JöKULSáRLóN GLACIER LAGOON

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Day 6: HOF - LAGUNA GLACIAR JÖKULSÁRLÓN - LAGUNA GLACIAR FJALLSÁRLÓN - SKAFTAFELL NATIONAL PARK: Svartifoss (Black Waterfall) - NÚPSSTAÐUR - MÝRDALSSANDUR - KIRKUBÆJARKLAUSTUR: Kirkjugólf - VIkjugólf - VI

Today at 6 in the morning the alarm sounds and at 7.30 we already have the car loaded and we are eating fresh salmon in the breakfast room of the Hof 1 Hotel. This is life and more knowing that in a few minutes we will be in one of the most special places in Iceland: Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon.
We have looked at the weather several times over the internet and while we have breakfast we restructured the planning today by adding the things we stopped doing yesterday due to bad weather after trekking through the Mýrdalsjökull glacier and adding what we had planned for today .

The first thing we check is the webcam that is in Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, the famous ice lagoon, which we have only 30 kilometers from the hotel. We see that the weather is quite clear, so we decided to go there first, to ensure the good weather and then go back the 130 kilometers or so we have to visit the places that were pending yesterday.
Today we have our fingers crossed for good weather, something here in Iceland It is quite unpredictable.
A few minutes before 8 in the morning we are already in the rental car in Iceland, with our CityMaps2Go connected to the first stop of the day and one of the cherries from the trip to Iceland, Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon.

Iceland landscapes

As we get closer the view of the glaciers are more incredible and more in these moments when we have to reduce the speed that we carry in the car because of the wind that makes the car even wobbles at some times .
In about 30 minutes we reach one of the most amazing places we have ever seen:Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon. As we travel the few meters that take us to the parking area of the lagoon we put on our jackets and hats, looking like time is coming on us. We are eager to have this place in front of us that we had dreamed of on so many occasions.

Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon

It is definitely the most impressive we've ever seen. Infinity of drifting icebergs that as much as we had imagined surprise us.

Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon

The icebergs are leaving detaching from Breiðamerkurjökull, a branch of Vatnajökull, crashing into the water and traveling to the Atlantic Ocean.
They say that they can spend up to 5 years floating in this 18km2 lagoon, falling apart, freezing again and occasionally collapsing on the water.

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From here they go down the Jökulsá River, the shortest in Iceland, until they reach the sea.

Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon

And there are seals! We had never heard or read it and there are many. The more we look the more we see ourselves getting lost among the countless blocks of ice.
No wonder they say that minimum you have to spend 2 hours on Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon. When we realize we see that we have dedicated those 60 minutes to tour the lagoon from all possible angles to obtain all perspectives.
It is 10 in the morning when we see that it is time to return to the car, although it is what we least want at the moment as we would stay here all day.
It is at this time when we decide that this afternoon, however it may be, we will return here to enjoy one of the most spectacular landscapes that we have been lucky to have in front of us.
Before continuing to our next point of the day we make several more stops in different parkings that are on the road to have other perspectives of Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon.
A few meters along the road we see a small indicator that leads to another important point in the area, the Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoon, another lagoon, not as impressive as Jökulsárlón, but it is well worth devoting a few minutes and there is usually almost no one.
As we know that access is not entirely easy by having to cross a bumpy road, we choose to leave the visit for this afternoon when we come back from Vik.
After 20 minutes in the area of the different viewpoints, we make our way to Skaftafell National Park which is 50 kilometers or so from Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon and where it took us about 45 minutes to arrive.

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At 11 in the morning we are parking in the main parking lot of the park and after passing through the Visitor Center, we will go directly to travel the path that in a little less than 2 kilometers will take us to the famous black waterfall of Iceland or Svartifoss.
The first part of the trail is quite steep and runs through vegetation and views of the plain that overlooks the sea.
It takes about 20 minutes to reach the second part and this is when we are right in front of Svartifoss.

In front of Svartifoss in Skaftafell National Park

From this point all the way is down and as we get closer to the black waterfall of Iceland, more people see accumulated in the base, where they have put some ropes to prevent the passage.

Svartifoss in Skaftafell National Park

Here we have a good time enjoying this spectacle of nature, although we have to say that we thought it would have more flow and that basalt columns would be more marked, very similar to those we met on the Giant's Causeway in Ireland.
Without a doubt, if you are in the area, do not forget to see it, but if you have to make a lot of transfer to get there, this is perhaps a "dispensable" visit in our opinion.
At 12 in the morning we started to descend and after 20 minutes we are again at the Visitor Center, where we intend to eat, although at the moment we see the queues we give up and prefer to resort to an impromptu picnic in the car.
At 1 noon we have finished eating and with an incredible sun we began to undo the road we did yesterday in the rain, with a first stop in Núpsstaður, where we arrived 30 kilometers past, just before 1.30 noon and as We supposed, we found it closed, since in recent times it has been closed to the public. So we have to settle for views from afar.

Núpsstaður

Núpsstaður is a grassy farm in which its buildings date from the s. XIX. In the area there is an idyllic chapel, one of the last peat churches in Iceland.
After a few minutes in the area we return to the car and begin to cross landscapes, which with an blue sky and 16 degrees are incredible, totally different from yesterday's perception when we saw them in the rain.
This is one of the great advantages of going by car, you can go back whenever you want 😉 even if that means doing twice as many kilometers.

