As I was going through my notes, I noticed that our
snorkeling excursion in a glacial river was missing. So that’s where we’ll start
.
.
For those that don’t already know, I (along with my travel
partners Debbie and Bill) live in Florida. That being said, while waiting for our
snorkeling suits, she laughingly told the group, “We’re from Florida, and we
only get in water that’s above 80⁰F”.
Well this water sure as hell wasn’t 80⁰F, according to Val, our guide it
was only about 36⁰F
Val went through his safety briefing and started handing us
clothing to put on what we were already wearing. First he gave us fleece suits resembling a
‘snuggy’, next came dry suit. He told use there are two kind of people that
wear wet suits, “the ones that pee in them, and the ones that lie and say they
didn’t pee in it. Don’t pee in my dry
suit”.
Continuing with the gear he gave us a hood and gloves,
followed by our mask, snorkel, and fins.
Here we go…
Here we go…
Val had cautioned us that while the gloves were waterproof, water would still seep in. He said the best way to keep your hands warm was not to flex them, don’t empty the water out, and minimize using your hands. He explained that only our cheeks would be exposed to the water, and that we would “just have to get used to” being cold. And once we got in the water, he was right. Personally, the water was so damn cold, it felt like it was burning. Not to worry, it only lasted about five minutes.
On the dive, it was amazing. The following pictures were provided by Val and his team from Iceland Adventure Tours.
Okay, let’s resume where we left off in chapter 2.
One of the places we stayed was Steinsholt
Guesthouse. It’s a working family
farm with cattle, horses, and sheep. The
owner, Kari is one of the friendliest people I’ve ever met. Our room included breakfast and Kari offers
dinner for a very modest price. She
personally prepares the food which is local cuisine, which I assumed is the same
her family eats. There’s no menu to
select from, but the meal consisted of soup, salad, fresh bread, meat,
vegetables, and desert. OMG, it was
delicious.
In addition to the guesthouse, Kari’s family have horses and
a guide to take you on tours of the local mountains. We took a tour and not once did we see a car
or cross a paved road. We did however
have to open a few gates, cross a running river, and see things we didn’t or
couldn’t see from the road.
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| Sheep in the pasture |
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| Me, Debbie, and Bill on the trail |
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| Debbie & Bill at one of the river crossings |
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| Local residents checking out the visitors |
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| Debbie holding a wandering sheep. He just couldn't get enough of being with people |
Leaving Steinsholt Guesthouse and
we headed to the village of Hofn. After what
felt like taking a long afternoon nap , simply because
the curtains didn’t block the never ending daylight, we headed for another
prearranged excursion; hiking the Vatnajokull Glacier.
We arrived at our scheduled time, met our guides Philly and
Tom, given ice crampons, helmet, and an ice axe. Next came the safety harness. With the guidance of staff we stepped into a
waist harness, cinched it tight around our waist, and then snugged up the leg
straps. A bit uncomfortable, but if
needed, the harness would provide rescuers a place to ‘latch’ onto us.
As we began climbing the glacier, the first lesson we
received involved rock climbing. Yes, we
had to descend a small mountain wall before reaching the glacier ice. Successfully descending, we next walked
through a mixture of rock, mud, and ice before putting on our ice crampons.
Here Tom instructed us on how to walk with these deadly
looking spikes attached to our feet. He
told us that while hiking up hill, we walk like ducks with our toes at about a
45⁰ angle. Walking downhill, you uphill
foot points in the direction you’re moving while your downhill foot point about
45⁰ downhill. The basic point is to get
as many spikes dug into the ice as possible.
With a little practice, we were ready for the ice.
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| Hiking through rocks, mud, and ice on the way to the glacier |
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| Debbie descending toward the glaicer |
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| A look to where we're headed |
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| More ice than rock |
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| Thank goodness for ice crampons |
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| This may look small, but am told it may be wider as you fall in |
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| Bill making his way beside a cravas |
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| Debbie & Bill on top of the world |
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| Yep, even I made it to the top |
Why not a trifecta; swimming in a glacier river and hiking a
glacier, the only thing left was to ride a zodiac in a glacier lagoon? Okay, what the hell, we’ll do that too.
On our way to Hofn, we drove past
the glacier lagoon and saw the icebergs of Jökulsárlón - Glacier Lagoon floating toward the bridge
we crossed. Looking into the lagoon it
was obvious the ice would not fit under the bridge and that remained, and still
remains, a question.
However, I did notice the large icebergs all stopped in one
particular area in the channel. I made
an assumption that the water was shallower in this spot thus stopping the
ice. We all know what they say about
assumptions, and since I was intrigued I ‘googled’ it. According to Wikipedia, a coffer dam was
constructed within the lagoon to manage the ice flow and protect the bridge.
The ride on the zodiac was not what I expected. While it was nice, you can get plenty of
pictures, and it was an enjoyable ride, it wasn’t very informative. Prior to launching we got a safety briefing
and were informed that one driver didn’t speak much English. The briefer told us if we were on that boat,
save our questions and ask him at the end of the ride.
We got the second, non-English boat driver so I guess that’s
why I feel a little disappointed with the tour.
Not to say it was bad, just not informative, and I would still recommend
it.
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| Me in a water survival suit |
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| Debbie & Bill in their survival suits |
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| Our ride onto an ice lake |
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| No, this is not a cocktail glass |
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| Floating and dissolving |
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| More floating ice |
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| Icebergs approaching the bridge |
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| Debbie & Bill on the North Atlantic where the icebergs leave the glacier lagoon |
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| Me on the North Atlantic where the icebergs leave the glacier lagoon |
First stop the Black Sand
Beach, near the town of Vik.
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| Rock formation off the beach |
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| Cave beneath the mountain |
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| The mountain |
Next stop was Skógafoss, one of the largest waterfalls in Iceland. It runs in the Skoga River and drops about 200 feet. Although it’s reported that rainbows are common at the falls, today was cloudy and no rainbows or fairies were seen.
Our final stop before resting was the waterfalls of Seljalandsfoss.
This is the only waterfall I’ve ever been to that you can walk behind the
falls. I realize there are plenty more,
I just haven’t seen them; it’s cool.
Our final night in Iceland has begun, damn glad it was
uneventful.
After breakfast, it was time to hit the road to where we
started this pleasurable, memorable, and exciting journey. Our first stop was at the Bryggjan diner in Grindavik so it
only seemed fitting to make it our last.
When we got there, the lobster soup was ready and the second soup of the day was broccoli. It wasn’t long before Kristin (the owner) informed us, that something had gone wrong with the soup. He asked if we could wait a little longer as there were now making mushroom soup.
Bill was the first to respond and almost jumping out of his chair said “That’s exactly what I wanted. I was a little disappointed to find our broccoli soup was being prepared instead of mushroom. I guess the village fairy heard my wishes.”
We finished our lunch and made our final road trip to the airport in Keflavik. Homeward bound.
Until next time,
Mike
P.S. Get ready for my Iceland Review (will be posted in a few
days) and some outstanding drone video.
Bill (one of my travel partners; his wife Debbie was the other) is the
owner of Yellow Bird Aerials, and is a highly experienced drone
operator/pilot.
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