Day 5 – South Coast & Vatnajokull
Breakfast this morning is simple continental breakfast. Spread was not anything great. But they had baked beans and I was happy to find hot food. But in this cold weather, by the time I took it to my table and started to eat, it was already getting cold ?. Not the fault of the hotel ?.
Originally we had planned to see several water falls including a fairly tiring hike up Svartifoss. But as weather forecast for the next 2 days was rain, Heimir rearranged our itinerary so that we do our Ice Cave tour today. If rain is heavy, the ice cave may get flooded and it won’t be fun to go on a glacier when it rains.
First stop this morning is a photoshop to see Eyjafjallajökull, the famous volcano that erupted in 2010 and halted air traffic in Europe. We needed to head east to get to our Ice Cave tour so this is just a brief photostops since weather is good. We will only watch the film about this eruption on our way back to Reykjavik. We cannot linger as we need to move east and get to our ice cave tour booked at 2.30pm.
We moved on and got to Laufskálavarða. Laufskálavarða is a lava ridge, surrounded by stone cairns (human-made pile/stack of stones), between the Hólmsá and Skálmá Rivers, close to the road north of Álftaver. Historically, travellers crossing the desert of Mýrdalssandur for the first time would pile stones up to make a cairn, which was supposed to bring them good fortune on the journey. The stacks of stones also serve as a road marker for these travellers. The stone cairns look eerily like tombstones in Teh field. This place kind of send a shiver down my spine. ????
Next we came to the vast Eldhraun lava field (“Fire Lava“), in the south of the Icelandic highlands. It was created in one of the greatest eruptions in recorded history and is of the largest of its kind in the world. When we were there it was covered in snow. In summer it is actually a green field covered in thick moss, this dressing the lava and wipes out all hard edges. When we were there, with all the snow, it gave me a feeling that I was on moon or some deserted planet in the outer space……????.
We stopped by a diner at a gas station for lunch. This is gas station, diner and convenience store all in one. Heimir said that this is the main place to stop for lunch. It was crowded when we got there and there was long queue. Big bus your groups stop here too. I suppose there really isn’t any other alternative around here.
I had a beef burger set (ISK1490) which came with fries and a soft drink. The burger was excellent. Beef patty was juicy, and the cheese was melted, yum yum! The fries were so crisp! DH decided to have the grilled salmon (ISK2850). Yes, almost double the cost of my burger. There are lots of different sides that you can pick. DH chose pasta, salad and potato salad. But we both agreed that my burger was better value and more yummy! ?
Our diner lunch
After lunch we went for our Ice Cave Tour on Vatnajokull glacier. Heimir had arranged it with Blue Iceland.
It was about an almost 45mins drive on the glacier from the meeting point to the ice caves. We joined a group of about 25 others. We were driven to the caves in 2 4-wheel drive vehicles. Everyone was given a helmet. Expect a bumpy ride here. It was an off-road safari through snowy landscape. Beautiful but we had already had a private, fun and beautiful drive with Gunthur the day before so this did not impress.
Vatnajokull glacier is the largest glacier in Europe, 8.500 square kilometres in all. When we got down the vehicle, we were given crampons. These are specially from glacier walks and are sharper than the ones Heimir lent us. We were first taken to Crystal Cave. This is the blue cave. The light has filtered through the glacier and produced this beautiful blue colour. We were given ample time to explore the cave and take photos. This cave is simply fascinating.
Next, we were driven on to Diamond Cave. This cave has many beautiful icicles, thus its name. It is a small cave. Much smaller than Crystal Cave.
After Diamond Cave, we walked some 5 to10 minutes to Black Cave. The sediments from the volcano ash are trapped inside the ice and thus gives it a black colour. The black colour gives this cave a silky look. The surface of the cave are covered in smooth curves. Air trapped in the ice produces these curvatures. It was beautiful! Again we had lots of time to take photos.
Then it was another almost 45mins drive back, Heimir was waiting for us at the car park. But we did not leave immediately but rather walked to the glacier lagoon next to the car park.
It is a recent lagoon which came about as a result of warming climate. Sea water flows into the lagoon at high tide bringing with it huge blocks of ice which are have broken off from the glacier, Breiðamerkurjökull, leaving large icebergs floating on the lagoon. The lagoon is not very wide but it is up to 250 meters deep which makes it the deepest lake in Iceland. Breiðamerkurjökull is an outlet of the Vatnajökull glacier.
After spending sometime at the lagoon, Heimir drove us to Crystal Beach. Glacier ice are scattered all over the beach making the beach look like it was covered in crystals. The white ice against the black beach creates a dramatic picture in the low evening light.
That night, we stayed at Gerdi Guesthouse. This is the only place on the road trip where we stayed 2 nights. Our room was as usua quite smal and it has a slante droid over our bed. Difficult to sit up on the bed. DH knocked his head once, but luckily the slated ceiling was like gypsum board so did not hurt. Only complain here is that they did not provide shower gel. Luckily I brought a small bottle in my toiletaries bag just in case. Whew! In fact some of the places did not have shampoo, though most have shower gel except here. I had packed all these as I had expected the amenities to be limited.
Dinner that night was at Gerdi’s restaurant. It is part of our package. Again we could order what we wanted. DSis and I decided to have a soup. It was a vegetable soup. For my main course, I had the chicken chop. The other 3 had Cod and Arctic Char. I can’t remember who had what. Food was ok, not fantastic. Menu was somewhat limited.