Day 4: Ice ice baby

Ice ice baby

After a well night's rest, we open the curtains to a bright blue sky. As we enjoy our breakfast in the restaurant where we had yesterday's dinner, the view is quite different. Yesterday we couldn't see much, this morning the view is spectacular. More excited than ever we check-out and quickly drive off to our first stop of the day.

While reading the guidebooks in order to prepare for our trip, I read something about a beautiful hike to Hangandifoss. There was little information to be found on where the waterfall was exactly located. Nevertheless, the few lines that I found promised a spectacular walk to one of Iceland's highest waterfalls. Especially when visibility is good.  As today seemed the perfect day for such a hike, we carefully looked up the coordinates for the start of the gravel road that should take us there. After a short drive we park our car at the end of the track in a slightly wider area. There's one other car, so we're at least not the only ones who found out about this trail. Even as we get out of the car, we're already blown away by the view of the gigantic glacier not too far away. Yesterday we couldn't see any of this, today all the ice on the mountain tops is clearly visible. As we continue our climb uphill, we often look back to see the glacier and the sea. After crossing a little river it's one climb to the top alongside a deep gorge. We can see the goal of our trip in the distance; a long and small waterfall that falls down inside the gorge. Along the way we take many many pictures of the variety of views that the landscape offers us. The seagulls inside the gorge provide great contrast as to how huge this canyon is. 

Nice weather always improves the way you perceive things, but this hike is by far the most spectacular so far. Also, the fact that we're alone is great and gives you a great feeling of freedom. 

After about a 2h walk we arrive back at the car. Grateful for this hidden gem we drive to our next stop which we could already spot from up the cliff: Fjallsárlón, a little lake at the end of the glacier. 

After parking the car and walking a short path to the lake we are now standing right at the end of the glacier. The size of it and floating pieces of loose ice are breathtaking. For both of us, it's the first time we can get so close to the glacier itself. The beach provides great photo opportunities. By now we already realize that selecting photos at the end of our journey will be a very difficult and time consuming job. 

Not much further lays the most famous glacier lake of the country: Jökulsárlón. With a surface of 15km² it's a huge lake full of icebergs drifting away from the glacier itself. The dark blue water gives great contrast with the white and light blue glue of the ice. The lake is connected to the sea through a river where big pieces of ice end up in the ocean. At the seashore there are lots of these smaller pieces of ice that wash ashore and make another famous picturesque sight: diamond beach. 

We explore the lake from near the parking area. There are trails that walk (partly) along the side of the lake, but we're in luck: most of the icebergs are on the south side of the lake where the parking area and river to the ocean are. Every now and then there are boat tours that take you between the ice. 

When returning to the parking lot we enjoy a hotdog for lunch. Hotdogs are a typical Icelandic snack and can be found almost everywhere. Every gas station, shop or small vendor has them. After our lunch we follow the river to the diamond beach. It's here that we spot our first seal. It's playing in the rather strong current and jumps out of the water every now and then. 

As we arrive on diamond beach, I'm amazed by the number of little pieces of ice laying in the black sand. Maybe you've seen one of these iconic pictures before. I always thought there weren't so many lumps of ice and you needed to have some luck to see the perfect one. Turns out I was wrong. There are many different sizes to choose from and some more bright than the others. We start our search for the perfect picture and spend a lovely time on the beach. We're so lucky that the sun is shining today! The blue colours in the ice and reflection are so much more spectacular on a day like this. 

We take a moment to soak it all in: a hazy black shore in the distance created by waves and sunlight, standing on a beach between pieces of ice, an ocean in front of you where seals play between the floating icebergs, only to turn around and see vast green mountains with glaciers all in between and a blue sky. This is a place and moment we will never forget. 

This was the furthest point to the east we will go on our trip and are now driving back the same road to spend the night in Kirkjubæjarklaustur. A little town that provides a great starting point for our trip the next day: the start of the highlands. Driving down the same road doesn't bore us the least. We see things now that we didn't see yesterday at all due to the low cloud cover. Also, we still have a few stops to make.

Svínafellsjökull is still on our planning today: it's also a glacier lake that normally does a fine job in introducing tourists to glaciers as it brings you rather close to the ice mass. Unfortunately, before travelling to Iceland, I read a report of a tourist saying that the trail was closed due to a landslide. When we first passed this area the day before, the gravel road was indeed closed off. Looking at our maps we see if there isn't another trail that could lead us to the lake. Not too far away there is another parking lot where you can walk to the lake. Still baffled by all the amazing things we've seen earlier we decide to stop here as well. Again, this does not disappoint! Everything is super quiet and every now and then you can hear the ice melt or break loose. With some imagination you can think of what it must feel like sailing between the arctic ice. 

When we arrive in Kirkjubæjarklaustur, we make a quick stop at Kirkjugólf. Roughly translated as "the church tiles". These basalt columns were formed long ago after an eruption and when cooling down formed the hexagonal structure. These columns are special because the top is at ground level, giving you the impression as someone has laid down these hexagonal tiles. 

After checking-in at our hotel we make a short walk from the hotel to Systrafoss. The water flows down over a wide 45-degree angle slope making it somewhat unique. We follow the trail next to the waterfall to the top. Here we find a lake that feeds the waterfall and a beautiful view on the town below and the area. With evening sun we take another few photos and say goodbye to this amazing day.

During dinner we have a final check on the Icelandic road service website and discover that the road we had planned to take tomorrow is closed due to river flooding. A bit disappointed we plan our route around, adding quite some kilometres to the trip. Nature is unpredictable, especially in such a country. Because of the chance in tomorrow's plan, we go to bed early to start the next day in the early morning.