Iceland Day 8

After a windy night in the RV, we got coffee from the Viking Cafe at our campsite and hit the road.

   

    

Our first stop was called Hoffel Hot Tubs.  They are a set of hot tubs placed into the ground with views of a glacier and mountains nearby.  I absolutely enjoyed how hot these tubs were after a chilly visit to Stokksnes.

   

   

   

   

   

    

   

After warming our bones, we continued to head down the east coast to Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon.  We had a glacier boat tour scheduled.  The icebergs were pieces of the glacier on their way out to sea.  We learned about the different colors in the icebergs.  The turquoise blue represents true glacial ice with minimal air content.  The more white the ice, the more air.  The black is from volcanic ash deposition from eruptions thousands of years ago.

    

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

They brought a piece of ice on board for us to hold.  Our guide told us it was 1000 year old ice.

   

    

The kids tasted it!

    

We also learned our boat was the exact boat Angelina Jolie was on during filming for Lara Croft.

   

   

   

   

     

Our boat was amphibian and could drive right into the water.

     

We got snacks after our boat tour.

    

   

After Jokulsarlon, we headed across the street to Diamond Beach.  Smaller fragments of ice wash onto the shore and look like diamonds.  In winter and spring, these fragments can be quite large.  

     

     

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

    

We went down to Fjallsarlon Glacier Lagoon next.  It is a smaller lagoon with direct views of the glacier.  The kids played with rocks here for a while.  I had planned to do a four mile hike into a nearby canyon (Mulagljufur), but we were too concerned for the RV getting stuck on the road to the canyon.

   

   

   

    

We could see more and more of the glacier as the clouds cleared. 

   

   

   

   

   

   

When we were first at Jokulsarlon, we saw signs for the annual fireworks show.  They shoot fireworks only one night a year and it was the day we were in town!  We changed our plans to return that night for the show.  We saw seals swimming in the lagoon when we got back.

   

   

   

   

   

The fireworks were scheduled to start at 1030pm after sunset.  They set candles on the icebergs.  

   

The fireworks were amazing.  One of the best shows I have seen.