Photo Essay: Images from North Iceland

Visitors to Iceland tend to break into two camps: those who stick around Reykjavik and do day trips, or those who rent a car and make it their mission to drive around the entire island. On my last trip to Iceland, I decided to compromise. My husband and I rented a car and drive north from Reykjavik to Husavik via the Ring Road, spent three days exploring the north of Iceland, and then made our way back. Here are some of the photographic highlights from the region.

Horses in a field between Blonduos and Varmahild.

Every drive in Iceland will take longer then you think it will, mostly because you have to keep stopping to take photos like this.

Six hours into our drive we stopped to dunk our heads in this river; it was cold but refreshed us for the rest of the drive.

Somewhere on the road between Varmahil and Akureyri, we came upon these odd-shaped mountains.

The clear water and moss-covered lava formations of Lake Myvatn.

This picnic table overlooked the Myvatn Nature Baths.

On the walk between our accommodation and the town of Husavik, we made several new friends.

The harbor at Husavik, the whale-watching capital of the world.

From the whale-watching boat, we saw this little house and wondered how the person got there. The water is so blue because the glacier run-off (freshwater) meets the sea (saltwater) in this spot.

The road between Akureryi and Husavik is one of the most beautiful.

As we detoured from the Ring Road onto the Snaefellsness Peninsula, we came upon this craggy valley and couldn’t resist a few photo ops….

….especially when we saw this old shipwreck off the coast

As always though, the sheep couldn’t have cared less.