A lovely sunny day in Iceland, and after a simple breakfast, we were out for the day. First on our list was Stjornarfoss waterfall, an unusual waterfall in a dome shape. Hardy anyone there expect one group of older German tourists, and once they left, we enjoyed this tranquil location, complete with a small group of sheep. The off to Fjalasarlon for the Glacier lagoon tour at 12:30, which we made by 10 minutes. Outfitted in heavy waterproof jackets they provided and our own waterproof pants, we hiked down to the zodiac landing. The trip was wonderful, moving among the smaller icebergs, marveling at the foot of the glacier, and seeing where a huge part of the glacier had recently calved and created a new ice field. We learned that this glacier is receding by 3 feet (1 meter) every week, and the lake we are now in has only existed since the 1950 - before that, the glacier went all the way to the sea. This is climate change writ very large and irrefutable. Our pilot, Igor (from Poland) was quite passionate about the concerns about climate change and how we as individuals could do something about it. When you are in front of a receding glacier, it is hard to imagine not being concerned about this. At one point, Igor pulled up a small iceberg and said someone would get to make a wish on it before returning tot he sea. I volunteered, and we’ll see if my wish comes true.
After the zodiac ride, we had a fairly mediocre lunch in the adjoining cafeteria, a salad for me, some curry and veggies for Barney. Then off to drive through beautiful” countryside to Höfn, where we will stay for the night. It was a lovely drive, and we kept seeing new fingers of the giant Jokulsarlon glacier at every turn. We saw many sheep and quite a few horses as well as cows. we even saw a group of horses being herded by a person on an ATV. It was quite pastoral. We came upon our place for the evening, the Fosshotel Jukusarlon, and wow, it was lovely! We got to our room and found that they had upgraded up to a suite on the corner with a view of three glaciers which was breathtaking. I can hardly remember being in a place so beautiful. We enjoyed the huge bathtub and some time to relax. Views of the three glaciers from our room were spectacular, and I even took photos in the middle of the night when I kept waking up from coughing, still gorgeous outside.
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