report from the interior: Wow! Myvatn/Asbyrgi trip, day 1

We set out early in beautiful weather from Akureyri in a rental Diesel Ford Focus (didn’t know they made those), headed east on the Ring Road along a fjord and through beautiful valleys to Godafoss waterfall and then Lake Myvatn. We decided to head directly to the geothermal fields at Hverir, passing two major geothermal energy plants on the way. Hverir was entrancing, with boiling mudpots and crazy vents in the earth that spout steam with a roaring that sounds a bit like a tornado. All around are colorful fumaroles, the mineral deposits left by the thermal activity, and steaming bits of earth.

From there we went to Leirhnjukur, where there is another geothermal area surrounded by an enormous lava field from eruptions of the volcano Krafla. The lava here is much younger (1977-1984) than other fields I have been to, and is quite black and rugged. In some places it is still steaming, and you can begin to see why there’s a nearby spot named Viti (Hell). The size of the lava field is a bit like the glaciers—astonishingly large, like an ocean of black stretching out for miles.

As a more humorous and definitely quirky end to the day we drove north to Husavik, a popular whale-watching town, and visited the Icelandic Phallological Museum. Yes, it is what it sounds like: a museum housing the private collection of preserved specimens of penises from the world’s mammals, including a human specimen (not, um, very impressive) donated by an Icelandic man, the mysterious elf specimen shown below, and the truly bizarre lamps made from bull scrotums made by the director and for sale should you want one in your living room. I passed on that opportunity, though it certainly would make a conversation piece!

After a long and amazing day, we drove on to Asbyrgi, where we stayed in one of the stranger guesthouses I’ve seen so far, an elementary school that becomes a guest house in the summer. Practical, I guess.