Forgot to mention that yesterday it was warm enough for me to go without a sweater or jacket for the first time (17 degrees)! Today was a pleasant sunny day too - not hot, and perfect for our day in the park.
From Husavík we drove to the northern end of Vatnajökull National Park. I was surprised that there was no entrance fee, as there would have been for a similar park at home. The park is built in a very large canyon. At the north end we did a hike along the canyon wall, which resembles basalt columns. We thought we were doing a 3.5 km loop trail, but it ended at the road and then we had to walk back, which took an extra 1/2 hour. My blood sugar was going low, so I had to turn my pump off and consume many tablets to be able to make it to the end, and then of course my sugars rose quite high later. The walk was in an area with lots of vegetation, and the canyon walls were often on both sides of us.
Next we drove to Vesturdalur, which is the mid section of the park. This area is characterized by large and small formations made of basalt columns. The unusual thing about these columns is that they run in all directions rather than just vertically. Scientists aren't sure how this happened. The first part of the walk was tricky for me, as we had to climb on pieces of basalt rock, and my balance isn't very good. Luckily I had my walking stick!
To get to the most southerly part of the park, we had to drive very slowly on poor gravel road with lots of bumps. But we were rewarded at the end with Dettifoss Falls, one of the most amazing Falls I've ever seen! The Lonely Planet guide says that it's one of Iceland's most impressive waterfalls. Although it's only 44m high and 100m wide, a massive 193 cubic meters of water thunders over the edge every second, creating a plume of spray that can be seen 1km away. It has the greatest volume of any waterfall in Europe! And since it was sunny, we were able to see a double rainbow over it!
Arrived later than usual at the B&B in Akureyri and enjoyed a good Thai dinner around the corner (one can't eat Icelandic food every night!)
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