Thu 03 Oct
We began our return trip back to Reykjavik at 0845. Our first stop was at the famous glacier ice cave. Iceland has the largest glacier in Eurasia, and today we were going to get up close to one and explore an ice cave. I hadn’t done a lot of research on this activity beforehand but whilst it was interesting to see, I think it may be approaching the ‘tourist trap’ end of the spectrum more than a ‘breathtaking once-in-a-lifetime view’.
You begin by returning to the Jokulsarlon lagoon, where another tour group takes you via jeep to the foot of the glacier. In my mind I was expecting a white ice sheet like in Alaska, but because of al the black sand from the volcano, the glacier looks just like rock from a distance. It’s only up close that you realise that it appears black because of all the fine sand trapped in the ice.
From the parking spot it’s about a 10 min walk across very rocky terrain to the start of the glacier and the entrance to the cave. Because of a recent accident, the authorities have closed all the other ice caves, meaning that everyone has to go to this one particular spot. We were lucky, having left early, and we were fifth in the queue by 0930 to enter the cave – and there was a line forming behind us. Worse still, the rain was starting to set in, and as the cave is not very large, all the other groups had to wait in the rain. Our guide estimated that 3,000 people would go through today alone, making it some 20 groups of 15. I reckon that would be a fair estimate, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were at least 10 in that morning.
The cave itself is about 100m long, and goes directly through the glacier before ending in an open area which in winter can actually be used as an exit when the water freezes over. The view was quite nice, but if I had had to stand in the rain for an hour waiting for my turn I definitely would not have thought it worth my while.
Overnight, more ice had come in from the sea, so I got some more pictures of the Crystal Beach at Jokulsarlon.
We then continued our drive back, with a stop at Vik for lunch, where I had a 3,000 ISK pad thai. It was surprisingly tasty actually.
Our final stop was at the Gullfoss waterfall, one of the most famous ones in Iceland. The weather cleared up. With the sun out, Iceland looks absolutely stunning and it’s a shame the timing didn’t work out better as the next week is set to have some amazing weather.
My accommodation for the night was at Reykjavik Marina. It was very busy when I checked in at 2000, probably because there were a lot of people leaving to get on Northern Lights tours. With the very clear weather and solar activity they probably had an excellent chance. The rooms are nice but on the smaller side.
I then went out for a late dinner at Islenski barinn, a restaurant specialising in Icelandic food. The highlight for me was the puffin, which was quite tasty and similar to duck. I only ordered it as an entrée and it wasn’t very large. I also had a chance to try grilled right whale, which tasted very similar to beef, but quite tough. Picture of Puffin pancake below.
My last activity for Iceland is a food tour, so I hope to sample more delicacies such as fermented shark, hotdogs and more!
