Our early morning excursion was what ShoreTrips titled "Lake Myvatn Area Sightseeing Tour". We had a really good guide who grew up in this area. She even pointed out her house as we went past. Our main destination was Lake Myvatn, but we stopped at other fantastic places. The first was Goðafoss, the waterfall of the gods. Along with dozens of other tourists, we walked on a paved path alongside the waterfall and its river. It was a beautiful clear day as we watched the main falls topped by a colorful rainbow. According to the Icelandic history "[i]n the year 999 or 1000 the law speaker Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði made Christianity the official religion of Iceland. According to modern myth, it is said the upon returning from the Alþingi, Þorgeir threw his statues of the Norse gods into the waterfall". I hope his day turned out as nice as ours.

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Our next stop was at Skútustaðagígar Pseudo Craters. We walked up to a low ridge where we had a panoramic view of Lake Myvatn, its wetlands, pseudo craters and the mountains surrounding the area. This is an active volcanic area and the landscape in it contains many lava formations. After viewing the lake, we took a nature walk at Dimmuborgir through one of the formations looking at the flora and listening to the birds.

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Our next stop was at a rift where we could straddle the Eurasian & American Continents. I was content to let the others do that while I had to tend to my bladder. Moving on, we stopped at Hverir, a geothermal moonscape with bubbling mud pots and steam vents. We walked through the field feeling heat and smelling sulfur.

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Timing for the tour said that we were ready for lunch. We stopped at Kvika, a restaurant at the Myvatn Nature Baths. Pea soup and smoked salmon hit the spot.

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We were back on the ship in time for our 3:00 sailing after a long and very interesting sightseeing day.

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