The wild side. One of the coolest things about the country is the presence of hot and cold. The juxtaposition of a warm, volcanic Earth covered in ice, with the driving rain and chilly air above. Iceland has harnessed that heat, and turned it into a way stay warm in this chilly climate. This is the part of our trip that was only accessible by a two-lane road that is often wet or icy. Passing a truck is no joke. Bridges are one lane.
The things we saw on leg two were bucket list-worthy, holy crap things. We munched on ice from the lagoon of a glacier that covers eight percent of the country. We saw some of the angriest waves ever. And we learned the photographing Iceland is HARD. So much contrast. Black sand, bright sky. We’ll start at the Myrdalsjokull Glacier near the town of Vik, where scene from Rogue One were filmed!
Standing beneath a giant hole in the glacier. Or in photo terms, in the paramount light. Prepping to go inside an ice cave at Katla Geopark.Our guide Runar shines light into the ice to reveal layers of snowfall and volcanic eruption.Light shines through an ice wall to show the detail of volcanic activity.New meaning for the term ‘black ice’.Exiting the cave. This felt pretty badass.Jökulsárlón is a glacial lagoon of the Vatnajökull glacier. The glacier covers EIGHT PERCENT of Iceland. This landscape changes minute by minute as icebergs flip and bump each other. Just a few hundred meters away, they float out to sea.No coat. This guy must have been a New England native.Diamond Beach is the final resting place before these now-small pieces of ice either melt or get swept to sea.Langoustines in Hofn. The langoustine capitol of the world. Translation: They set the bar for cost per langoustine. Iceland is EXPENSIVE.Definitely definitely opt for a guesthouse when in Iceland. The feeling that comes from all this breathing space is the best. I still can’t believe we got to stay here.Vik. Vik is a large town.Svartifoss.Seljallandsfoss. A really big waterfall that you can walk behind.Oh good, no one is at the super-dangerous beach. Reynisfjara is no joke, and has claimed the lives of several tourists. Do NOT turn your back on these waves!Gotta do a jumping Joe photo on the basalt columns.
