Iceland Day 8
We had an early start today. We needed to be at the Glacier Lagoon by 8:30 and it is a 45 min drive away. 6:30 wake-up, breakfast cooked by 7:00. We were on the road by 7:15.
The morning drive was actually very nice. Hardly any cars on Hwy 1, but there did seem to be more sheep in the road. I only had to slow down three times to let them cross the road.
We parked by Diamond Beach (south side of the lagoon). Definitely more ice chunks from the night tides. I grabbed a small piece for my cocktail later tonight. Wendell was not interested in the boat ride, so he went out on his own adventure hike.
Pearl and I headed over to Ice Lagoon Adventure Tours to get ready for our zodiac boat tour of Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon. We were outfitted with one piece thermal jumpers, much like a snowmobile suit and life jackets that automatically inflated. A bus with mammoth wheels took us through some back roads to access to the lagoon. There were two zodiac boats that held 10 people each, we had to travel 5 miles across the lagoon to reach the actual glacier. Our driver/guide did an excellent job of explaining the glacier and icebergs that floated around us. Part of the glacier had broken off overnight and we could see the fresh icebergs floating about as well as the location it fell from. The fresh icebergs were interesting as they were still bright blue, whereas some older ones we saw across the lagoon had already faded to white from being out in the sun. The glacier is receding, but has been since 1930, however it has sped up in recent years. The tour was an hour long and we got many great photos.
Wendell finished his hike shortly after we got back. I heated up some leftover soup from last night and we had soup and sandwiches for lunch in the RV. The drive back to the campsite was good. We were able to pick up additional propane for the camper and get settled into our old campsite. I took a nap to prepare for our afternoon adventure.
We scheduled a glacier hike with Icelandia tours at 2:30. They leave from the campsite we stayed at. At 2:00, we headed over and they outfitted us with boots, crampons, harnesses, ice picks and helmets. We were loaded onto a bus (another one with enormous wheels) and headed out to the base of a glacier. Our guide, Marc Francis McInerney, (yes he is Irish) did a fantastic job of instruction and touring on the glacier. It was a three hour hike, but we moved slowly so everyone could take photos. We only had to hike up around 300 meters to be in the crevasses of the glacier, a feat only possible in Iceland. I was a bit overdressed and had to remove a few layers. The weather was overcast with light rain, but it did not deter us and we had a wonderful time. Marc showed us a YouTube video of a time lapse he did over a year that showed how much the glacier moves. It was very impressive .
Needless to say, we were all tired after today. I made some quesadillas and cheesy-broccoli pasta for dinner. I also made a gin and tonic with the glacier ice I picked up earlier in the day. The ice behaved just like an iceberg. 10 percent of it floated above my glass!
