Today turned out to be mild and a second night at the hostel here at Lake Myvatn gives me the chance to see the sights. This area is packed with geothermal and geological wonders and natural beauty as well. I don't want to sound like a guide book, but you have old lava flows, cinder cones, mud pots (which I didn't see), stalagmite-like columns that formed under water long ago and are now exposed, lots of bird life, etc., etc. I recommend you "google" it if interested. I just took pictures.
The first picture is the back of the hostel and the glassed in kitchen area. You can see the surrounding lava field. Most of the good stuff is on the east side of the lake and that is where I went.
And then there are the midges. These are not the midges of Scotland or no-see-ums of Alaska. These are a tad bigger, swarm like crazy, and do not bite. Going about 10 mph on the bike avoided them, but when stopped they were all around and quite annoying. I guess they are attracted to heat.
So the plan was to leave the next day (Day 23), but the forecast was for very high winds, and then from several sources I was told that the 100 miles between Myvatn amd Egilsstadir was "boring". There is a spot about 2/3 of the way where one could eat, camp, and maybe stay overnight. After much mulling over, I decided to take a bus. The bus comes at 5 PM. The next day was very windy and a Swiss fellow I met at the hostel suggested I call the bus company to check on the schedule. Sure enough, the bus was cancelled! Later I bicycled to the market (about 2 km away) to get some food and felt the wrath of nature up close and personal. The next day (Day 24) was a lot better, but I still wanted to take the bus.
Got it, and as predicted, the first 2/3 of the ride was very boring. It's kind of like the Mojave Desert of Iceland, only a little juicier. The road was super narrow also. Later someone told me, the bus was cancelled not from fear of getting blown off the road, but of ruining the paint from blowing lava dust. The bus stop in Egilsstadir is right at a campground and it was a mild evening so I set up my tent for the first time in Iceland during my 24 days so far. I have photographic proof in the next report.
Route;
Pictures;
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