DAY 5 Tuesday Sep 3, 2019:
Jökulsárlón:
We checked out and started our drive to the lagoon.
Stunning scenery as usual.
We reached the lagoon, parked under the bridge.
It's just a short 20 min drive from our accommodation to the lagoon. We had to be under the bridge well in time to wear the full floatation suit and get taken by bus to the boats for the cruise.
We arrived early and enjoyed the lagoon.
The lagoon was created by Breidamerkurjokull glacier retreating in the last century. Now the lake is the deepest in Iceland... 300 m deep and 17 sq km in area.
With huge icebergs floating on the surface and smaller ice cubes stranding on the black sand on their way out to the ocean, Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon glistens with lovely shades of blue offering an awesome vista. When the sunlight comes through the ice cubes, we can see the iridescence glowing like diamonds. That’s why many visitors call this place the Diamond Beach. Many seabirds and seals choose to stay here regardless of the cold glacier water.
There are boat tours that can take us to see the giant ice up close.
There are 2 types of cruises available, big boats as well as zodiacs. We opted for the zodiac as it's smaller... just 12 people and it can go closer to the glacier... which big boats can't.
There are tours in both Jokulsarlon (9900 ISK; 1 hour on water.) and Fjallsarlon (6900 isk, 45 min on water ). Cheaper in Fjallsárlón lagoon as it's smaller.
Some of the companies online are simply resellers; better book with operators.
We waited for the 10-day forecast and booked the zodiac tour on Jokulsarlon for their earliest tour at 9 am. This was for enjoying the best weather on the more spectacular lagoon tour at the time least crowded and the closest to the glacier.
Just a couple of days later we got an email saying our booking has been transferred to the next time slot at 10.30. We checked online and found that the early slot showed Fully booked. We were annoyed we had been bumped for perhaps a large group. The other operator did not have any early tour. We wrote to our operator saying we wanted to drive thru the Eastern fjords and reach Egilsstadir that day, so it was imperative we do the earliest tour. The time change was NOT acceptable. They wrote back saying for September, there is no early slot at all but for our sake they'll reschedule.
When the truck of our operator came, we went in, got suited up. Boarded the bus and got on to the zodiac. There were 2 tours, 12 in the other zodiac, 11 in hours.
We had a great time, speeding thru the lagoon, stopping at big icebergs and then finally at Breiðamerkurjökull...752 m high.
Our guide Tamara was excellent gave us lots of info and was funny and competent.
On the zodiacs, we sit on the rim... no handholds. Quite thrilling. We sat at the back, had unobstructed views always and the pilot's seat was handy to hold on to when the boat was speeding. Supposedly there are many phones and cameras dropped and lying at the bottom of the lagoon.
Jökulsárlón is connected to the sea
via a narrow channel, therefore its water is more clear and bluer
when compared to other glacier lagoons. We could taste the salt first when we tasted an ice piece we managed to catch.
What also makes Jökulsárlón
different from other lagoons is the shape and the size of the
icebergs. Due to its direct connection to the sea, most of the
icebergs do not spend much time in the lagoon itself. They float
across it, following the gentle current to the ocean.
The icebergs look white when they are bleached by the sun. They do flip over also...when the top melts and breaks, gravity pulls the heavier side down.
Much of the iceberg is below the surface.... leading to the expression "tip of the iceberg". We see only 10% of the iceberg.... the tip... the rest is under water.
At other lagoons, there is no way out for the icebergs, so they become stranded in the lagoon and disappear gently. This means that you will see much flatter icebergs at lagoons other than Jökulsárlón.
The icebergs look white when they are bleached by the sun. They do flip over also...when the top melts and breaks, gravity pulls the heavier side down.
Much of the iceberg is below the surface.... leading to the expression "tip of the iceberg". We see only 10% of the iceberg.... the tip... the rest is under water.
At other lagoons, there is no way out for the icebergs, so they become stranded in the lagoon and disappear gently. This means that you will see much flatter icebergs at lagoons other than Jökulsárlón.
Fjallsarlon:
After the cruise, we retraced our way back to Fjallsarlon which is another beautiful glacier lagoon, albeit a smaller one in size.and admired its beauty.
RENTAL CAR ISSUE:
Our car began to flash a warning that the key battery is LOW. We wanted it addressed asap as we did not want to be stranded.
VESTRAHORN:
Our next stop was at Vestrahorn... at a private restaurant who allow access to the beach, a Viking movie set and the mighty Vestrahorn.
We paid their entry 900 ISK each, then asked for help to ring up our car rental. they said they have no phone , we asked them for their wifi password. With that we rang up our rental, rental guy told us what we had already decided on, to get the battery replaced from a gas station.
We had to be at our accommodation at Egilsstadir before 9 pm, we were running late and we rang them up also, they said they'll make some arrangement for us to get the key.
Then we set out to enjoy Vestrahorn. We had got a map with information about the roads, parking options, trails and viewpoints that was pretty helpful.
With the admission ticket we opened the barrier and continued along the road. drove to the rocky coastline south of the old naval base.
Wasted time walking to the Viking movie set.
Saw some lovely Icelandic horses on the way back
EASTERN FJORDS:
Then we went onward with our drive thru the eastern fjords.
Very beautiful.
Wished we had more time as we were trying to reach our accommodation not too late. In the end we took the tunnel and reached our apartment office before 9 PM.
Wished we had more time as we were trying to reach our accommodation not too late. In the end we took the tunnel and reached our apartment office before 9 PM.
Eidavellir/Vallnaholt Apartments:
Lovely apartment with white picket fences in a lush field. We had a funny incident not able to open the door from inside.... called the manager on wifi and they explained we had to turn the bolt all the way to the left... so counterintuitive!! Haha!
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