It snowed overnight! As we opened the curtains we saw one older man fall down from a gust of wind, and two younger people slip on the ice. What a way to start the day... falling on your ass. So we decided to put on crampons, really "shoe grippers," right away. Picture of those tomorrow.
We proceeded into the lobby and were quickly scolded to remove our crampons/grippers because they would ruin the floor. So once we took them off and got mud and salt all over our hands, we sat down to a huge buffet filled with all kinds of jams, breads, homemade waffles and Nutella, meats, cheeses...enough to choke a horse. Oh sorry...that was yesterday's joke/dinner.
We then headed east to Skaftafell, Iceland's National Park, and the glacier covering 9% of the entire country.
On the way, we saw the lava field from the 2010 eruption...
We took a Super Jeep off roading for 30 minutes over terrain that looked like something out of a strange space movie. The driver even had to let most of the air out of the tires to gain traction.
We were suited up with helmets...
...and real crampons, for what was billed as an"easy ice cave tour."
Here's my expression once we got mom UPHILL over boulders and large stones to the entrance. Hooray! But it was hard, not easy, for her. She was a champ and our guide Dan was a saint for holding her other arm, sloshing through freezing water, and breaking up thin ice to clear a way for her. In the dark, at times. Whew. But what a view.
Then we ventured back toward our last stop before the hotel. Our trusty guide, Linus, was waiting for all of us to return.
Last stop for today was Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon and black sand beach.
We are enjoying our evening including a room with a view...of the sea, the mountains, and the horses!
Today we joined a group of 16 others for a tour of three days in the countryside. Although I very much wanted to rent a car and do our own thing, the weather the past few weeks scared me off. And after a couple of hours in the minibus, getting thrown around the lane from serious wind gusts, I was glad we made this choice and let someone else do the driving.
Click here to see the map of our 3 Day South Coast - Golden Circle, Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon & Ice Cave tour with Artic Adventures.
And here's a neat video of the stops:
Very unfortunately, the aurora borealis (Northern Lights) forecast is 0% tonight, mainly due to the light snow clouding up the sky. Maybe we will get lucky tomorrow night instead.
Today was definitely all about the fosses, or (water)falls. These aren't just any falls. Take a look.
No, I didn't photoshop these rainbows!
Yeah, it's every bit as cold as it looks.
Ich bin ein Berliner!
Three stupid guys were climbing up the side of the smaller falls, around the "closed" sign and through the vegetation trying to grow on the tundra. They're either really into the Schnapps or trying to win a Darwin Award. I'm sure natural selection will prevail!
Skyr is the delicious thick yogurt found everywhere.
Geysir area--where we get our term "geyser"--lots of geothermal activity
I was scolded for calling these animals "ponies." "Little horses" or "baby horses" are more acceptable. I guess they're a sensitive breed...sorry, horsies. By the way, we tried horsemeat on the dinner buffet. Tasted like roast beef. Seriously. Yeah, I know...weird. "When in Rome..."
Actually, horse meat two ways.
All the pictures I'd seen of tourists in Iceland were full of "seniors." However, mom and I are the oldest two people on the minibus tour (plus another lady traveling without her hubby, Carol). So where are all the old people? Found them at our hotel dinner. They all took "Colette Tours."
Falls here are so much larger than they appear in the picture. The statue above is of Iceland's "Iron Lady" (I guess it's a popular nickname). When the government announced they were going to harness the falls and build a power plant over them, she threatened to commit suicide by jumping into the falls, and the legislature backed down. Now that's my kind of woman. Girl power!
Wicked cold wind nearly blew us over....
This is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Yeah, I think that's mom under all those clothes...
North Atlantic and Eurasian techtonic plates are separating here at the rate of 2 cm per year. Look out belooooow!
