Akureyri not being a very inspirational setting for A Birthday, I decided to have an unofficial birthday and do what I should have done: realised from last experience that Akureyri works best as a fuel stop, done the Forest Lagoon on Wednesday instead of hiking to the swimming pool and done yesterday what I did today.

First, breakfast and pay the campsite owner. Then head for Husavík with a detour to Goðafoss before it was completely overrun with tourists.
I’ve done the “Diamond Circle” before but counting on my fingers, it has to have been nine or even ten years ago. Husavík is pleasant but its main purpose is whale watching trips so once I’d enjoyed the harbour (and the Nettó which has an entire shelf of green star crisps!!) I headed for Ásbyrgi. I’d forgotten how far it is although it’s another very nice bit of coastline.
Ásbyrgi has had some work since I was last there. I’m sure the car park used to be bigger and I’m sure there weren’t viewing platforms over the pond and over the entire canyon.
Then to Dettifoss via the eastern, unpaved road because I like the wilder, rockier, greyer east bank more. The trouble is that the west road is paved and the east road is terrible. Actual washboard texture, dust (I had the windows open and the entire van is lightly dusted), slippery and it just goes on – ~25 minutes from the north down to Dettifoss and then ~45 minutes from Dettifoss back down to the Ring Road. Good thing I broke it up with a long visit to Dettifoss. That too has changed. There are now paths marked out with stakes and ropes. “So now no tourist can go and walk in the shallows above the waterfall,” says I to myself, “or at least they’re visibly discouraged from it. But tourists are stupid.” I hadn’t been standing beside Iceland’s most powerful waterfall five minutes before a tourist (in the obligatory yellow waterproof) stepped over the rope to wander beautifully on the edge of the massive drop and the colossal churning of water while the camera she’d set up above took beautiful photos of her wandering. “What did I just say?” I said out loud.

After Dettifoss came the long drive back to the Ring Road and a quick stop at Hrossaborg. Could have been quick, anyway. It’s ~700m down an F-road which means I can’t legally drive on it, even though those 700m are no worse (probably better) than the legal eastern Dettifoss road. So I walked. Sandals, lightweight trousers rolled up to the knee, shirt open over t-shirt, walked off into the Interior and disappeared from sight of the people having car trouble at the junction (massive monster truck trouble). Hrossaborg is a crater with a hole in the side, best known for playing the part of the baseball stadium in Oblivion. That must have been a while ago too – I remember guide Jónas telling us about the filming of that as we did the jeep tour to Askja in 2016 (the Askja junction is at Hrossaborg).

Into Myvatn at last and at least a third stay at Bjarg, the lakeside campsite with the soft grass. Alas, I intended to spend the evening of my unbirthday at the Nature Baths and wouldn’t you know? Barely a space left at the campsite! At least when you camp, the tent stays put and reserved your space. The Nature Baths were wonderful, as always, but I’ll believe in this extension when I see it. They were working on it when I was here two years ago, due to open summer 2014. I was kind of sad to not get to go last year and see how it turned out but it doesn’t look like they’ve made any progress except removing the cranes. Due to open next year now. We’ll see.

I’m staying around Mývatn tomorrow. May commit an act of heresy and stay down the road at Hlið campsite tomorrow – I accidentally managed to book and pay for one night here, not the two I intended, so I can come back (it’ll be earlier than tonight but the van side of the campsite is a literal car park) or I can move.