Amazing start to the day – the breakfast was provided as part of the accommodation arrangement and everything was grown on site. Home made pancakes/jam/porridge/flat bread as well as local orange juice, cheese & yoghurt plus a thermos of freshly brewed coffee. Just outstanding!
Today’s driving was a bit more intense – 3h40 or so, but we had read that there wasn’t much to see as a lot was barren ground. And they weren’t wrong… once we hit the top of the moutains, the temperature plummetted and at one stage it was 0 degrees outside the car. Honestly, if a movie was made there and the plot was set on Mars, you wouldn’t have to do any CGI, it’s so unusual and there’s nothing for miles!
It did mean that we could actually get some of the kms done without interruption for once, so that was good. But with about 1h20 left to go, we came across more geo-thermal activity. Again, more ammunition this is actually a movie set with boiling mud pools, steam everywhere and what appeared to be a new civiliation, which is actually their energy capture set up which uses the geo-thermal energy for their electricity and heating of their water.
Fun fact: all their hot water for their houses comes from a central spot. It’s heated, sent through the pipes right to the shower/hot water tap. No need for hot water systems! It’s also pumped underneath major roads so they don’t ice up. Clever!
It was freezing today, bit of rain + wind and 3 degrees, but we came across naturally warm bathing pools, similar to the well known “Blue Lagoon”, but these were natural whereas the Blue Lagoon is man-made. We hired everything, including bathers (that was weird, but they were clean) and braved the icy temperatures and plunged into the icy blue water. 38 degrees and beautiful!
Our accommodation for tonight is this incredibly cute, well thoughout new “tiny house” which faces an enormous lake and snow-capped mountains. It’s ridiculous how pretty this area is and this house is just perfect for it.
