When we woke up, it was warmer than usual (6C) and raining. When we walked across to the main building at 7:30am for breakfast, it was just a light sprinkle and by the time we walked back to our room, there were a few patches of blue sky. The forecast was for clouds but didn't mention rain.
Breakfast was a nice buffet.
Once again, the plan was to meet Snorri at 9am for today's adventure. We'd be coming back to the same hotel in Vik and so there was no need to pack our bags.
When we left the hotel it was sunny and by the time we'd travel for a while there was mainly blue sky with few clouds. We were in luck.
Today the objective was to travel to the Vatnajökull glacier which is not only the largest glacier in Iceland but is also the largest glacier in Europe. It is almost 10% of the surface area of Iceland.
It is about a two hour drive from Vik to the glacier but Snorri said he would be stopping at various places along the way to break the journey and to provide photo opportunities. The only time commitment we had was a booking at 1:10pm for a boat trip on the glacier lagoon.
We were travelling along the south coast of the island with mountains on the left and the sun over the sea on the right.
The road was built on lava flows over the centuries. The area was either flat or gently sloping towards the sea. Some areas were very barren whereas in other areas there were some farms with sheep grazing on lush green fields.
Often the mountains had snow on top and at times the peaks were hidden with clouds. Snorri pointed out various shapes in the mountains and rocks that represent trolls according to local folklore.
For most of the journey, we were travelling on a quality road with one lane in each direction. Many of the bridges were only single lane. Apparently the rule is that the first car to reach the bridge has priority over cars coming the other way. Not everyone seemed to know the rule.
At one stop, Snorri showed us the moss that covers the area. Next we stopped at a waterfall.
By 11am, we reached a viewing area where we could see two tongues from the glacier heading down from the mountain. At the viewing area, they also had remnants of a steel bridge that was destroyed by a massive flood.
Next we stopped at a village where we admired a small church whose roof was covered in grass as insulation. We'd seen similar buildings in May when we were in Norway.
At noon, we reached the glacier lagoon area. Initially we walked down to Diamond Beach which gets its name from the chunks of ice that are washed down onto the beach from the glacier. The ice tends to sparkle in the sunshine.
After parking in the car park near the lagoon, we walked up a small hill to get a better view of the lagoon which had large chunks of floating ice broken off from the glacier.
The boat trip on the lagoon was in an amphibian vehicle that starts on land before entering the waters of the lagoon. As we boarded, they issued everyone with a life jacket. When the boat reached the water, it gave us a close-up view of the chunks of ice.
During the trip, we had a commentary from a guide. Then a small motor boat delivered a transparent chunk of ice to the guide which she then handed on to all of us so we could take photos of us holding the ice.
After the ride, it was time for lunch. There were two trailers selling food. Suzy had a lobster roll while I had fish and chips. Snorri says this is the best fish and chips in Iceland because it is fresh - it has never been frozen.
On the way back to Vik, we stopped at another waterfall but this one was different because, instead of falling from great height, it was within a river.
Further on, we stopped near a farm when we saw two of the Iceland small horses in the paddock next to the road. Both horses walked up to us - probably expecting food. They let us pat them.
We were back in the hotel at Vik at about 5pm.
We'd booked for dinner at the hotel restaurant again at 6:30pm. Before dinner we took advantage of happy hour at the bar again. This evening, Snorri joined us for dinner.
We were in bed at about 9pm after another memorable day of sightseeing in Iceland.
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