Iceland landscapes

From here we continue to Kirkjubæjarklaustur, 23 kilometers from Núpsstaður enjoying spectacular views of landscapes that remind us why Iceland is such an amazing destination.

Shortly before 2 pm we arrive at Kirkjubæjarklaustur where Kirkjugólf is located. We park at the N1 gas station and just behind we find the information panels, which indicate that right behind them we have to climb a small staircase that crosses a fence that will take us along a path of about 400 meters to "the floor of the church" or Kirkjugólf.

Kirkjugólf in Kirkjubæjarklaustur

During the devastating eruptions of the Laki at the end of the s. XVIII, this area suffered greatly and west of Kirkjubæjarklaustur You can still see the ruins of farms abandoned or destroyed by lava.
The basalt columns of Kirkjugólf, smoothed and cemented with moss, in the past they could be confused with the floor of a church rather than attributed to a work of nature, hence its nickname "church floor".
Undoubtedly a mandatory stop if you pass through this area, because of the curiosity of this training.
Before taking the car again, we took the opportunity to stop at the gas station cafeteria and drink a couple of coffees for 500 ISK that leave us as new and charge us with energy to continue enjoying this sunny day, which remind us of the fate that We always have time in all our trips, although in this case the day, despite being sunny, is very windy.
From here we connect our CityMaps2Go again to address Vik although before we stop again. This time in the lava and moss washes that are on the road and that both caught our attention yesterday, despite seeing them in the rain.
Incredible landscapes and surprising stories that hide under this moss and this lava with the most incredible forms you can imagine.
We are crossing Mýrdalssandur, a vast region of black lava sediments east of Vik that formed after the eruptions of Katla.

Amazing landscapes in Mýrdalssandur

Mýrdalssandur

After crossing Mýrdalssandur we pass through Eldhraun where we can see the vestiges of the great eruption in Laki fissure.

Lava in Eldhraun

We arrived to Vik a few minutes before 4 pm and we go directly to the area of the cliffs opposite the Church, from where you have the best views of the town with the church in the background.

Landscapes of Vik

At this time of the afternoon the temperature has risen to 17 degrees and we begin to notice that we have clothes left over, so we have to get rid of the jackets and make our way to the next point of the day, another of Iceland's postcard landscapes.
We return to the car and continue a little along the road 1 until the detour that indicates Reinasharawhich is the famous black beach of Vik.
From here we have some exceptional views of the dogherty cliffs we visited yesterday and the "trolls" of Vik.

Views of Dogherty Cliffs from Vik Black Beach

The black beach of Vik It is an incredible area that we were looking forward to meet and to which we have had the great luck of being able to return with sunshine.

Vik Black Beach

We walked along the beach for more than 45 minutes collecting some stones that will be one of our best souvenirs in Iceland.

Vik Black Beach

Columns on the Black Beach of Vik

We would have stayed here for several hours, but having to arrive before 9 pm at Hofn, which is where we will stay today, makes us have to leave already shot if we want to arrive on time.
The idea is also to stop again in Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon and go to the Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoon and enjoy a little more of this spectacle of nature. But Vik is 140 kilometers away, so we can't entertain much more.
We get going and get to the entry of the Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoon at 20 hours where after traveling for 20 minutes a bumpy road (which we do not recommend entering if it has rained), we have in front of us the second glacier lagoon of the day.
Amazing to have the glacier so close. 100% recommended.

Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoon

Although we now do not spend all the time we would like first because of the lack of time and second because the wind is so intense that it sticks like knives and the cold, although it is sunny it is exaggerated.
From here we continue to Jökulsárlón which is 10 kilometers from Fjallsárlón And the first thing we do is go to the cafeteria to connect to the Wi-Fi and see where exactly our accommodation is today and above all call to say that we will arrive later than 9 at night. In the end our time has been thrown over and we have taken longer than expected.
Although we must also bear in mind that we have added half of the planning of the things we had to see yesterday plus everything today.
While we were looking for the location of our hotel we got a big surprise and we were confused with today's accommodation! We thought we had it in Hofn and it turns out that we have it just 10 minutes from Jökulsárlón So tonight we will arrive much earlier and best of all: tomorrow we can return first thing in the morning to enjoy again this incredible corner of Iceland.
The image he gives us Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon With the fall of the sun it is unforgettable and totally spectacular. Of those who never forget.

Sunset in Jökulsárlón

And with the feeling of having lived a unique moment, we arrived at our guesthouse, the Gerði in Suðursveit at 9 p.m. Punctual as Cinderella.
We left the suitcases running and we went in front of the Guesthouse to the Museum restaurant for dinner.
Today we have said enough to improvised picnics and more when tomorrow morning we do not have breakfast included in the price of the room.
We ordered a plate of local fish and one of lamb plus water and chocolate cake for 8500 ISK.

Dinner in Iceland

All great and we do not say it because we have not eaten well for a few days, if not why everything was to suck your fingers.
Now it's time to go back to the Guesthouse and dream of icebergs ...