Jökulsárlón Iceberg Lagoon

  Jökulsárlón is a large glacial lake or a lagoon in southeast Iceland. It is one of Iceland's popular tourist attractions, and not without reason. The lagoon is one of a handful of places where you can get near a glacier without entering the wilderness or the Icelandic highland. It is easily accessible located right by the Ring Road.  Lón means a lagoon and Jökulsárlón is usually full of icebergs breaking away from the large glacier tongue Breiðarmerkurjökull, which is part of the glacier Vatnajökull, the largest ice cap in Europe.

This lagoon is very near the sea and was full of free floating gloriously blue, glacial icebergs.  It was also full of fish, sea gulls and seals.  It was very beautiful to watch the bergs moving gracefully along. These pictures disquise the majesty of the scene because the movement of the water and the ice is enchanting.   Smears of volanic ash could be seen in layers within the ice from eruptions over the past years and the ice, white and blue are very beautiful.

Vatnajökull National Park

 

Iceland is so beautiful, that on the way from the black beach at Vik to the National Park, we came upon this little gem (called according to Google maps:  Foss midway li la lo, Iceland)  and we stopped to investigate it. 

We also passed mountain cliffs crumbling to the flat coastal plains and negotiated the one way bridges along the way. 

Vatnajökull is the largest and most voluminous ice cap in Iceland.  It is a glacier made up of glaciers and the surface area is just under 8% to the total surface area of Iceland.  When we arrived, we found parking at the Skaftafell Visitor Center and hiked the trail to see the glacier.  Happily the weather was perfect for the adventure. 

 Lunch of yummy soups and salads was at a little cafe with a view that could have been Switzerland. 

Quick stop for Vik black sand beaches and trolls

 On Monday morning, we headed towards Vik to see the black sandy beach and also the trolls that Hodur had suggested that we see.  Reynisdrangar rock folklore is one of captivating reasons for us to find this beach on our south coast itinerary. It is said that three trolls attempted to pull a ship ashore, but were caught by the daylight and turned into stone. Many Icelanders preserve the folklore about  huldufólk--hidden people, or elves. Rock people and álfhól structures dot the landscape, while stories and images fill pages of books. The basalt columns and black sand are peculiar to Iceland. When we see this color we expect it to be rich soil and to get your feet dirty, but this is loose granular shiny sand. 

We also saw this picturesque Vikurkirkja, a striking little white Lutheran church with a bright red roof which sits atop a hill above Vík í Mýrdal and it's black basalt beaches.  Reyniskirkja Church's shows the traditional wooden architecture. 

Just outside of Vik, we stopped to buy diesel fuel for long day of driving.  We pumped it at $8.92 a gallon! 

Skógafoss and our Glamping overnight

As tired as we were Sunday night, we headed on to the Skógafoss waterfall just 30 minutes to the east of Mr Iceland's farm. I stayed at the bottom, but Laurie climbed the steps up to an observation platform above Skógafoss, (over 500 steps) and you can just see her red jacket in the photo above. 

This is a huge water fall in the cliffs along the Skóga River; the Skógafoss is one of the biggest waterfalls in the country, with a width of 82 feet and a drop of 200 feet. By time we arrived we had missed the sunshine on the flow, but even without rainbows you could feel the power of the falling water.  

We spent that night in Skeiðflötur and thought it would be fun to try spending the night in a tent in a sheep pasture overlooking the sea, so we booked this "Glamping" experience. 

 We slept in a tent on a wooden platform.  Our beds were heated and the tent was very clean.  The only problem was the distance to the bath house, but at least it never got dark for the convenience of the trips. 

The view was amazing and we did hear some sheep voices in the night. 

 This was a unique experience, and the showers were clean with great hot water for relaxing from our full day.  They provided  a hostel type kitchen and lounge that were also very nice.  This was a something new and different for us, and our adventure continues tomorrow on a black sand beach.   

Skeiðflötur view across the way. 

