After our buffet breakfast, Askej (our tour guide/driver) picked us up at 8:15 am to go visit Iceland’s top gems, the spectacular Jökulsárión glacier lagoon and Diamond Beach. The weather was perfect – dry and occasional sun-peeking out of the fluffy clouds. But I still had to wear my parka jacket though since it was still in the 40’s. We saw several small waterfalls along the way, the almost barren fields dotted with black and white objects which I found out later were sheep. I also spotted horses grazing from a distance that were much smaller than the average equine. Our guide told us that for the last thousand years Iceland’s horses’ small stature was a result of their adaptation to the island’s harsh environment and scarce food supply and demand for long distance travel. We stopped by an area where a glacier was nestled between two mountain slopes. The vistas are very different to the point where you can describe them as “dramatic and otherworldly“.
After about an hour drive we arrived at our destination. It was still early but the parking lot was already full with tourist buses, vans, mini-buses and rental SUV’s. Askej led us along a stony path that led us to to the rugged shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. Like the black beach, this was a unique experience to actually set foot on a beach strewn with “diamond” boulders”! We learned that these huge broken pieces of icebergs came from the glacier lagoon. Again, another group photo!
From the beach, we walked about half a mile to Glacier Lagoon. Surprisingly, the weather was cooperating this morning. It was windy and a sudden strong gust of wind almost knocked me down! The path was noticeably filled with tourists from all over the world! We admired the Asian tourists who wore fashionable cold weather apparels.
A result of global warming no doubt! The floating iceberg come from the glacial mountain and are broken due to increasing temperatures. In some areas, many glaciers have receded hundreds of meters if not thousands!
We were famished from all that walking but we had to wait for the food trucks to open at 11:30 am. I stood in line to buy lobster soup and Oya went to the other food truck to buy fish and chips. By the way, it is very expensive in Iceland more than most European countries! One reason is that they import almost everything. They cannot grow any crops due to the harsh weather. Iceland’s main sources of income are tourism, fisheries, and aluminum production.
Our last stop for the day was in Vatnajökull National Park where we visited another glacier area in Freysnes. Tired from all the walking we did in the morning, reaching this one was a challenge since you had to walk close to a mile in a sloping rocky road! But we did it!
Before we went back to the hotel, we stopped by an old chapel with a beautiful albeit smaller waterfalls in the background. Askje “baptized” each one of us and “christened” us Icelandic names!
We went back to our hotel and that night I enjoyed my lamb stew!
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