The Iceberg Lagoon: Jökulsárlón

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For our third day in Iceland, we decided to spend the day in Reykjavik and hope to see the Northern Lights after nightfall. We ventured into town and ate lunch at a restaurant I had spied two days earlier, primarily because the name of the restaurant was 'Brons'! Whilst there, I thought it only appropriate to try a 'Viking' beer. I have been feeling quite welcome in Iceland and not just due to the restaurant which shares my name, but also because nearly every local begins speaking to me in Icelandic. My prominent brow probably has something to do with this, as friends have told me that in ages past I must surely have been a viking.

After lunch, we walked along the lake en route to the Red Rock Cinema to watch the 'Volcano Show'. This entailed three documentaries put together by the eccentric Villi Knudsen, who has been spending the best part of 50 years getting up close and personal with the volcanoes of Iceland. Whilst he is an old man these days, he is still ready to depart at a moment's notice to film an eruption. Some of the footage was truly captivating and his witty commentary was quite entertaining. Amongst other images, I was fascinated by the footage of an entire island (Surtsey) being added to the map off the south coast of Iceland a few decades ago, along with the spirit of a fishing community which stood firm to defend their homes against an encroaching lava flow and layers of tephra which descended upon them during an eruption that lasted for over a month.

Later that evening, we headed out to the mountains that lie east of Reykjavik, in the hope of seeing the Aurora Borealis with our very own eyes. We stood in the sub-zero conditions for roughly two hours on a crystal clear night, in what turned out to be the vain hope of seeing this (by all reports) magical display in the night sky. We saw the faintest shade of a green arc across the sky, but nothing more. The two nights since have been clouded over, but I haven't given up hope of seeing them before the week is out - fingers crossed! What will stay with me from the night, however, was seeing a meteor come to a fiery end as it collided with the earth's atmosphere. It appeared to tear a scar through the black heavens with such brilliance that I was on the brink of being temporarily blinded. Apart from the piercing white, colours of red, orange and light pink burned brightly behind it and along its sides. For over a quarter of an hour after it made its appearance, the trail of smoke that it left behind could still be seen spreading out through the furthest reaches of the atmosphere. It was a sight that I will never forget.

The following day, we had decided to hire a car to drive along the south coast of the country towards a place that various locals had told us was well worth a visit. This place is called Jökulsárlón and it is a lagoon filled with icebergs which have cleaved off from an enormous glacier. This glacier is part of the largest icecap on the planet (outside of the poles), which should give you some idea of its magnitude. In case that doesn't help you, a couple of facts are that it is three times the size of Luxembourg and is 1km thick in parts! It was about a five hour drive from Reykjavik to our destination, which was stunning in itself, as we wound through snow covered mountains, past numerous waterfalls, the Atlantic Ocean and a wasteland created by one of the most devastating volcanic eruptions in living memory. At times, we were driving through the middle of an expansive black lava field, which was quite an eerie experience. Anyway, I digress, as the purpose of this paragraph was supposed to be the lagoon. So, the lagoon: It would be nothing short of an understatement to say that this is one of the most beautiful sights I have ever had the privilege of seeing. Whilst the Atlantic was full of tumult, the lagoon was calm serenity. There must have been thousands of icebergs floating in the calm waters, being kept company by playful seals and the occasional duck. The only sounds that could be heard were of the icebergs gliding past one another, or gently coming to rest against another thousand year old block of ice. There was one exception to this, which was when we heard a new iceberg separate itself from the glacier and plunge into the lagoon with an almighty crash. It almost felt as if there was a presence or life in the lagoon, due to the slow movement of the icebergs and their striking shapes and colours, all clearly visible and defined under a flawless blue sky and glittering sun. Later, as the sun was setting it cast some amazing colours across the lagoon, illuminating some of the icebergs a sapphire blue.

Only as the sun slipped below a bank of clouds on its descent towards another half of the globe did we find the occasion to depart from the breathtakingly stunning scene at Jökulsárlón. We headed west, back along the road we had travelled along earlier, looking out for a scenic spot to stay for the night. We eventually stopped at a hotel that was set up between the mouth of two glaciers. The reception area and staff were warm and welcoming and we were given a room with a view of the snow covered mountain behind the premises. This was a wonderful place to stay and we enjoyed a meal and a bottle of wine in the restaurant, happily reflecting upon the glorious scenery we had witnessed throughout another memorable day in Iceland.

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