08/07/18 The canyon was a nice stop not challenging. On my way to the Vatnajökul glacier, the 3rd biggest in Europe, I could see the beautiful scenery made of beaches, mountains, glaciers and icebergs. I parked at the camping site of Skaftafell and booked a snowmobile tour for the day after. I explored the walking trail that leads to the glacier to take some photos without going too far as I am planning to book a walking tour on the glacier itself later. Even from the bottom it looks amazing, as the glacier is made of ice but also ashes from previous eruptions of volcanoes nearby, which create layers of white, blue and black colours.
09/07/18 after breakfast I drove to the meeting point for the snowmobile tour (they are like snow jetskis). The guide splits us in 2 groups and takes us on big jeeps to a higher point on the glacier. The ride takes around half an hour using the 4WD only road to reach the top, about 800m above the sea. On the way, the landscape changes gradually from rocky tracks to snowy mountains. At the top, they gave us a topcover layer (warm onesie) and a helmet, then after a few instructions, we are on the snowmobiles for an hour of fun in the snow. We stopped for a few pictures and I met a few people in the group, I also exchange contact details with Lisa and David, a lovely couple from Texas who would be happy to have me at their house when I will cross the US in September. They have done student exchange and are used to have guests, they even offered to take me to a rodeo show ?. How cool would it be to meet them again over there ?. I then had to drive back to the camping area where I booked the glacier walk for tomorrow morning. On the way I stopped by the glacier lagoon where icebergs are floating for the entertainment of drivers who pass nearby.
10/07/18 Happy bday little brother! I hope you will find the gift I left for you. This morning I meet the glacier walk tour guide at 9.45. With a group of about 20 people, we receive crampons and an ice axe, then get split in 2 groups, each with one guide. Mine is Björn, 1m90 long blond hair and a beard. Very icelandic! I was afraid the 3h experience might be too hard (also because of the temperature – you know, a glacier is not the warmest place on earth), but it wasn’t hard or too cold. As the tour is also made for families and kids, we progress at a slow pace so I have nothing to worry about. Again, beautiful scenery and colours. Iceland is such a beautiful country, especially when it is not raining. They actually had a real protest about the bad weather in the history of Iceland ?. The guide said that it is pretty dangerous to be the forecast speaker in the country, as people might get really mad at you, for some reason.
After the tour I had lunch in the car and drove to the next ‘city’, Höfn to get some groceries. As I was too tired to keep driving safely, I stopped by the local camping site for the night, I will have to drive 2h tomorrow to reach the next attraction area, the east side of the country.
11/10/18 the main city in the east is Egilsstadir. I drove to one of the villages nearby to capture the rainbow path, then drove straight to Dettifoss (sounds like dental floss to me ?) where a 600m walk takes me to the most powerful waterfall in Europe. Quite impressive! It is located at what seems to be the top of of the area, I wonder where all this water comes from. On my way to Akureyri, I stopped in Myvatn, a geothermal area for the night.
12/07/18 In the morning I stopped by the lake and walked around using the foot paths indicated. As the sun was out it was nice. Later, another stop to see the pseudo craters of Skútustadagigar, made by bursts of lava when the area was still active. Then a stop at the nice waterfall of Godafoss where the flies were very annoying. The temperature was a lot higher in the north, it reached 20 degrees, maybe the reason why there are so many flies.
After 2h drive, I arrive in Akureyri, the biggest city in the north, popular for whale watching. But as I have done it in Australia, I’d rather save my money. I ate at a famous street food hot dog house to try the locL specialty, a hot dog with red cabbage. The red traffic lights in the city are heart shaped ❤. There is a lot to do here, and many restaurants serving fresh fish but as I have done similar activities and want to save for the last days in Reykjavik I decide to keep going. I reached the city by 9pm and parked at the same camping ground as at the beginning of my trip.
13/07/18 As we are in summer, no chance to see the northern lights for real, but the Aurora museum is a great opportunity to see photos and videos of the beautiful phenomenon. I learnt that there are aurora borealis of multiple colours (red, purple, blue), not only green, even though those are the most common. I will have to come back to see them! As the weather did not improve, I stopped by a shopping centre, Kringan, then walked along the main shopping street in the city to find my Iceland souvenir, a little bead with snow flakes, it is lightweight and does not take much space ❄.
14/07/18 Today I am having breakfast at the Viking World, so I can read a bit of Iceland history. I was surprised to learn that Colombus was not the first to discover America! Vikings did, but this was validated after the Colombus story, so it is stuck in people’s mind. Also Vikings didn’t have horned helmets, but it still became a symbol. in 2000, an Icelandic guy decided to build a Viking ship as per the traditional way, and sailed to America in memory of the American discovery, where he was welcomed by Hilary Clinton.
Later in the day, I checked in at a hostel, to sleep in a bed for 3 nights before flying to Sweden. My back will thank me!
