Ginormous Glaciers

Trip Start Aug 15, 2009

Trip End Oct 17, 2009

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Where I stayed

We slept in our rental car, as all hotels and guesthouses were full

(Skaftafell hotels)

Flag of Iceland Skaftafell, East, Iceland
Tuesday, August 18, 2009

After exploring the hip little city of Reykjavik (population 150,000) for a day and hanging out with Brandy's friend Gunnar, we rented a vehicle for 48 hours (only $450 cheap!) so that we could drive the so-called Golden Circle and then on down the southern coast of Iceland. The Golden Circle is not terribly exciting, but we did see some cool geysirs and huge waterfalls, as well as the site of the world's first parliament (from around 900 AD). It brought me back to my Viking heritage (my great great great grandfather Hans Svare dropped in on Iceland--on his way from Norway to the hot Norwegian emigrant destination of Pelican Rapids, MN--and managed to snap up a very severe looking Icelandic wife). Interestingly, the Icelandic language today is still basically what the Vikings spoke back in the year 1000.
Anyway, the roads in the interior of Iceland can get a bit sketchy (multiple river crossings, exploding volcanoes, etc.), but despite this the entire country is simply gorgeous, in a very bleak, stark way--mountains that drop straight into the ocean, remote farms that have their very own waterfalls and geothermal hot springs, vast glaciers, strange land formations, and lovely vistas.
I kept trying to imagine how some of the really remote sheep farmers survive, as most of their land is basically rock and moss. Maybe they live off cod when times get really tough. Or maybe they all live off seasonal tourism, as most of the farms seem to offer up rooms or quaint farm stays. Apparently this is really popular, as we stopped at over a dozen places and weren't able to find an available place to sleep, so we had to spend an uncomfortable night sleeping in our rental vehicle (a matter not helped by the fact that I had a nasty cold).
We woke up at dawn to the sight of an enormous and beautiful glacier, then drove through the driving rain to Jokulsarlon Lagoon, where the glacier calves huge icebergs into the sea (this place has been featured in plenty of movies--from Batman to James Bond).
Then began the long drive back to civilization....