Jokulsárlon
Jokulsárlon (literally "glacial river
lagoon") is on the edge of Vatnajökull National Park at the head of the Breiðamerkurjökull
glacier.
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| Ice sheets |
It formed in the 1930s when the glacier started receding from the edge
of the Atlantic Ocean and has grown as the glacier continues to recede. It is
now almost a mile away from the ocean's edge and covers an area of about seven
square miles. It recently became the deepest lake in Iceland, at over 814 feet
deep.
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| The Lagoon |
It is filled with icebergs that calve off the glacier and are carried by
the tides under a bridge and out to sea, many stranding themselves on a black
sand beach before finally being washed away.
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| A popular film location |
Jökulsárlón
has been a setting for four Hollywood movies: A View to a Kill, Die Another
Day, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Batman Begins, as well as the TV series Amazing Race.
We took lots of pictures ...
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| Some sun peeking out |
... watched idiots walk out on the icebergs
(since icebergs can drift or flip, they often have thin areas, the water is
close to freezing and the current is strong); this is about as stupid as you can
get) ...
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| While it looks fun, it's very dangerous |
... and fought the wind ...
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| Still windy; Photo: Caty Stevens |
Just before noon, we went into the café to
wait for our ice cave tour guide, only to realize after no one showed that our
reservation was for Monday, not Sunday! Yikes! It just meant that our long
drive back to Hella would start later. No big deal; we just felt sort of
stupid.
We went back just as the sun came out of the clouds and lit up
the icebergs beautifully, took more photos (including on the beach among the
stranded icebergs).
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| Diamond Beach; Right Photo: Caty Stevens |
We saw some seals in the lagoon, one of the few wildlife
sightings of the trip.
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| Harbor Seals; Photo: Caty Stevens |
When we finally tired of the wind, we took a drive past the
guesthouse to the east. When we rounded a large mountain, we encountered an
area with very little snow and even some green grass.
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| Just down the road |
We even saw five Reindeer, which I thought were domesticated because they were inside a fence.
We later learned that they were wild; they just like to jump fences and graze
in farmers’ fields.
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| One Reindeer; Photo: Caty Stevens |
We turned back when it started to snow a little and
returned to the guesthouse.
We had another delicious dinner at the Hali – we
both had some delicious tomato soup and then split the meatballs with homemade
rhubarb jam. Then, we retired for the evening to the howl of a true gale (winds
reached about 65 mph that night). I checked for aurora several times, which
required me to suit up and go outside. Quite frankly, I was a bit relieved that
there was none because I couldn’t even stand in the
wind.
The next morning as still windy but gloriously clear.
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| A different day |
The sunrise
on the mountains was fabulous, so we took even better pictures than we had the
day before.
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| Sunrise glory |
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| Such a difference |
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| Too many places to look |
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| Ice flowing to sea |
Caty braved the hill for a view, but I chickened out about a third
of the way up because it was icy and slippery and just not worth it for me.
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| Caty climbing |
Ice Cave
Then, we went to wait for our tour,
which was with a company called Ice Guides. Wow! How fortunate we were that we
changed our plans and did this. It was probably the best part of the trip.
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| Entrance; Photo: Caty Stevens |
There were seven other people plus our guide, Óskar Arason, a very sweet, very knowledgeable Icelander.
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| Guide Óskar Arason |
He
drove us west down the ring road and then out on an icy road onto the glacier
in a vehicle with super large ice tires that he had personally studded to his
specifications.
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| Our vehicle |
The trip included a hair-raising (and, for one passenger,
scream-inducing) 30-40 degree drop down a hill. We stopped near the mouth to
the ice cave – a yawning hole
in the ice – and donned
helmets and crampons.
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| Into the cave |
I had planned to use my Go Pro head strap, but had to
regroup because it wouldn’t work with the helmet.
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| Geared up; Right photo: Caty Stevens |
Ice caves are formed throughout the
summer as rivers flow through the glacier, carving out a tunnel.
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| Astonishing nature |
As the
temperature drops in the fall, the glacial melt slows, lowering the river and
leaving a cave. They change every year, often disappearing and forming
somewhere else.
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| Caty and me |
Our cave had been around several years in the past, but had
closed up a few years ago and just reopened last year with a different
entrance.
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| Entrance |
The cave was gorgeous. You have to duck
as you go in (helmets are a must), but many areas allowed us to stand.
Óskar
shared information about the cave and about movies shot in the area. He had
personally worked on The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (the scenes that
were supposed to take place in the Himalayas with Sean Penn and Ben Stiller)
and he told us that the icy Interstellar scenes had been shot nearby.
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| Iceland played a role as an inhospitable planet in Intersteller; Photo: Warner Brothers |
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| What a day! |
As we left the ice cave, the sky was spectacular. After the tour, we headed west for the
long drive to Hella. As the drove out, the weather and road conditions varied
significantly. Some parts were clear and allowed us to travel at the full speed
limit and one section was so covered in snow that the only way we knew where
the road was was those wonderful road markers. We did stop for a late lunch of
Icelandic hotdogs. They are much touted, but we didn’t see them on
many menus. I am not sure the N-1 café
in Geirland is the best spot –
the hotdogs were just so-so. N-1 is a gas station.
Once again, we reached the Ranga hotel
in the dark, but it was clearer. We signed up to be awakened for aurora, but
doubted there would be any and enjoyed another lovely dinner. We both had
salads and soup – mushroom for
me and parsnip for Caty – and
then shared a wonderful chocolate chip cake and ice cream dessert.
We went back to the room and repacked
for our flight home and just as we settled into bed, we got a call that there
was aurora. We dressed, grabbed our gear and exited to a very crowded front
parking lot. The aurora was faint, masked by clouds and only lasted about 30
minutes before the clouds got heavier. But, it was aurora.
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| Faint, but real |
Trip date: January 16-27, 2015
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