The weather in the interior today was very mild and a little sunny. We weren't expecting much having somewhat gotten used to the unpredictable weather here so this was a big bonus!
This is the Askja bus ( Askja Bus Tour ) which departs from the Myvatn Info Center at 8am. Looks kinda decrepit but don't mock it. It has super large wheels (all 8 of them!) that allows it to double up as an SUV. This bus crosses small rivers.
We stopped by a couple places along the way. Mostly streams. At one of them we sampled the glacier water that tasted nice and crisp! (Poland Springs it is not HAHA) One of the stops was also where the Apollo astronauts trained (it's supposed to resemble the moon). I wasn't that impressed since it looked like erhhh most of the interior. But what do I know, I've never been to the moon ...
A stream:
The lunar landscape:
Finally we reached Askja! In case you're wondering there were several toilet stops along the way (campsites). Iceland never fails to amaze me since they have very clean toilets everywhere! Even in the most remote of places ....
It's a pleasant 2.5km hike to the caldera. It's a desolate kinda beautiful out there! A perfect setting for a luxury resort / spa IF the weather wasn't so treacherous :P Apparently it can get really windy and cold. One of the other travelers we met at the hotel said that the wind was extremely strong and they needed a winter jacket while out there a couple days earlier. They are Austrian so it must be freezing right? HAHA
I don't think anything grows in Askja. To get a sense of the grandness of it all, check out the 2 tiny people at the end of the cliff.
You can take a dip in the crater though the path down is quite steep and muddy. The water is warm (22 deg) by some standards and stinky by all standards. We had to suffer a mixture of sulphur and BO trapped in the beard of a fellow passenger :P URHGK
Anyway the trip lasts about 12 hours. It leaves at 8am and returns at about 7.30pm. You can buy tickets from the Myvatn Info Center and the cost was about US$150 I don't remember exactly.
Places covered: Askja
Accommodation: Akureyri. We decided to spend the night in Akureyri to reduce driving time to the West Fjords the next day.
What I wish I'd known:
Bring clothes you don't mind getting dirty so you can slide down the slippery muddy slope to the crater. Also bring a change of clothes and a towel. All of which we didn't have.
Oh and in case you are wondering, yes bring a winter jacket and dress in layers. We went in late August and we needed all this.
>> Take me to Day 7!
My Iceland Travel Blog Index
Day 1: Hello Reykjavik!
Day 2: Battling Nature? Not for the Faint Hearted
Day 3: It's a Beautiful Day (channel: U2)
Day 4: The road to Myvatn
Day 5: Iphone Malfunction
Day 5: All Fossed Out
Day 5: Jarbodin - Spa Myvatn
Day 6: The Barren Interior and Askja
Day 7: Off the Beaten Path
Day 8: Hellish Driving Day!
Day 9: Revenge of the Puffins
Day 9: Food and Botched Reservations
Day 9: Nuni? No Nüni ....
Day 10: Time to Say Goodbye
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