Sunday afternoon at Mr Iceland's farm

  

  It is a good thing that google maps worked to help us find Mr Iceland about 6 miles south of  Þjóðvegur, Iceland just off the Ring Road.  Meeting and riding the Icelandic horses was a highlight of our trip.  Our visit was for about 6 hours and we had a great experience. 

When we arrived, the horses for our ride where in stalls in the stables waiting. 

Hodur, our host, had grown up in Iceland, but had studied in the US getting his degree from University of Virginia before moving to Germany for a Master's Degree and then moving home again. He spent a lot of time with us that afternoon, meeting us and assigning us to our specific mounts for our ride.  Annalise was thrilled with her horse and wished she could take him home with her.  This was her special request for the trip, and I'm so glad she picked this.  

 

After our riding lesson in his barn, we took a trail ride across his farm and along a small river that opened to the nearby ocean and boasted salmon fishing.  The gravel trail led towards snow capped mountains to the north ahead of us and it was a glorious day. 

 Riding Icelandic horses is surprisingly different and therapeutic in a new way. Since they have no predators on the island they are calm and relaxed, not jumpy or reactive at all. The riding was English style and the horses had an unusual fast gate that was much smoother than a trot.  We even crossed the river at a narrow spot for fun. 

 

 After our ride, we took our saddles off and the horses did something that I had not seen in my many years of riding.  They showed us how glad they were to be out of them.  They took a good roll in the dirt before meandering out to their field. 

 

 Our experience included dinner, and the menu included his own roasted lamb raised on the highlands roaming along with organic local grown potatoes, mushrooms and salad that they had prepared for us.  We had sheep skins to sit on as we ate in the old barn on nice china and glasses.  

Hodur discussed many topics about Icelandic farming, education and his own family as he hosted our dinner. He even suggested where we might find some trolls on the black beaches just beyond his place.   He carved our lamb, and had some helpers serve our delicious fare. 

This will be one very special memory of our time in Iceland.  If you go, I recommend that you checkout "Mr. Iceland". 

Overnight in Selfoss - River Apartments

 Returning west to Selfoss, the sun was low in the sky although it is hard to see what time it is because this was about as dark as it got all night long.  The view of the river was beautiful in the dusk accented by the pair of geese enjoying it as well. 

We found dinner at the historic Kaffi Krus, a restaurant in a bright yellow house in town. Tonight we were happy to get a table upstairs in this restored house with so much atmosphere.  We were tired from our adventures and it was great to find some delicious pizza. 

We spent Saturday night at the River Apartments.  We checked into our little studio apartment facing beautiful overlooks of the Ölfusá River.  It was very clean and comfortable even though Annalise got the couch. Our kind hostess even was happy to come let us back in after we got locked out and brought us milk to have with our oatmeal we cooked in the little kitchen for breakfast.  

It was fun to see the little town the next morning and take note of the houses with sod and grass growing on their roofs.  This style of building is very economical to heat in the winter and cool in the summer. 

And we drove by the Selfoss church which is right on the river and where parishioners were gathering for worship.  We even spent a few minutes celebrating this Sunday morning on the banks of the river.  We considered attending the service, but were pretty sure it would be in Icelandic. 

Trail to Gljufrafoss waterfall

The literature about Seljalandsfoss suggests that you should not miss the Gljufrafoss which is located north of the larger waterfall.  The trail is about a mile and has lovely views of the cliffs above, other waterfalls cresting the cliffs and green fields below.  On this trail, we actually saw sheep looking over the edge.  

Since it was uphill (of course), Laurie and Annalise were far ahead of me on the trail, and I almost missed the waterfall. The falls are partially obscured by the cliff rock in a narrow canyon and I only found it because I saw someone coming out. A kind young man offered to help me as I tried to rock hop up the crack to discover the smaller falls with sunlight streaming through from above.  It was an adventure to find my way and unfortunately I wasn't taking picture of the way in.  But inside was worth it and was actually quite beautiful.  

The view of the entrance to the cave from the outside looking in, I am so glad that we didn't miss this sweet spot of Icelandic nature.