* * Day ten in the Land Where Soaking Brings a Sense of Well-Being

We had another great day in the Land Where Soaking Brings A Sense of Well-Being. We did the quintessential Icelandic experience. Stay tuned.

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I awoke in Akureryi to the view of thick fog outside my window. The weather forecast was for fine weather, so I was surprised. It would soon dissipate. 

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Jane and I left the apartment where we've been staying for a day-trip to Myvatn, the Yellowstone of Iceland. The fog had lifted from the town, but we drove through it as the road climbed out of Akureryi's fjord, lending an etherial pall over the scene. 

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We traced the same route eastward that we had taken yesterday to Husavik, and then went beyond a few more kilometers. An hour later we reached Myvatn, an area of intense volcanic activity. Our arrival in the Myvatn area (which incidentally our host pronounces as me-vah) was marked by patters on the windshield that I first thought was rain, but it was a clear sky above. Turned out to be swarms of tiny flies called midges. Get this: the word "Myvatn" is Icelandic for midge. (Imagine naming your town "Mosquito" and wondering why nobody ever visited.) We could see entire clouds of them, swirling like dust devils. Soon our windshield was peppered with bug splatters. 

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We stopped at an information office and made a plan. We drove to a parking lot at the nearby nature bath and then began a hike to a cinder cone of an extinct volcano. The hike was about 2-1/2 kilometers across a dusty plain, with several hot pools and steaming vents to look at. We reached the base of the mountain at another parking area and were joined by a steady stream of hikers all headed for the cone's rim.

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It was a steep walk on loose rock to the rim. We hoped that if we could find a windy area, the midges would leave us alone, but it was not to be. The caldera was strikingly uniform, like a cereal bowl, with a trail of perhaps a mile around the rim. There was a smaller cone inside the bowl. There was nothing living or growing anywhere to be found, except the midges. Fortunately, they merely swarm and bother (like landing in our ears and walking beneath our eyeglasses) and don't bite. But they're an aggravation. I don't know how local people stand them. They do, however, provide ample nutrition for healthy stocks of fish in the lake, thus feeding the entire larger ecosystem.

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I hiked half-way around the rim while Jane retreated down the trail headed back. I took some photos from the rim, both inside and to the surrounding snow-capped mountains, some volcano-like and some traditional ridges. It was a stunning sight. 

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I headed back down but never caught up with Jane as she reached the trail-head before I did. 

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Then we paid approximately $30 to soak in the Nature Bath. According to the entrance sign, soaking brings a sense of well-being, and of course is the iconic Icelandic experince. 

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The entrance building is large and modern, with changing rooms and sauna. They insist that all bathers take a shower before entering, which seems peculiar to me given that the water is naturally replenished. There is a gentle sloping ramp into the water, with a convenient guard-rail. The water itself is almost milky in color and consistency, with a silky feel and a sulfuric smell. And of course it is warm. Moving about the pool, which is perhaps chest-high at its deepest, produces a wide range of water temperatures. The inlet-water area is painfully hot, where more distant areas are cooler, but all blissfully comfortable. 

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I had a nice conversation with an ebullient older couple from England, who love the empty roads of Iceland, something they don't have in their crowded country. The only thermal baths in England are in Bath (go figure) and part is a museum from the Roman occupation and the other is publicly accessible but expensive. I also talked to two twenty-somethings and a mom from Sweden who were also loving Iceland. The man had studied in the US at a college at Lake Tahoe, where we joked that he majored in skiing. We emerged much later with pruned fingers and a deep sense of well-being.

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That well-being lasted about 10 minutes until we came to a road sign that confused us by being wrong. Or at least incomplete. We figured out where we were and got underway again. We stopped at a bird museum, but it was small and its $9 admission price scared us away. More midges splattered the windshield.

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We continued our drive around the beautiful lake, periodically stopping to look at the birds, including a wide variety of ducks, gulls, and terns. Then we drove back into Akureyri and I fixed pesto for dinner for ourselves and our hostess while she and Jane scour the Internet for lodging options for the remainder of the trip. Have I written about our hostess? She is a woman of about 40 years with long dark hair and blue eyes. She has an easy laugh and likes to tease me, and I like to tease back. Her English, like most Icelanders, is excellent, and they are able to switch from Icelandic to English like flipping a light switch. Everyone, and I mean everyone we've had any interaction with, has been cordial, friendly, and helpful. I've decided that Icelanders are not an especially outgoing lot (perhaps something shared with all Nordic people); they are not eager to seek new friendships, but are innately kind. At the Rotary Club meeting the other day, we were treated well but only one member went out of her way to engage us personally. I think when we get foreign visitors to our club, they're greeted more personally; I always try to reach out to them myself. Anyway, our hostess has three children, ages 20, 16, and 7, but is currently unmarried and dating a man who comes for monthly visits from Norway. She has a spacious apartment and raises these kids on her salary as a day care worker. I have no idea how she does this in such an expensive country, other than that she doesn't own a car (there is free bus service all over town) and free socialized medicine. We like her very much. We like this city very much. It will be hard to leave tomorrow. 

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There is another couple staying here in the apartment as well, a young man and woman from Essen, Germany. We use Google Earth to show each other photos of our homes, and I am astounded to see on Google Earth a 360-degree view of my very cul-de-sac, clearly showing my car and even the political yard signs outside. 

