“I can speak to my soul only when the two of us are off exploring deserts or cities or mountains or roads.” ― Paulo Coelho

Day 4. Drive to Jokulsarlon Glacier

We were going to have breakfast first, but at the last minute we decided not to wait until 7am and instead stop at some place on the way for breakfast.  To get to Jokulsarlon Glacier from Reyjavik takes approximately 5 hours.  In hindsight we should have done it in 2 days.  Michael ended up driving over 10 hours. I didn’t drive as we had not added my name to the rental agreement – originally we were getting a manual transmission car. 

The route taken is Route 1, also known as Ring Road.  It circles the entire country.  The whole trip is so worth, the landscape is beautiful!  We stopped to get coffee in the town of Vik at a gas station that had a snack shop.  It seemed like the only place around, as we didn’t want to leave Route 1.   We got coffee and muffins. I had a couple of bites of mine, but Michael didn’t touch his – that says a lot.  They were awful. We threw $15.63 in the trash.  The service wasn’t that great either.  The clerk forgot about our coffees, and we were just standing there for awhile.

Little did we know that right next door there was a coffee shop.  We saw a sign as we were driving away, we decided not to stop and just keep driving.  We had crackers and chips, and other snacks in the car.  We did stop back there on the way back. It is called lava Café and it is inside a clothing/souvenir store.  We got 2 small round pizzas -smaller than a regular slice, 1 croissant, and small Swiss mocha. Not that good, but edible. $20.22. 

Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon sits on the southeast edge of the Vatnajokull National Park.  The Park is huge with many hiking trails and other activities.  On this trip we decided against any hiking because my hips have been acting up.  Plus, we didn’t really have time for much.

We got to the glacier and the parking lot was full, so we parked across the street at the parking lot for Diamond Beach.  Both parking lots are very convenient. 

We wanted to do a boat tour, but there was no availability.  We didn’t want to book beforehand as we had no idea of what time we would get there, just in case we made additional stops along the way.   The Amphibian Vehicle tour is $50.00 and it last 30 minutes.  The Zodiac tour, which can get closer to the icebergs, last one hour and fifteen minutes and it costs about $105.00.

We spent about 30 minutes there, taking it all in.  There are countless icebergs floating on the lagoon, that have broken off from the glacier.  We saw some ducks and a couple of seals. I took pictures of the ducks, but the seals were camera shy.  

There are restrooms and food trucks here.  I didn’t see anything I wanted to eat, so I just had a yogurt, one of those children’s squeezable ones, Michael had coffee.  $8.35

From there we walked back to Diamond Beach.  Diamond Beach is a volcanic black sand beach.  It is named Diamond beach because of the icebergs that wash up on shore resembling sparkling diamonds.  It is not a swimmable beach due to dangerous waves and tides. It is a beautiful shoreline.

We spent about 20 minutes there and then were back on Route 1 to return to Reykjavik.  There were also 2 waterfalls I wanted to stop at.  There are many along the way, but these are the two more famous ones.

The first we stopped at was Skogafoss Waterfall.  This fall is part of the Skoga River and can be seen from the road.  It is impressive, and visitors can get really close to it.   I got as close as I could without getting myself wet.  There is also a stairway on the side that leads up to a viewing platform at the top of the waterfall.  I didn’t go up as it would have taken some time. 

We probably spent 30 minutes there, but ideally one should reserve up to 2 hours for this stop to go up the viewing platform and to hike along the Fimmvorouhals Trail.  There is not a parking fee, but they ask for donations to use the restrooms.

Another 30 minutes from there, it is the other waterfall I wanted to stop at, Seljalandsfoss.  It is just minutes from Route 1. It is part of the Seljalandsa River.  It is smaller than Skogafoss, but still impressive.  At this one, visitors can walk behind the curtain of falling water, there is a path all around the back of the falls.  I didn’t do it, but I think it would be a lot fun to do it when one is ready to get wet. 

The path behind is closed in the winter because of the icy path. There are lights illuminating it, so people can still stop by on the rare times when it is dark. 

On the road, between these two waterfalls I saw a fence covered in bras.  We passed by it fast and didn’t have a change to stop.  I looked it up, and there are a couple of different stories. The most popular is that, around 2012 several bras were stolen.  They were later found strewn on the fence.  Ever since then travelers have been adding more bras to the fence.  It is such a whimsical sight.

Before we got to Reykjavik we made stops at a couple of places looking for a coffee shop, but failed.  We eventually stopped at Kronan supermarket and got some additional chocolate to bring home as gifts.  This bill was only $15.11.  A prior chocolate trip to Bonus Supermarket was $24.27.

We also got some souvenirs such as fridge magnets, shot glasses, and keychains.  I got only 1 t-shirt for my sister.  I normally don’t buy a lot souvenirs, but always get something for friends that collect those.  I have some receipts, but I am not sure what is for what. $35.82, $14.34, $58.51, $24.66 and $21.23.

We got to the hotel exhausted. I don’t even know what we had for dinner, but my guess is cheese and crackers at the hotel, as I can’t find a receipt for anything else.  Plus Michael was exhausted, from what we thought was the driving.  More to follow.