Iceland: Lava, Glaciers, and Lagoons

On Sunday, July 7th, our NatHab group headed east from Vik. Our first stop was the Eldhraun lava flow, created by a 1783 planet-cloaking volcanic eruption, old enough to be carpeted with moss and other low-growing foliage. You can find it on Google Maps by specifying "Scenic Green Lava Walk, Iceland."

BIG -- 565 km²!

A trail led to the viewpoint. Watch your footing; there are few sturdy fences or guardrails. In Iceland it's generally assumed you're intelligent enough to stay on the path and read the signs. Yesterday's walk behind the Seljalandsfoss waterfall might not have been allowed in many other developed countries.

From the top, looking inland.

Looking the other way.

Solveig drove our trusty van on,

and we passed from South Iceland into East Iceland before we reached our next destination, a glacier walk. Those who preferred went on a hike to a lovely waterfall while the rest, including Joan and me, went for the glacier.

The massive Vatnajökull icecap covers 7,000 km² (3100 mi²), and we had stopped where several glacial tongues descend towards the low country. This summer only the Falljökull glacier was open for business; the others were either blocked by lagoons created as the glaciers retreated in the face of climate change, or because climbers are threatened by instabilities in the rock faces.

We were introduced to our crampons and glacier suits by the climbing guides, then climbed aboard a van for a short drive to the parking area. We were soon walking past a lagoon that hadn't been there twenty years ago. Glacier scouring marks were visible on the bare rock portions of the valley.

We drew closer to the glacier,

but put our crampons on only after we'd passed the lagoon and crossed to the other side of the outflow.

We gained altitude with frequent stops and explanations from our guide. Soon the view to the south opened up.

There were several groups on the glacier, kept separate by the guides. In this photo we're pausing before the transition from dirty ice to clean ice.

We're near our high point now. Given that none of us were experienced ice climbers, and our day had a packed schedule, we didn't tackle the wall ahead.

No close approach to the seracs, which was fine by us.

Our guide took photos, and in this one Joan and I make a rare appearance.

We retraced our steps down the ice, across the moraine and stream, along the lagoon, and finally reached the glacier van. It dropped us off at the lunch restaurant, where we were reunited with the waterfall hikers.

Time to move on! We paused when we reached the Hofskirkja Church,

the most recent church on this site, built in 1884. It is the last church constructed in the old Icelandic style, with stone walls and a stone slab roof, all covered in turf. There are six traditional churches preserved in Iceland as national monuments and this is one.

The adjacent graveyard features raised resting places.

You can see it is starting to rain a bit.

This packed day of adventure with NatHab wasn't over yet. Down the road was Fjallsárlón Iceberg Boat Tours. Despite the light rain, everyone in our group was ready to go, once we wriggled into life vests and sturdy rain jackets and otherwise got ready for a damp and chilly ride.

The guests are responsible for their own rain paints.

From the headquarters there was a walk down to the beach and the zodiacs.

Note the low ceiling.

Plenty of icebergs floated on the downwind side of the lagoon,

orphan bits of glacier.

Two zodiacs were required for our group. My boat, of course, was the leader.

When the air bubbles have been squeezed out of the ice, small quantities lose their blue tint and become transparent.

The zodiacs cruised by the glacier face at a respectful distance. I saw, and all heard, a small block splash into the lagoon. The driver told us of a group of horsemen who in the last century were crossing the glacier, but were caught in a storm. One of them became lost and did not make it home; long distance travel was risky in Iceland! Years later that rider and horse became visible as the section of glacier that had entombed them reached the lagoon. We also had a surprise at the far side of the lagoon -- if you don't mind a spoiler, click here.

From here it was a short drive to our digs for the night, the Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon.

The view from our window.

We were ready for dinner and a good rest after a very busy very outdoors day.