August 24, Myvatn area

The Myvatn area is the most famous in Iceland because of its natural diversity and geological activity. It's one of the natural wonders of the world as the Lonely Planet puts it! First we made a stop at Godafoss (Waterfall of the Gods). The falls' name wasn't aesthetically derived. At the Althing in the year 1000, the "lawspeaker" Thorgeir spent 24 hours meditation on the issue of a national religion.
His celebral pondering resulted in a public declaration that Iceland would thenceforth be a Christian nation, and would forbid the open practice of paganism. On his way home he passed the familiar horseshoe-shaped waterfall and tossed in his carvings of the Norse gods, thus bestowing the falls' present name.
The Myvatn (Midge Lake) and its pseudocrater field are a national natural monument. The Myvatn basin sits on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The lake contains over 50 islands and islets, mostly pseudocraters formed by gas explosions caused when molten lava flowed into the water. Midges are tiny flies that swirl around your face all the time so you cannot spend a lot of time at the Myvatn area because they make you go crazy. Although they invade your eyes, ears, nose and mouth - and occasionally make a kamikaze dive for your lungs - they don't bite.
Then we had a look at Dimmuborgir, the black castles. It's believed that the oddly-shaped pillars and crags were created 2000 years ago by lava. The most interesting is a large lava cave known as Kirkjan (The Church), because it resembles a Gothic cathedral.
Bjarnaflag is a geothermal area and during the 20th century they have been the site of several economic ventures. Early on, farmers tried growing potatoes but, unfortunately, they often emerged from the ground already boiled!
Namafjall is a pastel-coloured ridge. It also sits on the spreading zone of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and is dotted with steaming vents. There are mudpots, steam vents, sulphur deposits, boiling springs and fumaroles.
We finished our full day with the visit of Dettifoss. It's the waterfall with the greatest volume of any wateralls in Europe. It's extremely impressive to stand only a few meters away from the water masses.