not so snowy I would probably have been
that idiot who jumps back and forth over it shout-
ing “look, I’m in America...now I’m in Europe” ad
infinitum ad reductio ad absurdum.
Our penultimate stop, the bubbling pools, is the
coldest part of our trip. The wind is ravaging now,
blustering up snow into our faces, tearing at the
seams of our clothes, anxious to attack our skin.
I think how it must have been for those settling
Iceland. They didn’t exactly have access to modern
clothing technology. They must have been brutes.
We on the other hand are kinda pathetic—afraid of
the elements, molly-codled, a phobic lump.
THE FINAL HURDLE
As we head towards our final destination, Björn
shows us geothermal plants used to harness Ice-
land’s natural resources, a ski-slope down the
side of a volcano and an art installation, which is
a shower next to a toilet. By now my bladder is
screaming. The shower works, the toilet does not.
Just my luck.
The last stop is a nature pool. They have a toi-
let! After my dash to the toilet we are told that we
can go in the pool. Appropriate attire can be bor-
rowed. A fellow traveller accepts. Happy sharing,
buddy. Alísa and I are told how lava bread is made,
eat Christmas skyr and enjoy the view. Jólabjór is
also for sale. I am tempted, but my bladder shouts
at me to learn from my mistake and sensibly I heed
its advice. There is always jólabjór back in Reykja-
vík.
GET IN THE VAN
How to not dress appropriately...
Always best price online.
Various online-offers to all Air Iceland's destinations.
www.airiceland.is
websales@airiceland.is / tel. +354 570 3030 Contact Air Iceland or
travel agent for reservation.
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KEFLAVÍK
BORGARNES
STYKKISHÓLMUR
SNÆFELLSJÖKULL
DRANGAJÖKULL
FLATEY
NESKAUPSTAÐUR
BLÖNDUÓS
SIGLUFJÖRÐUR
BOLUNGARVÍK
HRÍSEY
NARSARSSUAQ
Greenland
FAROE ISLANDS
REYKJAVÍK
AKUREYRI
EGILSSTAÐIR
ÍSAFJÖRÐUR
VOPNAFJÖRÐUR
ÞÓRSHÖFN
HÚSAVÍK
GRÍMSEY
KULUSUK
Greenland
Blue Lagoon
AKRANES Geysir
Gullfoss
Jökullónið
Kárahnjúkar
Kraa
Hallormstaður
NUUK
Greenland
ILULISSAT
Greenland
www.airiceland.is
CONSTABLE POINT
Greenland