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I take my shower and head to bed, with the sky still sunlit, as always for this time of year. Tomorrow we depart, headed eastward to the east coast, hopefully still infused with a deep sense of well-being. 

Day 10We had another great day in the Land Where Soaking Brings A Sense of Well-Being. We did the quintessential Icelandic experience. Stay tuned..I awoke in Akureryi to the view of thick fog outside my window. The weather forecast was for fine weather, so I was surprised. It would soon dissipate. .Jane and I left the apartment where we've been staying for a day-trip to Myvatn, the Yellowstone of Iceland. The fog had lifted from the town, but we drove through it as the road climbed out of Akureryi's fjord, lending an etherial pall over the scene. .An hour later we reached Myvatn, an area of intense volcanic activity. We traced the same route eastward that we had taken yesterday to Husavik, and then went beyond a few more kilometers. Our arrival in the Myvatn area (which incidentally our host pronounces as me-vah) was marked by patters on the windshield that I first thought was rain, but it was a clear sky above. Turned out to be swarms of tiny flies called midges. Get this: the word "Myvatn" is Icelandic for midge. We could see entire clouds of them, swirling like dust devils. Soon our windshield was peppered with bug splatters. .We stopped at an information office and made a plan. We drove to a parking lot at the nearby nature bath and then began a hike to a cinder cone of an extinct volcano. The hike was about 2-1/2 kilometers across a dusty plain, with several hot pools and steaming vents to look at. We reached the base of the mountain at another parking area and were joined by a steady stream of hikers all headed for the cone's rim..It was a steep walk on loose rock to the rim. We hoped that if we could find a windy area, the midges would leave us alone, but it was not to be. The caldera was strikingly uniform, like a cereal bowl, with a trail of perhaps a mile around the rim. There was a smaller cone inside the bowl. There was nothing living or growing anywhere to be found, except the midges. Fortunately, they merely swarm and bother (like landing in our ears and walking beneath our eyeglasses) and don't bite. But they're an aggravation. I don't know how local people stand them. They do, however, provide ample nutrition for healthy stocks of fish in the lake, thus feeding the entire larger ecosystem..I hiked half-way around the rim while Jane retreated down the trail headed back. I took some photos from the rim, both inside and to the surrounding snow-capped mountains, some volcano-like and some traditional ridges. It was a stunning sight. .I headed back down but never caught up with Jane as she reached the trail-head before I did. .Then we paid approximately $30 to soak in the Nature Bath. According to the entrance sign, soaking brings a sense of well-being, and of course is the iconic Icelandic experince. .The entrance building is large and modern, with changing rooms and sauna. They insist that all bathers take a shower before entering, which seems peculiar to me given that the water is naturally replenished. There is a gentle sloping ramp into the water, with a convenient guard-rail. The water itself is almost milky in color and consistency, with a silky feel and a sulfuric smell. And of course it is warm. Moving about the pool, which is perhaps chest-high at its deepest, produces a wide range of water temperatures. The inlet-water area is painfully hot, where more distant areas are cooler, but all blissfully comfortable. .I had a nice conversation with an ebullient older couple from England, who love the empty roads of Iceland, something they don't have in their crowded country. The only thermal baths in England are in Bath (go figure) and part is a museum from the Roman occupation and the other is publicly accessible but expensive. I also talked to two twenty-somethings and a mom from Sweden who were also loving Iceland. The man had studied in the US at a college at Lake Tahoe, where we joked that he majored in skiing. We emerged much later with pruned fingers and a deep sense of well-being..That well-being lasted about 10 minutes until we came to a road sign that confused us by being wrong. Or at least incomplete. We figured out where we were and got underway again. We stopped at a bird museum, but it was small and its $9 admission price scared us away. More midges splattered the windshield..We continued our drive around the beautiful lake, periodically stopping to look at the birds, including a wide variety of ducks, gulls, and terns. Then we drove back into Akureyri and I fixed pesto for dinner for ourselves and our hostess while she and Jane scour the Internet for lodging options for the remainder of the trip. Have I written about our hostess? She is a woman of about 40 years with long dark hair and blue eyes. She has an easy laugh and likes to tease me, and I like to tease back. Her English, like most Icelanders, is excellent, and they are able to switch from Icelandic to English like flipping a light switch. Everyone, and I mean everyone we've had any interaction with, has been cordial, friendly, and helpful. I've decided that Icelanders are not an especially outgoing lot (perhaps something shared with all Nordic people); they are not eager to seek new friendships, but are innately kind. At the Rotary Club meeting the other day, we were treated well but only one member went out of her way to engage us personally. I think when we get foreign visitors to our club, they're greeted more personally; I always try to reach out to them myself. Anyway, our hostess has three children, ages 20, 16, and 7, but is currently unmarried and dating a man who comes for monthly visits from Norway. She has a spacious apartment and raises these kids on her salary as a day care worker. I have no idea how she does this in such an expensive country, other than that she doesn't own a car (there is free bus service all over town) and free socialized medicine. We like her very much. We like this city very much. It will be hard to leave tomorrow. .There is another couple staying here in the apartment as well, a young man and woman from Essen, Germany. We use Google Earth to show each other photos of our homes, and I am astounded to see on Google Earth a 360-degree view of my very cul-de-sac, clearly showing my car and even the political yard signs outside. .I take my shower and head to bed, with the sky still sunlit, as always for this time of year. Tomorrow we depart, headed eastward to the east coast, hopefully still infused with a deep sense of well-being.