Waterfalls and geysers are two of the most remarkable natural phenonmenon in Iceland. As a first timer to the country, they are a must see and of course were included in the itinerary for my day tour in Akureyri in Iceland. In my previous post we saw the Godafoss waterfall. Today, we're going to see the geothermal areas around Lake Myvatn.
Vogafjos Cafe
Before we head off, I need to grab some food first. This is my first meal in Iceland.
Not the cows, silly!!!!
Our day tour included a lunch at this cafe. It's located on a farm and the actual restaurant is by the cowshed, hence all the cows around. The view on the farm land is magnificent, and I think if I were a cow, I'd be really happy here. We were served geothermal heat baked bread as this cafe is very near (or on?) the geothermal area, panfried trout and smoked lamb. Sounds lovely doesn't it? It does, except I can't remember how tasty it really was, so it probably was so so. I shall spare you the photos as they don't look exactly very appealing, you can imagine how lovely the food can be.
Let's move on.
Geothermal Power Station
Opened in 1969, Bjarnarflag is Iceland's first and smallest geothermal power station. That's the little hut by the lake. Bjarnarflag has one single power station and produces 3 Mw of power. 1 Mw is about the energy produced by 10 vehicle engines. Geothermal power is produced by steam from underground that is channeled via boreholes into the plant to produce electricity.
I vaguely remember when I was walking around this area it stinks of bad eggs. That's the sulphur and is normal for these types of areas. The little midges flying around was totally unexpected and very annoying. Those were the days when 99.9% of the world hadn't heard about face masks, let alone wear one every day. They would have come in very handy that day.
Bjarnarflag isn't the only power station around this area. We visited another one as part of our tour. At the time, I remember it was very interesting to learn about geothermal energy in Iceland, something that had never occurred to me before. Did you know that over 99% of Iceland's energy is from renewable sources, of which 25% is from geothermal? The remaining is from hydro power. I wish I'd kept that leaflet I was holding because it was very informative. That's what I love about going on holidays (even though I don't like cruises), you always learn something new.
Lake Myvatn
Moving away from geothermal to hydro. Lake Myvatn is Iceland's fourth largest lake and I'm told the surrounding area has a fascinating range of natural resources including a lot of flora and fauna. You can't see it around the lake. In fact if you look at barren bleakness in these photos, the whole place looks pretty depressing save for the beautiful eye shape turquoise blue colour lake surface.
The other thing you can't comprehend is the size of the lake. I think this photo gives a great perspective when you see the people dotted on the right at the top of the lake. Human vs nature.
Namafjall Hverir
This area is sometimes called Namafjall, and sometimes called Hverir. I think they are alternative names, not sure why. Anyway, this is the main geothermal area nearby by Lake Myvatn, and definitely the highlight of the day. It looks like a desert from far afield, a bit like the Arizona desert I see from @sjarvie5 photos when she goes wandering around the country with her camera.
The underground activity here originates from as deep as 1000m, and ejects steam up to 200 centigrade through holes in the ground. These holes are called fumaroles and emit sulfurous gases, that's the stinking rotten egg again.
It was really amazing standing next to these fumaroles and feel the heat next to you. If you're worried about standing next to high heat steam and sensitive to smell, this may not be for you. But I didn't find it too bad, at least I managed to take a decent photo without me screwing up my face.
And for the dare devils like my niece, you can try to walk closer and towards the fumaroles.
The most surreal of all, are the mud pots in the area. This is serious stuff and not to be taken lightly, don't ever attempt to challenge it or yourself. This is one that you won't win. A lot of my Icelandic memories are pretty vague as you've gathered by now, yet this was one where I have clear memories of the bubbling sound of mud bursting up from the ground. It did not sound friendly at all, and if it could talk, I'm sure it would be saying "Stay away from me! Stay away from me"
Bendy roads
Last and not the least, I'm going to leave you today with views of some of the roads we travelled that day. Three very different landscape and views along bendy roads in the same city on the same day. Which is your favourite?
You can checkout all my travel post on the Pinmapple here or click on Mr Pinmapple below
Hi @livinguktaiwan,
Thank you for participating in the #teamuk curated tag. We have upvoted your quality content.
For more information visit our discord https://discord.gg/8CVx2Am
Congratulations, your post has been added to Pinmapple! 🎉🥳🍍
Did you know you have your own profile map?
And every post has their own map too!
Want to have your post on the map too?
Congratulations @livinguktaiwan! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Your next target is to reach 1100 posts.
Your next target is to reach 29000 upvotes.
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPI busted up laughing when I saw the photo for Bjarnarflag. Nordic languages are so weird. Beautiful scenery though. Some might find it barren and dead, but that's part of the attraction.
Why?
I guess you like the barren and dead coz it reminds you of go mineral hunting? It looks a bit like the places you go, like out in the sticks
I laughed because I was trying to pronounce Bjarnarflag in my head.
Yes, exactly. It's like another world.
Wow, to be honest I didn't know Iceland was so ahead in renewable sources of energy. Indeed, almost all their electricity comes from reusable sources. One day I'll put my feet over there 🙂
I can imagine you zooming across the country on your bike, it would be an awesome trip. Don't forget to share it here when you do!!!
You won'y miss it in this case I promise. If only Iceland was a bit closer though :(
WOW, lake Myvatn is so big and beautiful. I wish I go there someday.
Plenty of opportunity for you @kidsisters , I hope you get to travel to more places when you grow up.
The smelly fumaroles and bursting mud pits look and sound, based on your description, so interesting. I would totally stand in the warm smelly steam cloud of one of them lol
what can I say.... revealing one's fetish fantasy on the chain 😆
Wow! Absolutely stunning. Nature does wonders! Lucky for you to see all of that amazing views.
I just wish I could spend more time there, a day was barely enough