No Running on the Glacier

This was another early morning. We headed out to a beach that was near the hostel. We stayed in a hostel in Vik and there are several magnificent beaches there. The beach we went to had wonderful rock formations in the ocean and hexagon rocks along the cliff edge. We watch the waves crash and the sunrise from the beach. This is one of the black sand beaches and is called Reynisdranger Beach.

Then it was on to the main adventure of our day. We were going glacier hiking. It was part of Vaynajokull National Park and Skaftafell. We met our guide and got all our equipment. We had to wear harnesses, helmets, carry pick axes and we also had crampons to bring with us. We talked with our guide and hopped on the bus. The bus ride to the glacier was on a rough and wild road but it was fun.

Once we got to the glacier, known as Falljökull, we got more of our gear on and started the hike. Along the way the guides explained lots of information about the glacier here and others. There are over 200 glaciers in Iceland. 

The hike on the glacier was amazing. There are not enough words to describe it. We hiked over different surfaces of the glacier. We also went into a great ice cave. There is lots of waterfalls and running water over and through the glacier. There were also lots of crevices and fissures in the water. 

The glacier hike was amazing. It was harder on my legs than I realized because when we got down to the bottom my legs were a little sore but the hiking wasn't hard and we took lots of breaks. Our guide was phenomenal! She really knew her stuff, was funny and energetic!

After the bumpy bus ride back to the entrance of the park we got back in the car and headed on. We snacked on protein bars and drove along route 1. There were so many glaciers to look at and take pictures of while we were driving. It was a photographers paradise. There were also plenty of falls.

After about an hours drive we made it to Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, which is the glacier bay on the eastern side of Iceland. We got out of the car and headed up the rock dunes to see a massive bay filled with chunks of glaciers floating around. It was stunning. There was lots to look at and take pictures of. It was also cool to just stop and admire. If you watched long enough we saw glaciers break, flip, sink, and change. The colors and designs in the glaciers wmy friend got the local version of lobster for dinner. I enjoyed some other interesting food off the menu. Then it was on to the hostel, which was great. After a hot shower I turned in for an early night and snuggled under my warm blanket, tired from all the days activities. ere cool too. 

After the glacier bay we drove about a mile to Diamond Beach. This beach gets it's name because the smaller chunks of glaciers ice float down the outlet of the bay into the ocean and wash up on the black sand beaches. They look like both large and small diamonds glittering in the black sand. Some were large enough to climb on and others were tiny. We watched them float out to the ocean too.

We spent a while at the beach and then finished the last leg of the journey to Hofn Iceland where we were spending the night. We stopped at a restaurant where My friend had local lobster and I tried other good food on the menu. Then it was on to our lovely hostel where I got a hot shower then snuggled under my warm blanket in my comfy bed, turning in for an early evening.