On Sunday, January 16, a group of about 40 international students from the University of Iceland (Háskóli Íslands) went to Hveragerði to hike to the hot springs. We took a bus trip for about an hour - during parts of which there was so much fog and snow that it was difficult to see the road!
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| Looking out the window during our bus ride |
The bus dropped us off in a little town called Hveragerði, where we bagan our adventure. We walked along the main road for a few minutes, seeing some cute country houses on the way.
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| A house along a street in Hveragerði |
On the other side of the road was a river. At the top of the river was a little waterfall beside a beautiful house. A little further down the same river was this scene:
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| Structure of an old house |
There were several farms along the road as well. This farm had both horses and sheep.
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| A farm in Hveragerði |
As we continued along the road, we could begin to see steam rising out of the ground as we neared hot springs and warm rivers.
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| The beginning of the geothermal activity |
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| Sophia and I in front of the steamy river |
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| Behind a hot spring |
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| Bubbling water, with boiling mud in the hole next to it |
After tiring of taking pictures of the boiling water and mud, we began to hike up the mountain. As we walked, the weather changed very quickly - from warm to drizzly to snowy. In some part the ground was muddy and soft, in others very slushy, and in still others the ground was frozen or snow-covered.
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| The view as we began hiking |
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| Part of the group climbing over one hill |
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| Continuing on with the climb, as it gets snowy |
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| You can see one person on the side of the mountain to the right |
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| Such a beautiful view we had! |
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| In front of a little waterfall near the top of the mountain |
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| Sunset - hard to believe that this river is at the top of a mountain! |
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| The geothermal area to the left, and the view of many rivers and streams! |
