Michael Powell's Blog, page 100
October 23, 2013
A Surreal Visit to the Viti Crater
The crater known as Viti, Icelandic for “hell”, is part of the Krafla volcano range just to the northeast of Mývatn. We experienced some unreal weather on the morning we chose to visit.
The crater is best known for the astonishing turquoise water that pools in the base of its bowl. But though we walked all the way around Viti’s rim, we didn’t see the water even once. A ridiculously heavy fog had blanketed the region, obscuring everything. Especially with the recently-fallen snow, the whiteness...
Mývatn – Iceland’s Vacation Destination
Mývatn, a northeastern lake about an hour’s drive from Akureyri, is the preferred summer vacation spot for Icelanders. They come for the mild temperatures, the wealth of nearby activities and some of the country’s most beautiful and tranquil nature.
Mývatn is the kind of place you could easily spend a week exploring; with all the hiking, fishing, birdwatching, bathing and sightseeing, you’d never get bored. We had four days here, and it wasn’t nearly enough. The shallow, surprisingly small lak...
October 22, 2013
Hljóðaklettar and Rauðhólar
After visiting the cliffs of Ásbyrgi, we hopped in the car and drove a few minutes south to the Vesturdalur campsite and the start of an extraordinary five-kilometer trail which would bring us through the Hljóðaklettar (Echo Rocks) to the foot of the Rauðhólar (Red Hills).
The Hljóðaklettar rocks are a wild array of basaltic columns, twisted and angled in every conceivable direction. The rocks curve fantastically, creating caves, towers and other unclassifiable geometrical shapes. It’s like be...
Ásbyrgi
It was an early Monday morning when we visited the horseshoe-shaped canyon of Ásbyrgi. We were all alone in the park and, during the two hours we spent there, we hardly spoke a word. Ásbyrgi is the kind of place which robs your voice.
Iceland is a country full of bizarre natural wonders, and Ásbyrgi is yet another. The canyon defies logic. You’re walking through a forest, when suddenly there’s this massive cliff wall towering 100 meters into the air, encircling you on three sides. There’s a po...
Ásbrygi
It was an early Monday morning when we visited the horseshoe-shaped canyon of Ásbyrgi. We were all alone in the park and, during the two hours we spent there, we hardly spoke a word. Ásbyrgi is the kind of place which robs your voice.
Iceland is a country full of bizarre natural wonders, and Ásbyrgi is yet another. The canyon defies logic. You’re walking through a forest, when suddenly there’s this massive cliff wall towering 100 meters into the air, encircling you on three sides. There’s a po...
October 21, 2013
Whale Watching in Húsavík
With their schools of herring and abundant plankton, the freezing waters of the Northern Atlantic have always been prime whale territory. In years past, that meant excellent hunting. And though there’s still a little killing going on, the most common way to shoot whales in Iceland nowadays is with a camera.
Whale watching tours are offered in Reykjavík and other towns along the coast, but we held off until arriving in Húsavík, which is considered the best location in Iceland. It was mid-Septem...
October 20, 2013
Goðafoss – The Waterfall of the Gods
Goðafoss, the Waterfall of the Gods, is found just off the ring road near Akureyri. This makes it an easy stop for tour buses, but don’t let the crowds keep you away from one of northern Iceland’s most impressive natural sights.
Goðafoss picked up its name in the year 1000, after Iceland converted to Christianity. To demonstrate his adherence to the new faith, a local chieftain named Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði carried his pagan idols to the top of the waterfall and threw them off into the churni...
It’s Always Christmas in Akureyri
Maybe it’s because of the long, dark winters, when any scrap of joy or warmth is especially appreciated, but Christmas is a very big deal in Iceland. And nowhere is the Christmas spirit so strong as in Akureyri, where it’s celebrated all year round.
Jólagarðurinn, or the Christmas Garden, is found about ten minutes south of Akureyri. Halldor (from Fab Travel) insisted that we visit, after I had accidentally betrayed my anti-Christmas views. He was shocked. “How can you not love Christmas?” He...
October 19, 2013
Ice Cream and Coffee in Eyjafjörður
A day spent exploring the beautiful Eyjafjörður valley, south of Akureyri, can be surprisingly exhausting. And the locals seem to know it. Two farms on either side of the valley have expanded their normal operations to offer unique places to recuperate. We took advantage of both.
The Holtssel Farm on the western side of the valley had no experience in the business of ice cream making, but decided on a whim to try it out. After purchasing equipment from a Dutch company, the farmer and his wife...
October 18, 2013
Fall Colors in the Eyjafjörður Valley
When Halldor offered to show us the wonderful autumn colors of the Eyjafjörður Valley, south of Akureyri, I was a little skeptical. Up until this point, we had seen approximately three trees in all Iceland. “Maybe the idea of ‘autumn colors’ means something different here”, I thought. “Like, a pile of red lava rocks on top of wet, yellow hay.” But it turns out that Iceland has some trees after all… a lot, in fact, if you know where to look.
Born and raised in the valley, Halldor definitely kne...
