The Albatross tour of Iceland left Vik about midday and headed further east along the south coast of the island. Early overcast magically lifted and we had a sunny, if cold, afternoon. We still had mountains and glaciers to our left, and flat coastal plains to our right, with at least one former island, now landlocked. We also passed some low rounded moss covered hummocks… but we found out more about these on our return trip a few days later. Our first stop was for a late lunch at Kirkjubæjarklauster a small place that once had a Benedictine convent (hence cloister). We admired a tall waterfall before invading a café for lunch, our Tour Manager, Mandy, had booked ahead so there was a room set aside for us.
The afternoon drive was much of the same, moss-covered lava boulders, cliffs, mountains and glaciers. Now and again, we would pass an isolated bridge. The glacier fed rivers change their course and it is cheaper to build and maintain a road than maintain a bridge, so if they are no longer spanning a river, the bridges are bypassed! Mid-afternoon we stopped at the visitor centre for the Skaftafell National Park, associated with a glacier (Skaftafellsjökull) to which we set out to walk. We got as far as a terminal moraine, glacial lagoon (with ice and icebergs) and tumuli. It was a refreshing walk after sitting for most of the day.
We drove on, with more of the same terrain, except the moss-covered rocks had given way to more flat land with brown grass and occasional farms and villages. Sometimes at turns in the road, I would capture a spectacular view of snow-covered mountains or a tongue of glacier. Unfortunately, I was on the seaward side of the coach. We arrived at our hotel near Hofn in the late afternoon and settled in, met for a meal and stayed up late at the bar hoping to see the northern lights, but they did not appear.
The next morning was Monday 11 March, and we set off just after 8:15, heading back west, so now I had a view of the mountains and glaciers in the morning sunlight. We went past the largest dairy-farm in Iceland with a huge barn for the cows. Some of the sky-line was interestingly jagged and in one place scalloped.
Our first stop for the day was at the Diamond Beach, so named because chunks of ice that float out to sea from the nearest glacier then get tossed back onto the beach appearing like very large shiny ‘diamonds’. On our way here and while we were at the beach, whales could be seen spouting out to sea. Too far away for my camera to catch, but others managed (note to self: update phone before the next trip!)
We moved on, really just across the road, to a carpark and food trailer area, from whence departed the trips out to the glacier, Breiđamerkurjökull. We were up for another glacier walk and ice-cave. The weather looked rather more promising than the previous time. Nearby was a glacial lagoon with ice bergs which we had time to go and admire. We were loaded onto a couple of large 4×4 vehicles and off we went, not quite such a long drive, again over lava rocks and snow, to the carpark and start point for the walk. Crampons and helmets were provided. It was an easy walk up a long gentle slope to a cave that had been carved out of the glacier near a water eroded area. The entrance was covered (as was the exit) to protect the cut, and also to keep out rival operators! A different cave is cut each winter as the glacier is retreating (melting away) by about a 100 metres each summer. One cannot go out on the glacier in summer as it is too unstable.
We entered the cave and clambered down steps into the middle of the glacier, finding an open topped hole where melt water comes in. It has eroded a course through the glacier, which we followed, then climbed out up man-made steps to the surface. The ice of the glacier was a beautiful translucent blue/green, but also had layers of lava-dust so some areas were dirty-looking. The colour and texture of the ice was mesmerizing, but did not really come out in my photographs.
We walked easily back to the vehicles from the cave and loaded up. As we returned to the meeting area the clouds began to close in. We had time for something to eat (the fish and chips were good but expensive) and to take another look at the lagoon. This time I counted five or six seals in there, catching fish. Luckily, others on the tour shared their photos.
As well as the sky clouding over, the wind had picked up, so we were all getting cold and returned to the bus early. We drove on a bit further west to our hotel outside Oraefi. This is a new hotel, especially built for tourists coming to Diamond Beach and the glaciers.
On the 12 March, we returned to Jeykjavik, backtracking along the same route we used when heading east. There is no other road, really, linking the villages and farms of the south. It promised to be a long day on the road and unfortunately raining most of the time, so I didn’t get much chance to take the photos of mountains and glaciers that I had hoped to (being now on that side of the coach). It had snowed overnight, so our initial drive was through land lightly dusted in white. We crossed the out-flow plain (Skeiđarársandur) of the wide glacier front of Skeiđarárjökull. We went past some truncated ridges, perhaps ground away when the ice of the Vatnajökull ice cap was more extensive. There were farms huddled against the mountains, often with a nearby waterfall. We stopped briefly at the Visitor Centre at Kirkjubæjarklauster. Then we re-entered the weird lava field of lumps of rock swathed in moss. This time we stopped at a lookout. The information boards noted that the moss family was the first plant species to settle on dry land, 400 million years ago.Moss absorbs water and nutrients through its leaves, so can colonise rocky areas with ease where other plants cannot survive. It is bright green in wet weather, but in dry conditions becomes dull and greyish. In this area, Eldhraun, the dominant moss is ‘woolly fringe moss’ which forms a thick moss carpet and can be up to 60 cm deep among the rocks.
About an hour later we drove through Vik, without stopping. Our guide told us about the Westerman Islands, an archipelago to the south and their evacuation when a volcano erupted and the difficulties of maintaining a ferry service between harbours that are silting up. We stopped just after midday at the Lava Centre at Skogar (I think) which had some interesting interactive displays on magma formation, volcanic eruptions and lava flows as well as a simulated earthquake. Driving on, our late lunch was at liberty in Selfoss. I discovered that the town is recreating historic buildings from all over the south, as commercial space and as a tourist attraction. I walked down to the river and found a carved fishy-looking thing near the suspension bridge.
From Selfoss the road climbs back up to the plateau over which we had to cross to get to Reykjavik. As we went up, we got a good look at the steam coming from the geothermic vents outside town. At the top of the rise there is a rock formation with a round hole, it is supposed to be good luck to catch sight of this, lucky I was ready to click! The geothermic power station is nearby, venting steam.
We got to the Borg Hotel in Reykjavik about 4:30 pm. I was back in the same room as on our first night for this three night stay. I went shopping for souvenirs, including an Icelandic pullover.
HauntsofmyAncestors 