Dave's and my tour, by Nordic Visitor, included a car, coupons for hotels, and a thick book with an itinerary and information about Iceland's many scenic wonders. Our hotel stays all included breakfast. This was no French croissant and cup of hot chocolate. It was a full buffet of meats, cheeses, cereal, bread and jam, and fruit. We ate big breakfasts and then fish for dinner.
On August 17, 2022, we drove across an austere section of Iceland's interior. We began in Egilsstadir, near the east coast, and drove to Lake Mytan, near the center of the northern Ring Road. Our guidebook said to fill up with gas and snacks, because there would be few services along the way.
We followed the tour buses to a rest spot in the middle of nowhere, Modrudalsdraefi. "It looks like traveling on the moon," our guidebook pointed out. Modrudalsdraefi is an old farming town, where the wind blows and blows across the icy plain. Most of the farmers have left for more fertile spots, but we could still see how they built walls out of sod and planted their roofs with grass. The sod insulated their homes from the freezing winters. I have read about similar sod houses being built by European settlers in the American states of North and South Dakota.
Even the ladies' restroom had sod walls!
There was a Lutheran church even in this windy, isolated spot.
We could see service buildings in the distance, all with grass roofs and sod walls.
Iceland has both lacy, beautiful waterfalls and power houses. Gullfoss is the power house along the south coast, and Dettifoss is the power house along the north coast. Dettifoss is one of the most powerful waterfalls in Europe.
We studied Dettifoss from both sides and from several vantage points. We climbed a hill and could see the river that crashed down over the falls.
On the edge of Lake Myvatn, we stopped at Namaskaro, a geothermal area. The mountainside is stained several colors, thanks to various gases escaping from subterranean vents.
Tourists stood downwind from a vent in a tiny volcano-shaped structure. "I bet that feels just like a steam bath," Mike said.
We loved virtually every hotel booked for us by Nordic Visitor. The Hotel Laxa, near Lake Myvatn, was particularly atmospheric. It topped an austere hill and was painted dark brown to merge into the soil around it. Some of the roofs were planted with sod.
Guests could see both Lake Myvatn and old volcanos out their windows.
The websites of hotels in northern Iceland include photos of the hotels shrouded with the aurora borealis (Northern Lights). In August, it was too bright at night to see the aurora borealis, but friends told us of their Northern Lights experiences in Iceland in the spring and fall, as well as winter.
We ate dinner at the Vosafos Farm Resort, which was highly rated. It was also unique. Through a huge glass window in the restaurant, we could watch dairy cows being fed and milked in the barn next door!
Artic char is a staple on Icelandic menus. It is a fresh water fish, like trout.
And, of course, the Vosafos Farm Resort also had an aurora borealis photo on its website!
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