July 22, 2017
Although I wrote about the East Coast in my last post, I must catch you up with what happened on the 19th, while still on the South Coast. We experienced another foul weather day. Left the hotel in misty conditions. The mounded moss we could see on the lava beside the road was 2-3 inches thick, like the moss on trees at the ranch in winter.
Hiking up to see Fjardrargljufur canyon.
We stopped at Fjardrargljufur canyon and hiked up to the ridge in the rain. It was a lovely sight and worth a photo.
Fjardrargljufur canyon on the South Coast
In spite of the rain and wind, the temp is a mild 13c. All along the road, with North Atlantic Ocean on the right and volcanic mountains on the left, we saw dozens of tall waterfalls, full from the heavy rain. Spotted one unhappy couple with their car tipped off the road. Couldn’t resist taking a photo.
One of many waterfalls on the South Coast.
This is one way to get a closer look at a waterfall
Svinafellsjokull glacier. We walked to the toe. Small lake had formed there.
By late morning the rain let up and we could see sun peaking through the clouds to light up Svinafellsjokull Glacier. We were able to walk to the toe of the glacier without getting wet. Yeah!
Another shot of the glacier.
Mark on the zodiac in Jokularson lagoon.
Made it to our appointment at a place called Jokulsarlon for a zodiac boat ride to see ice bergs and the toe of another glacier in the lagoon. We were issued “dry suits” that were soaked inside and out by previous users earlier in the day. Smelly and dirty, they were better than the best thing available. We dragged ourselves into them and waited for the other 10 people to get ready. At 4:25 we all walked to the lagoon beach and climbed into our zodiac. Mark and I ended up in the back of the craft and got splashed with lots of water as the driver went fast to reach the ice bergs.
Viewing an iceberg from a zodiac.
We looked at a few and then he really speeded up for a good couple miles to the toe of the glacier. He slowed down again so we could try to get photos. He said it might calve during the 10 minutes we were there. Hmmm. The boat was rocking every which way in the rough water.
Toe of Jokulsarlon glacier.
Sure seemed like the ocean to me. Thankfully, our iPhones are water resistant so I took photos with reckless abandon. Dumped a bunch later. The lady next to me had to keep her good Nikon covered. Bet she was not happy.
Recently calved Iceberg.
Then we blasted back to the dock so the next bunch of unfortunates could “slip” into our suits. I was sure glad to be back in the car after that adventure. On the black sand between the lagoon and the ocean we found some ice laying around that made interesting photos. The place is appropriately called Ice Cube Beach.
Ice Cube Beach. Very interesting.
We drove directly to our hotel for the night, Hotel Smyrlabjorg, and took long hot showers. Mark had driven over 300km in over 5 hours. Most days have been similar or even longer.
An ice cube on the beach.
Adventures with Julia 