Iceland and Greenland 2026
Pages
Introduction.
July
08,
09,
10,
11,
12,
13,
14,
15,
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22.
Home.
2026-07-13
We visited another waterfall, Goðafoss, where, according to what is likely a
19th century fabrication, Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði threw statues of
Norse gods into the water when he made Christianity the official religion of
Iceland in 999 or 1000 CE.
Then we visited the Namafjall geothermal area, where the ground is actively
bubbling and steaming. Afterward, we had lunch at Kaffi Borgir at Dimmuborgir,
which uses geothermal energy to
bake bread in a hole in the
ground.
Dimmuborgir is, according to a local science museum, a maze-like lava formation
created during a volcanic eruption around 2,300 years ago. An alternative
hypothesis is the formations are trolls that turned to stone when exposed to
sunshine.
Nearby is Skútustaðagígar, which has pseudo craters formed by collapsing lava.
In the evening was a home-hosted dinner (the tour company recruits locals to
host tourists for a meal), which is an opportunity to learn about local life and
culture. Akureyri supplies geothermally heated water as a public utility.
© Copyright 2026 by
Eric Postpischil.
