Day Two: Vík to Höfn

We set out this morning to hike 4 hours to the glacial tongue on Svinafellsjokull, to explore its beautiful blue ice, and marvel at various crevices along along the way.

Jagged rock formations, lush greenery

Southeast view

 

Icelandic horses--once they are sold/leave the country for one reason or another, they are never allowed back. Iceland does not cross-breed their horses, and thereby have the most purebred Norse horses.

These are the famous dwarf cliffs from the Sagnir Fairytales--this place is said to be the dwelling place of supernatural beings--either elves or dwarves. Olaffa, a little farm girl from the village of Foss said that she was sent out one evening to bring in the sheep as she usually does, and heard singing "Father in Heaven" and it's said that it was likely the dwarves as there was no one else there...Christian elves!

Dverghamrar--The dwarf cliffs



It's so close we could taste it!



Hvannadalshnúkur



After our long morning scenic drive toward the glacial tongue, it was so close we could taste it! At long last, we've reached Hvannadalshnúkur and took some time to marvel at its vast beauty. The fun has only just begun...

Making our way onto the glacier with our trusty mountain guide, Sigurjón.



Ashen blue ice from the latest Eyjafjallajökull eruption

Here's Mom, taking her first glacial hike--Iceland, a land of many firsts!

Mom making the ascent!

Getting to do this hike and arriving at this point was so gratifying!

We're wondering how ancient Icelandic farmers managed to hike this glacier without cramp-ons AND get a whole herd of sheep up the mountain to feed for an entire season....CRAZY!

Check out the beautiful landscape in the background

Starting our decent

Vitamin rich greenery that fattened up sheep--perhaps worth this hike for farmers

so beautiful

We were famished after this hike--a bowl of traditional Icelandic soup and a few Skyrs later, onto Jökulsárlón, the glacier lagoon.

Mom was asleep and we started driving over this cool bridge and I exclaimed, "Hey Momma, check out this cool bridge! WHOA...check out those icebergs!!!!"

As you can see, this was the reason for my surprised response

The glacial lagoon lies between Skaftafell National Park and Höfn and appeared totally unexpected! We drove up to this beautiful lagoon, and Mom said, "THIS is AWESOME. Just AWESOME." Though very cold with the windchill, we couldn't help but hop out of the car and take a closer look. We weren't alone--baby seal pups could be found frolicking around the icebergs, surfacing every so often to look around, take a breath of crisp air, and continue diving down to explore the bottom of the lagoon.

We had an exciting day and ended up staying in Arnanes, a small village close to Höfn. I had my first sip of Brennivín, Iceland's signature liquor made from fermented potato mash and flavored with caraway seeds. That stuff was really strong! It's also known as "black death." We also had the best lobster soup and pasta of all of the places we've tried during our trip. YUM!