Hotsprings

I heard recently that there is a thermal river tucked away in the mountains, about an hour's drive east of Reykjavik, in an area called "Reykjadal". I got on a bus with two friends, Lukas and Anna, and we hiked our way through billowing clouds of hot water and steam bursting forth from the ground. These emissions from the earth were met with hail and snow coming from above. I suppose this is one example of why they call Iceland a land of extreme contrasts.

Here are some photos from the day:

Anna and Lukas being warmed by the steam

This water was boiling like crazy.

Looking back.

More waterfalls

At the source of this thermal river, the temperature is 90 degrees, but here it was about 40.

Lukas looking like some mythological character.

We spent two hours soaking in the hotspring, dreaming about being able to stay there all through the night. Nobody wanted to get out and back into the snow and mucky path. I decided to walk back down the mountain in the thermal river because my feet (and body) were freezing. It eased the pain of leaving the hot water, but by the time we got to the bottom, the water was cold and the air even more so, so...pretty miserable end to the day, but on a whole, it was magical.