We landed at Keflavik, Iceland's international airport, about 6:30 AM, picked up our car and headed south to explore the Reykjanes Peninsula, initially taking side roads along the coast rather than the N1. The area is desolate and quite rugged, featuring wind-lashed cliffs, small fishing villages, an abandoned US military base, geothermal power plants and craggy lava fields.
We got a bit lost trying to find some of the places listed in our Lonely Planet guide - there were a number of rocky gravel roads winding around and we misjudged distances so we never found the "Bridge Between Two Continents" or the "100 Crater Park" and the ruins of a lighthouse set on a cliff at Valahnukur. 
Turning north off the coastal road we spent some time in the geothermal area of Krysuvik and the bubbling hot springs of Seltun. The official name of the geothermal field is Austurengjar, but it is most often called Krysuvik after the nearby abandoned farm.
The Krysuvik area is criss-crossed by walking trails that mainly follow old paths between abandoned farms and along the craggy ridges. At Seltun there are boardwalks amid the hot springs. This area reminded us a lot of Yellowstone with its steaming vents and mud pots, although not quite as colorful. 
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