Exploring east Iceland

We headed out from the hotel in Husavik for our first stop, the mud pots and fumeroles at Hverir. This is sort of like a mini Yellowstone without the crowds. The smell of sulfur is intense, but we also smell sulfur in some hotel hot water supplies when they get their water from hot springs. The surrounding area also has a desert barrenness to it that Yellowstone doesn't have, almost like we're on another planet. 

Before leaving this geothermally active area, we visit the Viti Crater at Krafla. The crater was formed from a volcanic explosion in the 1720s. Since then the crater has filled with water from a hot spring source underneath as well as snow melt. 

Nearby is a power plant which generates electricity from this geothermal activity. This plant is the oldest in Iceland.

Our next stop is Dimmuborgir lava field. This is a highly unusual formation of lava that somewhat resembles the hoodoos in Bryce Canyon except made from lava rock. The legend is that Iceland's Christmas trolls live here in the off season. Quite a few of the formations do have a certain dwelling like appearance.

The vegetation in the area are all native species and we find a few ripe wild blueberries that are quite tasty. 

Troll City is crowded with bus tourists so we headed to Skutusdagigar for a quick lunch (pizza for me) before heading out to the attraction here, which are pseudo-craters. They are not actual volcanic craters although they are formed from different lava activity. The view from the tops of Lake Myvatn are quite beautiful and we can see for miles. 

On our way to our hotel, it starts to rain. We've been lucky in that the rain has mostly caught us on the road rather than at an attraction. Along the way, we pull over at Ryukandafoss waterfall. There is a steep-ish climb to a viewing point at the base of the falls. This is a really spectacular one. We haven't seen many falls in north Iceland but now in the east, we are getting the kind of terrain that forms them. There are a few beautiful falls just along this stretch of highway

Tonight our hotel is in Egilsstadir along Lagerfljot lake. It's rumored that Nessie's cousin survived the meteor that killed the dinosaurs and lives in this lake. 

The room is nicely furnished. Dinner at the hotel was ribeye with potatoes and veggies with chocolate caramel cake. The meal was delicious but service exceptionally slow.