Iceland Interlude: Glaciers by Land and Sea

Friday morning we decided not to push ourselves for an early start. We had a glacier tour scheduled for 3:30 in the afternoon, and we felt we had plenty of time to make it there. It was nice to relax and not feel in such a hurry in the morning. Trips like this, where there is so much to see and do, can become tiring.

Once we got going we didn’t go too far at first. Just a few miles down the road we stopped at an area known as Dverghamrar. Here there are a number of sections of interesting basalt columns. They seem to be hand made as their geometry is always perfect, but instead they are God-made. What was unique about this location is if one looks between the two sides, there is a waterfall right in the middle to make it the perfect picture. There are also some trees growing here. That may not seem a big deal, but trees in Iceland are actually fairly rare.

Leaving the basalt columns behind, we headed toward glacier country. We traveled the farthest east we would go for this trip and see portions of the glacier that covers 8% of Iceland. The drive from our cabin was over an hour. Unfortunately it is not a very scenic drive. While off in the distance one can see mountains, the landscape close by is flat with little life. There are a few areas of lupine, but larger sections of basically black sand. In places the vegetation is dry grasses or the gray moss one sees on the newer volcanic fields. One can definitely see the impact of volcanoes here.

For the driver, the one thing that can make it interesting is the narrow bridges. Even though we were traveling a main highway, many of the bridges were only one lane wide. Drivers need to pay attention, and if a car is coming from the other directions. they must decide who will arrive first and have the right-of-way.

Finally we could begin to see the glacier. The clouds were low on the mountain again this morning so the mountain tops were not visible, but the glaciers actually had sun shining on them in places. We stopped at a viewpoint to get a distant photo.

Skaftafellsjokull was the first area we visited. There is a Visitors Center here with information, a small gift shop, and a cafeteria. The ranger informed us that walking out to the glacier would take about half an hour. It turns out it’s about a mile out to the site.

Visitors can view the glacier from a ways back or get a little closer. A lake has formed from the melting ice, and there are large ice chunks floating in the lake. The front of the glacier looked dirty. It was probably the dirt and sand it was pushing along as it moved over the land. Like most glaciers, this one is shrinking. As they did at Exit Glacier in Alaska, there are some markers that show where the edge of the glacier was a number of years ago.

The walk to and from the glacier follows along the edge of a cliff which the glacier probably scraped years earlier. The ground has some flora, but the land is still recovering from the glacier digging over its surface for hundreds of years.

We drove a little farther down the main highway to our next stop. Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoon was created by the melting Vatnajökull Glacier, which is a huge glacier in Iceland. We initially didn’t realize there was a lake. From the parking lot it was a short hike over a hill. When we got to the other side, we could see the glacier and the lake in front of it. The glacier looked close but was probably much farther away than I thought. The lake here was clogged with big ice chunks. There were a couple of men out in boats on the water zipping around. It seemed to me that the icebergs would be dangerous, but they seemed to move around with no concern. Tours are available here in small boats that go near the glacier.

We were able to walk along the front of the lake. It allowed us to get different angles on the lake. Andrea even went down to check out how cold the water was. It was cold.

We might have stayed longer, but we were anxious to get to our next location where we had a reservation for a boat ride. Lagoon lake, or its official name Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, is a large lake that has also been formed in front of the Vatnajökull Glacier. It is similar to Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoon but much larger. Both offer boat tours, but Lagoon Lake has proven more popular with tourists, probably because it is larger.

At the beginning of the last century, this lake did not even exist as the glacier covered the entire area. But as it has melted, the lake has formed. It is now the deepest lake in Iceland. The melting has increased here under the influence of the water from the ocean which is warmer than the glacial water. They mix together in the lagoon creating a great environment for fish and other wildlife including harbor seals who feast on fish here. The bird population was also pretty significant.

As we waited for our tour time, we walked around the edge of Jökulsárlón and enjoyed the view of the various icebergs floating by along with the distant glacier.

I thought our boat tour would take us up close to the Vatnajökull Glacier like we had done in Seward, Alaska. However, the glacier is actually a long ways away from the head of the lagoon. There are tour boats that go there, but they are smaller pontoon type craft. Our tour was basically around the various icebergs that were floating around the lagoon. They were fascinating to see up close. In many ways they were like sculptures floating around. The colors are so beautiful. The intense blue color has to do with the density of the ice and the lack of air within the ice.

Our boat was a fun vehicle. It was amphibious. We boarded on land, and then the driver drove it down to the water’s edge and into the lake. Our guide told us our boat had served in the Vietnam War, and there is a bullet hole in it.

During our tour I noted that we were being followed at all times by a young man standing in a boat. He was apparently there in case anyone fell over or some other problem. Considering how cold the water would be, someone would not last long in the water.

During the tour a guide pointed out various sites as well as explained about the lagoon and the glacier. She grabbed a piece of ice from the water that she passed around, and everyone could touch it and get their photo with it. She said it was probably about a thousand years old. The tour was pretty short, but as a once in a lifetime experience, I think it was worth doing.

Back on land we took a short drive across the main road to the other side where the beach is located. This beach has mostly black sand, but it also has something unusual on it, ice chunks. Because of the ice chunks, the beach is often called Diamond Beach which is easier for most Americans than its real name, Breiðamerkursandur. In my mind I was thinking there would be small pieces of ice scattered around, but actually the pieces were pretty large. The waves were battering some of the chunks and pushing and pulling them back and forth. It was certainly an unusual beach scene.

With our hands freezing from the cold wind, it was time to get in our car and return to our cabin. It had been a great day. While the sky was hazy over the mountains, we had a lot of blue sky. The sun was warm and brightened everything. The weather was better than we expected, and the blue skies created a great finish for the day. Tomorrow we would take the journey back to Reykjavik. It was nearing time for us to return home.

It is interesting to realize that I had within just two weeks seen glaciers in two places, Alaska and Iceland. While I enjoyed both experiences, I think my Alaska experience had a greater impact on me, perhaps because it was my initial exposure. In both places one sees the amazing hand of God in what he has created. Nature’s power is clearly demonstrated. Have you had any experiences with glaciers? I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.