The Ice Lagoon

Early in the morning I was woken up by a very intensive smell. I blamed one of the sleeping bags and fell asleep but later it occurred to me that the cause was simple: low tide. After a few hours the tide went high and the smell disappeared. I suppose it's nothing special for countries with access to an ocean... anyway, I prefer my Baltic Sea.

After a hundred kilometers we reached Jokulsarlon. It's one of those things here that I cannot describe. However, I'll try to write a few words about it and upload a few photos, they'll be more accurate. If I understood it correctly, the sea somehow got closer to Vatnajokull (the largest glacier outside the poles, by the way) and made it melt. As it has been melting very fast, this big lake was created in only 70 years and is still getting bigger. The most incredible for me is that it's a natural process, where global warming effect does not matter - so they say. So... they ended up with a great lake with icebergs floating all around, seals sunbathing on them and skuas flying above (watch out for them, they can be really aggressive). Due to density differences between water and icebergs, we see only about 10% of each one - you can imagine how big they are. They have amphibious vehicle and I strongly recommend taking a trip - it's not THAT expensive, and you get much more beautiful view comparing to the parking and also a guide that - apart from telling us the standard story about the history of the place - is happy to answer your questions. Usually you'll get a chance to see a seal as well.

Then we went to Skaftafell. The ring road there gives you a chance to see many glacier tongues, sometimes you can even drive a bit to the North and get very close to them. It was the first time I saw a glacier ending and creating a river. Maybe it's visible in pictures - its surface is kind of sharp, as if someone had tried to cut it with a gigantic knife. In Skaftafell I've seen the biggest and most crowded (don't confuse it with European crowd which is overwhelming compared to this one) tourist center. You will find some information about glaciers (from geological point of view), volcanoes (there's a movie room where they play a movie about eruptions), and the area in general. There's a map and souvenir shop and Mountain Guides' office where you can buy a trip - from an easy "ice adventure" to climbing Hvannadalshnukur (Iceland's highest mountain). The later is VERY expensive: 220 euros when I was there. However, the guide and gear are provided and this is the only possibility to climb it if you don't have experience in glacier climbing.

We reached the campsite in Kirkjubaejarklaustur and decided to stay there. As we arrived there quite early, I spend the whole afternoon in the kitchen where I met other travelers, Francois and Olivier. The former traveled the world on a bicycle, the later - on foot. I was really impressed by their stories (I also got a chance to refresh my French) as both of them saw many exotic countries and experienced wonderful adventures. Thank you guys, I cross my fingers for your future plans to come into life.

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