Day 6 – Skaftafell National Park

Boy was it foggy this morning! I swear we could only see about 3 meters ahead of us. We all really hoped the fog and rain would disappear because we had enough yesterday and we have big plans for today. As we drove, we started to see more and more further… Soon after the sun peaked out! We were ecstatic and got to some nice views along the way, cliffs, mountains and waterfalls. We rushed to Skaftafell National Park, where we booked a 10am Glacier hike. Unfortunately, we were 5 minutes late and they left without us! Booooo, we called the booking office and reschedule it for 2pm. So with 4 hours to kill, we went to Jökulsárlón, a famous glacier lagoon (where we were gonna go after the hike). Driving along, we hit a wall of fog! It was extremely foggy and cloudy again when we got to the lagoon. We were very disappointed as this was one of the best sights in Iceland. We decided to back track and come back tomorrow in hopes for better weather. Luckily, it worked with our plans for tomorrow.

Around noon, we headed back to the National Park and grabbed a quick bite at the gas station. We started our 2.5 hour hike at Svinafellsjokull, a glacier tongue of Vatnajökull -Europe’s largest glacier. We put crampons on our shoes so we wouldn’t slip and we also got an ice pick —mostly for show though.

The crevasses were dangerous but very cool to see. Our MountainGuides.is guide, Siggy also gave us some interesting facts about glaciers. Did you know Batman Begins was filmed here? The sun started to set and the reflections of the sun made the ice glimmer. I loved the view! The hike was phenomenal! I’ve never seen or done anything like it.

It was an hour drive to our guesthouse but along the way we saw the fog has lifted at the lagoon. It was too dark to see much but we got a preview of how amazing the lagoon looked. The drive was tough. It was pitch black with rain and fog. Sheep were just roaming around… Good thing, I didn’t hit any of them!

Once we got to the guesthouse, we wandered out to get some dinner at Kaffi Hornið. I got the Lobster pizza which was good but you couldn’t taste the lobster since the cheese and tomato sauce overpowered it.

Day 7 –  Jökulsárlón Lagoon & Eastern Iceland

We woke up early and drove backwards for an hour in hopes of better weather to see the glacier lagoon. When we got there, we were disappointed to see the thick fog. It was less fog than yesterday but we couldn’t see more than 10-15 meters in front of us.

We had to wait about an hour for the first boat ride. As we were about to board, we started to see the mountains in the background! The fog was lifting! Just in time too. Wow… This was our favourite sight of the trip. The fog was lifting and was revealing the beauty of the lagoon with the backdrop of the mountains.

The boat got us closer to the glaciers and we got to learn some facts about the lagoon. We also got to taste some ice too.When we got back from the boat, the fog has completely dissipated and WOW! You can see the full depth of the lagoon with the mountains. It was really breathtaking and we were all blown away from the view.

We couldn’t spend as much time as we wanted there since we were behind schedule. We drove about 4 hours to Egilsstaðir and this was one of the most scenic drives! Beautiful windy roads along the coast paired snowy peak mountains.

By the time we got to the hostel, we ran out of daylight to explore the east coast and another waterfall. However, the lagoon was worth it.

With energy left in me, I suggested going swimming at the local pool! Icelanders love to swim and it’s part of their culture. So each town has a pool and is open late, heated and have hot tubs… locally known as hot pots. Michelle and I were the only ones that went but it was so much fun and relaxing. We relaxed in the hot pots with their massaging jets and also swam for a bit. We slept like babies that night.