The Traveling Widower

Plate Tectonics and Midges

Written by

Richb

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A lone figure walking across a barren landscape with steam rising in the background, under a blue sky with scattered clouds and mountains in the distance.

29th June, 2026

I think the main difference between this type of trip and the NatGeo cruises that I’ve been on, is that the land based trip do not have any sea time, where you can sleep late, hang in the lounge or library reading, work on photography, or just relax and do nothing. Even the activity days have a lot of rest time in between the morning and afternoon off-ship activities. This trip, you get up, have breakfast, and you are off for the day with multiple stops, a break for lunch, then back in the bus. I’m on day ten, and I’m running on vapors. But at least we had an ice cream stop today – that always helps. One scoop of vanilla and one of banana crunch. Yum,

Today was a hiking day, amid some really interesting volcanic and rift related landscapes. First off was a walk-about at an area with a high degree of geothermal activity – Hverfisgata. There were lots of stinky, bubbly pools and a lot of smelly steam. Similar to some parts of Yellowstone. Another place where you do not touch the really hot water unless your are missing a few cylinders. This area has had recent volcanic activity, and has a major geothermal plant, with pipes and wells all over the mountain pass. 

A desolate landscape showcasing arid hills and rocky terrain under a partially cloudy sky, with steam rising from geothermal areas.
A geothermal area featuring steam rising from hot springs, surrounded by a rocky landscape and distant snowy mountains under a blue sky with scattered clouds.
A geothermal landscape with steam rising from multiple vents against a cloudy sky.
A geothermal area with steam rising from a vent, surrounded by barren land and distant mountains under a partly cloudy sky.
A large mud pot in a geothermal area, showcasing bubbling gray mud with swirling patterns, surrounded by cracked earth and various textures.

Next up was a stop at a beautiful underground pool, which was along the actual rift zone (Grjotagja) – there is a large crack where the two plates are separating, so you can stand with one foot on the North American Plate, and the other on the European Plate. Really, I’m not making this up. This region has had a lot of activity along this rift, and the crack can be seen in a number of places. The pool at one time was a popular bathing spot – it’s a little tricky getting down to it, but worth the risk of falling into the water. 

A panoramic view of a rocky landscape with a fissure, surrounded by clouds and distant mountains.
A man in a black puffer jacket and sunglasses stands with his legs apart on rocky terrain, holding a hiking pole. In the background, a group of hikers and mountains under a cloudy sky can be seen.
An underground cave featuring a clear blue pool of water, with rocky edges and natural stone formations above.

That’s me straddling the rift zone. Impressive.

From there, we took a hike up the remains of a volcano, to see the blue lake in the large crater, created when the volcano blew its top. Something I do not want to ever witness close up. As Jimmy Buffet put it, “I don’t know where I’m gonna go when the volcano blow”.

A serene volcanic crater lake with turquoise water surrounded by brown hills and overcast skies. Steam rises from a distant geothermal area in the background.

As you can tell, this day so far was all about geology. It’s hard to avoid in Iceland. We had really good weather to this point – the sun was out, temperature relatively warm and not much wind. That’s both a blessing and a curse. In this region, there are swarms of small midges and when the wind dies, they are all over you – all openings on your face are fair game for them. It’s hard not to inhale them. The only thing that helps are head nets, which some of us had. By the time this day was over, we were all wearing one. Most of the food stops sell them. You are still surrounded by clouds of the darn things, but at least they are not crawling in your ears and nose. 

After the crater hike, we headed off to lunch which also happened to be at the start of our longest hike of the day. The restaurant was packed – there were a few cruise ships docked in Akureyri, including a NatGeo/Lindblad ship. We had already seen a bunch of passengers, all wearing the same blue parka. We felt under dressed for the day. The restaurant was also strange about restroom use – you had to pay, or have lunch there, More on that in a bit.

After lunch, we set off on our 2+km hike through Dimmoborgir, a very weird park with a set of trails which wind through some very bizarre volcanic structures. I won’t bore you with the geology – there are strange towers of basalt, many with holes large enough to walk through. It’s an absolute maze which would be easy to get lost in, but fortunately, the signage is excellent, and points you back to the parking lot. The hike was long enough to feel like it would never end. Fortunately it did. And it was fortunate for some of us that we made it back to the WC’s at the restaurant with time to spare. 

A view of a large volcanic rock formation with a prominent arch, surrounded by smaller rocks and sparse vegetation.
Unique rock formation with a prominent arch, surrounded by greenery and a cloudy sky.
A jagged lava rock formation featuring a circular hole near the top, under a cloudy sky.
Rocky landscape with rugged terrain and sparse vegetation under a cloudy sky.

There was a pretty bird, singing away as we neared the end of the trail. I snapped a few before setting my speed record back to the restaurant.

A bird perched on a branch, singing with its beak open, surrounded by green foliage.

I was pretty pooped at the end of this little activity and it was still early afternoon. This is where a “sea day” would have come in handy.  There were only two more stops to go and I was bound and determined to not sit these out in the bus. The next one was to view, and hike of course, a series of volcanic craters near the South edge of Myvatn – the hike was fairly easy, and scenery was fantastic. The craters reminded me of the Civil War crater at Petersburg National Battlefield. But bigger, and created by nature, not by war. This is where the ice cream stop occurred. My outlook on life improved markedly after the break. 

A scenic view of rolling green hills surrounding a calm lake under a cloudy sky.
A display of various ice cream flavors in a glass-fronted freezer, with colorful containers and a decorative design on the front.

The very last stop was for some birding along the lake, not too far from our hotel. A short walk on an easy trail – not a lot of birds, but I did get a nice shots.

A duck flapping its wings while swimming in a body of water, surrounded by lush green plants.
A group of seven ducks swimming in a green-tinted body of water, with six black and white ducks leading and one gray duck trailing behind.

That was it – 13K steps and about 5.5 miles of walking. I was ready for a nap. I’ve given up on processing photos from the two cameras and phone. I’m doing enough for initial posts to the blog, but any serious sorting and curation will have to wait until I get home. I’ll do a ‘best of’ post once I get settled in.

We did have an interesting dinner later in the evening, at a working farm a short distance from the hotel. The dining area has windows into the barn, so you can see the cows as they are fed and milked. Our table was right next to the windows, and I thought it would be interesting to face the cows while we had our dinner. I did not notice that we were facing the rear ends of the cows in their stalls. That was a very big mistake. You can probably guess why. I did not take any pictures other than this one. Ick. 

Cows eating hay in a barn, with several animals visible through metal partitions.
View of a dairy barn with cows lined up in stalls, seen through a glass window. Vintage items are displayed on a shelf above.

Peace.

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