After leaving Fljotsdalsheidi the same way we came, Myvatn was waiting for us… And so were Aurora and Borealis…

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Why not see another waterfall? After 10 days of driving and seeing we think we have seen enough waterfalls… but they always seem to have a certain attraction. The positive point is that Iceland never deceives…

River Hengifossa discharges Lake Hengifossarvatn on the Fljotsdalsheidi moorland and spills into Lake Logurinn. Two main waterfalls decorate this river, the third highest of the country, Hengifoss (118m) and Litlanesfoss, framed with beautiful, long and regular basaltic pillars.

The basaltic strata surrounding The Hengifoss are interesting because of the thin, red layers of clay between the basaltic lavas. Fossilized trunks of coniferous trees, sensitive to cold, and lignite, which depict warmer climates during the latter part of Tertiary.

Basalt  is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey. On Earth, most basalt magmas have formed by decompression melting of the mantle. Basalt has also formed on Earth’s Moon, Mars, Venus, and even on the asteroid Vesta. Source rocks for the partial melts probably include both peridotite and pyroxenite . The crustal portions of oceanic tectonic plates are composed predominantly of basalt, produced from upwelling mantle below ocean ridges.

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Yesterday, the rain vanished quite fast as soon as we lost the presence of Vatnajokull. It is dazzling how pouring rain can change into blue skies in a matter of 50 km. We find a spot near Berufjordhur on a closed road, waiting for eventual Aurora Borealis.  There is absolutely nothing to see, only stars and some lenticularis clouds that tend to form quite easily here.

After an early wake up, this time it wasn’t the cold temperatures, we follow the coastal road in search of coffee. We find a hotel owner that is  prepared to give us some coffee, the place is crowded with elderly people waking up  after a dance night.  Watching people from the side with a coffee in the hand can be a great experience…

After our coffee we continue our way to Egilstadir… where an enormous gas station is waiting for us… food, a good local beer, sun and a very nice temperature… it seems the closer to the north the warmer it gets…

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and rain on the edge of the coast in the eastern Hornafjörður district… We battled heavy rain since Jökulsárlón, a never ending flow of water… we stop several times at gas station to have coffee and check the local radars… In Hofn we do some shopping and eat in the harbor while watching and listening to the rain… It is absolutely impossible to get out of the car. Tired of waiting we hit the road again towards Egilstadir…

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Jökulsárlón in grey weather and heavy rain, a pity… we won’t stay long…

Jökulsárlón is the best known and the largest of a number of glacial lakes in Iceland. It is situated at the south end of the glacier Vatnajökull between Skaftafell National Park and Höfn. Appearing first only in 1934-1935, the lake grew from 7.9 km² in 1975 to at least 18 km² today because of heavy melting of the Icelandic glaciers. Approaching a depth of 200 m, Jökulsárlón is now probably the second deepest lake in Iceland.

Jökulsárlón is separated from the sea by only a short distance, and the combined action of the glacier, the river that empties from the lake, and the ocean may eventually transform it into an inlet of the sea. There are plans to prevent this from happening, since the only road in the area passes over the narrow isthmus.

It is not far from the Icelandic Ring Road, and buses travelling between Höfn and Reykjavík usually stop there. The lake is filled with icebergs, which are calving off the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier.

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