Bright Lights, Big City

This morning we rounded the lush southern shores of Lake Myvatn, passing pseudo-craters and volcanic cones. Stops were brief on account of the plagues of midges that would swarm for your nose, mouth and eyes the second we dropped below walking pace. We soon climbed a small hill and left this outerworldly, volcanic landscape behind.

We stopped for lunch at Godafoss, the waterfall of the Gods. After some more scrambling along the edge, we had lunch in the shade provided by the canyon itself, needing to escape the somewhat oppressive beating midday sun.



This afternoon saw our first proper mountain climb, up and over into the spectacular fjord Eyjafjordur. With the winds at our backs again, we cycled to Akureyri, at the head of the fjord, Iceland's second largest 'city' and our base camp for our upcoming rest days. Once again, we spent the evening at the pool, but tonight it was the big city version, with a complex of slides, fountains and pools of various shapes, sizes and temperatures. We even managed a brief time in the 43 degree hot tub - our warmest yet.