Iceland 2016: Dettifoss & Myvatn Nature Baths

The day started off gloomy, so we weren't too sad to be leaving Eglistadir to head to Akureyri. On the way would be the famous Dettifoss, which could only be reached by driving a dirt road for about 35km. At first the dirt road was scary, as at low speeds the entire car would judder. I wondered whether my confidence in not opting for a full-on SUV had been misplaced. Then I realized that the car actually had less judder at higher speeds! After that, the rest of the trip went quickly.

Arriving at Dettifoss parking lot, I realized what a zoo the place was. We did manage to get parking fairly rapidly, but it was clear that visitors were arriving at a rapid clip! Arriving in the middle of the rain also made Bowen unwilling to get out of the car, but grandma didn't want to go either, so it was me, Xiaoqin, and Boen.

The actual falls is about a 15 minute hike. You could hike more and get more waterfalls, but given how cold it was, we retreated back to the car to head towards Myvatn Nature Baths. I don't actually have any pictures of the baths, but Bowen and I both enjoyed it. It's quieter than the Blue Lagoon, but also has a much stronger smell. I wouldn't recommend a trip just to visit it, but if you're in the area it's not a bad place despite the exceedingly expensive restaurant on-site.

At Akureyri, we found our AirBnB near downtown. I'd booked the place thinking that it would be a great place to explore the town, but in reality, the town was really tiny! We did manage to walk downtown to eat at a restaurant, and it was also nice that the nearest supermarket was within walking distance, but the town itself wasn't nearly as pretty as the environs.