Day 78 Blowing hot and flowing cold!

If you remember months back in Bilbao I had ear canal infection? Well for the last four days I've had the same! 

This morning I woke up feeling rubbish.... I strongly considered just crashing out for the day, 

I started off slowly sitting up is interesting and in the morning walking is dangerous! 

But like the previous days going from laid down to vertical is where it gets interesting... Once your ears have stabilised it's ok thank the gods!!

And I celebrate with my first fry up in three months.... I'm in heaven!!

And I have energy!! 

This little stove saves the day!

feeling happy and full! I'm on my way, having planned a little last night I realised how many places I needed to visit North past the Kerid crater from yesterday! 

So back up north via routes 1 and 35 past the craters, passing mountains thicker with snow than they'd been yesterday

through the moorland terrain with small horses being reared ... I hope for more than tourism! 

I reach my first stop with the tourist tax car park only a few quid in pounds not so bad! 

And I'm at Faxafoss waterfall! 

Easily the biggest waterfall I've ever seen! 

this is the same river that flows past Selfoss town it's called the Olfusa!

Beautiful and in bright sunshine what more could I want! 

Well continuing north I get my answers!

Going from cold to hot I'm at Geysir as the name suggests this a tourist attraction including geysers! 

Pulling up into the car park you have to pay by app.... Which I can't get to work! 

I pull out of the car park up the road turn left.... All the geysers are visible! There's even the old car park where you can park for free! Bonus!!

Passing steaming bubbling holes

There's only geyser active here the biggest having gone dormant years back! 

But it's pretty impressive!!!.....

https://youtu.be/shWDFkiy1r0?si=ryEblWX-Yu5ZZzaJ

Standing taking a multitude of photos and videos I eventually walk back to the car and get the best photo of the geysers I could hope for!!!!

you can pretend to be one of the first to see this with so few tourists visible!!

I'd met a group of Brits with strong Yorkshire accents here earlier, so good to hear that accent!!

And have a conversation... They told me that they'd nearly been snowed in further north so doing the whole thing road may be impracticable.... But we'll see!.

Today's plans require going further up into the mountain plains with stunning views of white clad mountains in the distance

I'm truly skirting wilderness here! 

It calls your soul..... This land is incredible! 

Equally is my stop Gullfoss another waterfall on the Olfusa and the biggest waterfall in Europe! 

How quickly my largest waterfall viewed changes!!!

first view looking upstream is incredible but walking along the ravine you can see how deep the ravine gets as the river flows south!

upstream you get to see why it's so deep! If hell was water not fire it would be at the base of these falls!

such power that words cannot describe. !!!!!

Beauty in the ephemeral too with the right conditions!

pleased to catch the rainbow! 

Having driven this far north requires the same drive south to get back to route 1 which will be the artery of this Icelandic adventure! 

The driving on the right is almost intuitive now thank goodness and getting back to Selfoss was so relaxing! 

Back to the same campsite and my aurora app says that there's a 40% chance of seeing the aurora tonight.... Damn those odds it didn't show! Plenty of days yet tho! 

Tonight I put the vans heater on, nice to be toastie all night!

Day77 the land of ice and fire!!

Volcanic eruptions!!! 

Last night the area that I'd been driving through went seismic!!! 

A known and well observed fissure blew! It's closed down the area and all roads to Grindavik and the blue lagoon! 

Sadly I'm too far East and behind a mountain range to see the glow! 

I have to make do with old eruptions today! 

A lazy start the time zones adjustment is only marginal but it makes me want to chill for a bit, most of the morning! 

Still I get going eventually taking routes 42,38 and 39 to the Raufarholsollin lava tube! 

Turning up without appointment worked ok and I only waited 10 minutes to join the 2pm tour! 

If id understood the cost 8900 Icelandic kroner I'd probably have not bothered £49!!!

But how often do you walk through a lava tube? Experience is better than the expense.... Just! 

A short walk and we're in the tube! In a few places the ceiling has collapsed allowing the winters snows to gather in huge cones! Makes for interesting photos!

further in the tube waking along a raised platform the floor is thick with ice stalagmites! 

then passing red rock where the iron rich stone has rusted! 

Passing on further you can see the last layers of volcanic glass that still layer the walls

onto a platform all lights are off and pure darkness.... And silence not even an echo! 

Meaning bats don't live in the tube.. No echo location no flight! 

The only constant life form here is white bacteria in patches of the roof

occasional birds nest in summer and mice... But that's it

Literally that is it! The tour goes no farther! Back over the platform

And into the ice stalagmites is have a play with using my head torch to illuminated the structure of the ice...

rather Easter egg like that last one!

Back through the 400 meters of tunnel that had been created by an eruption over 6 miles away thousands of years ago, and I'm back at the center and into the van.

An expensive short walk!!

Off again along routes 38,1 and 35 to Kerid crater where three craters are in a line the major one

And to the south two considerably smaller ones! 

A nice little visit, but after Vesuvius not so long ago it fails to impress! But that's just me! It shouldn't stop anyone with fresher eyes having a look.... It's pretty cheap to visit, so worthwhile!.

Back down route 35 and 1 to Selfoss a small town with a campsite and I'm cooking pork chops and pasta for dinner! Bloody lovely!!

That keeps me warm all night!