Day 4: Jokulsaron Ice Lagoon, Svartifoss Waterfall and Skatafell Glacier

Rain rain go away!

I'm pleased to report that this morning we had a full house for breakfast.  Maybe it was something to do with the waffle making machine, or the huge loaves of freshly baked bread that were still warm.

As we boarded the bus for the day, we were pleased to be in the warmth, because outside the wind was howling and the rain pelting down.  Thankfully, as we have noted before, the weather changes very quickly in Iceland and as our journey continued, the sun shone through and we saw three enormous glaciers in the distance.  All three glaciers come down from the main Vatnajokull glacier and given the size of the three glaciers we could see, it was very hard to imagine just how enormous the main Vatnajokull glacier is.  Even driving by these glaciers was just breathtaking and with the microphone in full swing, people were shouting out down the bus all the features they recognised such as the different moraines, crevasses and aretes. 

 














Driving beyond these features, we arrived in the mist and drizzle at the Jokulsarlon ice lagoon.  The information which most people connected with was that the James Bond film, "Die Another Day" was filmed in this very location!  Again, it was incredible to see these huge chunks of ice just innocently floating by, making their way to the sea.  Even in the rain, it was easy to see the different colours of blue in the ice.  We got on a duck boat, which drove us straight into  the lake and we glided alongside these magnificent features, which was quite eery.  One or two seals also popped up to have a look at us as well.

From Jokulsarlon we drove back towards the glaciers and again the sun came out.  Packed lunches at the Skatafell Visitor Centre out in the sunshine with the glaciers in the background.  We then took a walk up to another waterfall, Svartifoss, which in the tourist guide books, is likened to the Giant's Causeway in Ireland.  You might think that seeing just another waterfall could get boring, but hearing the pupils shout "wow" and "look at that!", confirmed for me that it isn't just a Geography teacher thing to get excited about such features!  The imposing basalt columns raised questions such as how, why, when and provided yet another brilliant photo opportunity. 

The walk down from Svartifoss took us round to a little line of turf covered houses.  These houses looked out onto yet another breathtaking vista, looking out across the outwash plain and out to sea. 

If you are thinking that might be enough site seeing for the day, you are wrong! We were then driven to the snout of the Svinafellsjokull glacier.  The sheer size of the glacier was incredible and trying to get our heads around the fact that the ice in front of us was thousands of years old took a bit of time. 

 
As the sun started to set, we drove back to the lovely Hotel Laki, ready for dinner, hot tubs and a sauna.

No sign of the Northern Lights as yet........