Iceland Day 7: Akureyri to Reykjavik

On the road Reykjavik …

Last night’s cod dinner at the Lamb Inn was delicious! After dinner Jóhannes, Jacob (our driver), Kolfinna (our guide), and Larry serenaded the group with a selection of songs. The perfect way to wrap up our stay at the Lamb Inn!

Overnight, with a slight chance of seeing the northern lights, Mickey, Donna, and Carol are up at 1:30a for a two mile hike to look up at the sky. Too many clouds to see the Aurora Borealis, but the city lights make the clouds glow above Akureyri!

At 9:30a we’re back on the bus departing Akureyri and heading south towards Reykjavik on a grey overcast day. It’s an all day drive from Akureyri but we’ve got some stops along the way. About an hour outside of Akureyri the road goes up to 600 meters through a mountain pass during a snow shower.

Around 10:30a we stop in Varmahlíð for a mid-morning coffee. A little farther down the road we make a quick stop at a farm to see some Icelandic Horses.

A little after noon we pull off the main road and head several kilometers down a gravel road to see the falls at Kolugljúfur Canyon. I dig out the 20mm lens for a little wider view of these falls.

We stop for lunch at a roadside Nesti near Norðurlandsvegur. Another hour down the road we reach the Grábrók Crater volcano and lava field. After last erupting three thousand years ago the volcano now looms 550 feet over the surrounding lava field. It takes about 45 minutes to walk to the top to look into the crater then walk around the crater rim and back down. It’s very windy! And it is a great vantage point to the see the nearby landscape.

We leave Grábrók Crater and have about a two hour drive to Reykjavik. We’ll do a quick check-in at the hotel then head out for a lamb dinner. Tomorrow we explore the Golden Circle.