Askja is a stratovolcano in the Icelandic highlands. We headed straight there along the F910 in the morning, and managed to cross both of the fords on the road (although there was a lot of eye closing, and we wouldn’t have wanted to stop in one of them). Wending our way through endless circles, we drove on through the Ódáðahraun (Evil Deeds Lava). Driving through old lava flows is not a straight road kind of process.
The clouds were lurking low, and we couldn’t see the Queen of Mountains, nor Askja itself.
Driving on up past the huts, we entered the cloud. Sitting in the parking lot, it started raining. Miserable and cold outside, we decided to hang out and eat lunch before walking in to the crater lakes.
Öskjuvatn was the larger lake, from a huge 1875 eruption. Viti, the smaller, was filled with semi-warm water. Not quite hot spring temperature, it hovered around an indoor swimming pool kind of temperature
Warm enough that it seemed a good idea to clamber down the muddy sides of the crater and go for a swim. Shortly beforehand it had been snowing – the swim was brief.
And then it was back again, out along the path (we made the Moosling crawl the whole way).
And back out to the Ring Road – but first, the lava, and the rivers to ford.
