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Published: August 12th 2017
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Blog 2 Glaciers and Icebergs
After another great breakfast we left the Icelandic Hotel Klauster and did a short drive to the Fjaorarglgufur Canyon. Weather was cool and gently showering. We drove for about 6 km along a dirt road. Arriving at the parking spot we then had to walk for about 2kms across a field to the canyon. The walk was well worth the effort.
Fjaðrárgljúfur is a magnificent and massive canyon, about 100 meters deep and about two kilometres long. The canyon has sheer walls that twist and turn and are really narrow in some places. The viewing spots are excellent and we found it easy to get some great photo. It would have been a great experience to walk along the canyon floor but given there had been a lot of rain it was too deep in parts to even try.
Driving along the coast we were treated to views of the Skaftafell Glacier and then the massive Vatnajokull Glacier. Vatnajokull is a serious glacier – the largest in all of Europe. Waterfalls (called ‘foss’ in Iceland) and fast flowing rivers were pouring off the glacier everywhere. As we drove along the road
we saw one area where a massive flood had hit about 5 years ago after a severe storm and the force of the water coming down the glacial rivers had torn the road and the bridges apart. The infrastructure debris was tossed about like toothpicks and the roads were closed for months. The amount of water flowing off the glaciers has to be seen to be believed.
After visiting the Skaftafell Glacier we then headed to the Jokalsarlon Glacier Lagoon. This place had a wow factor of 20 out of ten. We have never seen anything like it. It is a giant lagoon where the Vatnajokul Glacier calves. Huge chunks of ice crack and break off the glacier and then float around a massive lagoon that flows into the sea. These huge icebergs float and drift in the current, turning and melting and eventually they drift at a terrific speed down a small river straight into the sea.
We arrived and the whole area was bathed in gorgeous sunlight which made the glaciers glisten and sparkle. We waited patiently to join our zodiac boat ride into the lagoon and up to the glacier face where the calving occurred.
Getting suited up was a bit of a circus as we had to wear floatation suits because of the icy cold water – falling out of the zodiac was not an option! The driver was fantastic and gave us lots of information. We spent 2 hours zooming around the glaciers – it seemed like about 40 minutes at the time. The photos tell the story of a truly amazing afternoon in the sun on the Jokulsarlon Lagoon.
From there we drove further north to our accommodation the Glacier World Hotel – there just happened to be another glacier right outside the hotel – didn’t compare to where we had been. So we ate a lovely dinner, had a wine and enjoyed the late evening sunshine on our little hotel.
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