The high mountain pass we had to crawl up and down in thick fog yesterday had to be negotiated again this morning as we left Seyðisfjörður and headed west. Not quite as foggy as yesterday but we are travelling through country still covered in ice and snow, and the temperature is well below 10C.

On the other side we drove through long narrow valleys where the mountains were tall and steep and myriads of waterfalls sent torrents of water down the slopes. Waterfalls are so common now we barely stop to have a look. 

But in Iceland variety is the thing, and as we travelled into bare gravel and rock county we imagined we could be on the moon. This went on for many kilometres, with barely a house to be seen and certainly no townships or shops. Until we saw a sign pointing to coffee. 3km off the highway down a gravel road. As there were no places to stop the car to have our own coffee, and the temperature was chilly, we followed the sign to a guesthouse. Coffee AND a WC,.Even better. Would we like homemade apple cake with that coffee. Why not. A$28 later we left. Fairly ordinary coffee, half cooked cake mix on some apple, but who cares, bodily needs were satisfied.

We were already on the road to Dettifoss Falls, the waterfall with most volume of water in Europe. Only another 25km of gravel road so we thought we may as well have a look.. And the falls were worth seeing, though I found the sight of the Jokulsa River flowing through the canyon probably more beautiful than the falls. There were also some amazing rock formations here.

 
 
As we neared the Lake Myvatn area we saw in the distance large plumes of steam coming from the mountains. On the eastern slope of Mt. Námafjall is a field of hot springs that are a picture of blue and gold. Pots of blue mud bubble and erupt, and steam and sulphur smelling gases hiss from fumaroles in the plain. Unworldly really. All this geothermal energy is of great benefit to Iceland as geothermal fields provide around 20% of the country's electricity needs. We have enjoyed swimming pools heated by geothermal energy, but this energy provides Icelanders with an almost limitless and inexpensive supply of natural hot water. (Glaciers and rivers are harnessed to generate the other 80% of the country's electricity needs). So Iceland has 100% of its electricity and heat coming from renewable sources. Excellent for them.

Our guest house at Laugar was just a bit further along Highway 1. A lovely welcoming place this turned out to be. And the swimming was only a block away so soon we had most of our body in lovely 38C water. An outdoor pool here so the exposed bits were a bit chilly but the mountain view was great. Then to the cafe by the petrol pump/supermarket (only one here) to eat Arctic Char fish caught in Lake Myvatn. We almost felt like locals.