Iceland Day 4
Another great and eventful day in Iceland. We first went to see Kirkjugólf before leaving Kirkjubæjarklaustur. We then made our way to Skaftafell National Park (Svartifoss and Hundafoss), stopped off at Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoon for some amazing views, then to Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon for our boat tour. We ended the day in the small town of Djúpivogur at the lovely Hótel Framtíð. The weather was quite nice to us on this day.
Kirkjugólf ("Church Floor") National Monument and traveling to Skaftafell
Before leaving Kirkjubæjarklaustur, we stopped by the "Church Floor" monument. It's unclear if a church was truly built on this basalt rock formation at some point, but this is how it got it's name. There was a very short trail to get to this area. We then took to the road to head to Skaftafell National Park.
Before leaving Kirkjubæjarklaustur, we stopped by the "Church Floor" monument. It's unclear if a church was truly built on this basalt rock formation at some point, but this is how it got it's name. There was a very short trail to get to this area. We then took to the road to head to Skaftafell National Park.
Skaftafell National Park (Svartifoss and Hundafoss)
We made it to Skaftafell to see what we could do in the short amount of time that we had to make it to the glacial lagoon tour farther east from there. We were able to take a trail to Svartifoss and Hundafoss. Svartifoss is labeled as one of the most "picturesque" waterfalls in Iceland, given it's surrounding basalt polygonal rock formations. We later hit the road again, headed for the glacial lagoon.
We made it to Skaftafell to see what we could do in the short amount of time that we had to make it to the glacial lagoon tour farther east from there. We were able to take a trail to Svartifoss and Hundafoss. Svartifoss is labeled as one of the most "picturesque" waterfalls in Iceland, given it's surrounding basalt polygonal rock formations. We later hit the road again, headed for the glacial lagoon.
Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoon
On our way east, south of Vatnajökull glacier, we were headed toward Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, and stumbled upon Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoon on the way there. This was an amazing sight to see, as there was a huge outlet of the Vatnajökull glacier staring at us in broad daylight, sitting above and behind it's associated lagoon in the foreground. It was extremely windy and beautiful.
On our way east, south of Vatnajökull glacier, we were headed toward Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, and stumbled upon Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoon on the way there. This was an amazing sight to see, as there was a huge outlet of the Vatnajökull glacier staring at us in broad daylight, sitting above and behind it's associated lagoon in the foreground. It was extremely windy and beautiful.
Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon
This was a great experience. Amy set us up with a prepaid tour of the glacier lagoon. We were on an amphibious boat that drove directly into the lagoon. We had a tour guide from Spain who acquired a piece of crystal clear glacier ice from the lagoon which was presumably 3000 years old. The ice is reportedly so clear because with years of compression and freezing, there are virtually no gas particles within the ice. We got to eat the ice! Quite refreshing.
This was a great experience. Amy set us up with a prepaid tour of the glacier lagoon. We were on an amphibious boat that drove directly into the lagoon. We had a tour guide from Spain who acquired a piece of crystal clear glacier ice from the lagoon which was presumably 3000 years old. The ice is reportedly so clear because with years of compression and freezing, there are virtually no gas particles within the ice. We got to eat the ice! Quite refreshing.
Scenic drive to Djúpivogur
Very scenic and beautiful drive toward our next hotel. The mountainsides were gorgeous and there were waterfalls just about everywhere. Mountains jutting out of the ground surrounding small fjords were quite interesting, because the pattern of the rock layers was angled significantly out of line with the level plane of the earth, likely suggesting an interesting history of rock movement. We encountered our first of many tunnels drilled through the mountainside as well.
Very scenic and beautiful drive toward our next hotel. The mountainsides were gorgeous and there were waterfalls just about everywhere. Mountains jutting out of the ground surrounding small fjords were quite interesting, because the pattern of the rock layers was angled significantly out of line with the level plane of the earth, likely suggesting an interesting history of rock movement. We encountered our first of many tunnels drilled through the mountainside as well.
Small town of Djúpivogur and Hótel Framtíð
We've reached our final destination for day 4 to stay in the cozy Hótel Framtíð. The scenery in the town is wonderful, so we took a walk around town after eating the fish of the day in the hotel restaurant. This is the first night we went to bed at a reasonable hour. We were absolutely exhausted!
We've reached our final destination for day 4 to stay in the cozy Hótel Framtíð. The scenery in the town is wonderful, so we took a walk around town after eating the fish of the day in the hotel restaurant. This is the first night we went to bed at a reasonable hour. We were absolutely exhausted!