The heat is on...

...in the town of Myvatn...at least in the earth, since above the earth is a historic low/cold spell.  Today the air temps went from high 50s at mid-day to the 30s by 7PM and rain has arrived.  (Maybe snow by morning?)  This change in weather caused me to charge up to the dormant volcanoes of Krafla & Leirhnjukur today.  They are at the highest elevation in this area and will be miserable to be out in the rain for tomorrow.  

At Leirhnjukur with the sulfur smelling steam rising from the rocks behind me -
maybe not a smile, but more a grimice at the smell

To say the Myvatn lake area (one of the largest in Iceland) is unique is an understatement and the pictures that I have don't do the place justice.  Imagine the bluest turquoise waters and orange/tan stone with sulfur spewing from them so badly that the air is "tastable" with this odor.  Black and red lava rocks that are mixed between looking just formed and beaten to a pulp from wind/rain/tourist traffic.
  

Bubbling cauldron so hot that the mud was boiling - hence the guardrail to deter "swimmers" - although I did see someone in my short time here putting a finger in - maybe a candidate for future Darwin Award.



Viti crater at the base of Krafla - a dormant volcano crater that has since filled in with water to form this surreal blue lake.  To give this crater scale, to the left of the snow at lake's edge is the parking lot with a number of cars parked - looks like just more snow.

What an amazing place and I followed up 2 hours of hiking/running along this area with a soak in the Jardbaos-holar, a natural mineral hot bath.  The water was a milky blue made by the minerals in the rocks releasing into the water.  The water is normally boiling, but they pump in glacier water to balance the temperatures.  Every now and again you definitely felt a "hot spot" and needed to seek a cooler pocket.  It was hard to get out and run to the changing rooms since it was 40C (104F) for the springs and 4C (39F) for the air temps!  (I know - poor me)