Hofn to Svinafell, a hike on the glacier and a great birthday in Skaftafell

Sunday we woke up at the Hofn campground earlier than two of us wanted…

Up until now we’ve always parked as close to the bathrooms as we could. This campground was quite busy and therefore quite noisy that close to the bathrooms. I wonder if that woke Sage up.

Once ready we looked around Hofn a bit and Steve went to the grocery store before headed back west towards the national park.

We stopped at Jokularsalon glacier bay along the way. We will be back here in less than two weeks with my parents, but It’s always a cool stop because the ice on the bay is always different. When we arrived, there were a lot of icebergs.

The sky was also super clear so we could see the mountains and the glaciers as we drove from Hofn to Svinafell, stopping for a soup and bread lunch on the way.

At Svinafell everyone happily took a nap.

When we woke up we enjoyed an easy walk to the end of the svinafell glacier. Theres a lake where pieces of glacier break off and float around. The whole lake sounds like water flowing.

Sage enjoyed the scenery and requesting rocks to be thrown into the water. She understands numbers more and more and will request “one more… No, no, two, no five more”

The campsite was nearby. We picked this one because it had an indoor cooking and eating area. We have noticed that this is less common in the south of the island.

I put Sage to sleep and Steve made peanut noodles. Yum.

While Steve was cooking the other night he met a couple that spoke very highly of a glaciar hike. This is something we’ve been considering, but had been reluctant because we tend not to do things that require guides, and also since we couldn’t take Sage we’d have to take turns. Steve’s conversation pushed us over the edge.

So yesterday we made plans to go on a glacier hike here near Svínafell. I went first while Steve hung out with Sage.

It was beautiful. The weather was great and the hike and views were amazing. There was another woman on the tour by herself so we chatted away. She is from Michigan and is a trail runner. It was great to catch up.

When I was done, Steve had made me a delicious lunch of bread, cheese and prosciutto. Sage slept in her tent and I enjoyed the stinky gooey cheese, while Steve went on the glacier hike.

When Steve got back we shared some fries and went to the campsite. It was sunny and warm outside so Steve made dinner for us all while Sage played.

Today is my birthday! It’s hard to believe I’m 45!

I woke up and went on a short run to the glacier and back. It was a beautiful day and a spectacular run.

When I got back, Steve surprised me with my birthday gift, rubik’s cube lessons. I had two calls this morning with two different teachers to choose one. What a great idea! I am so excited about learning more. I choose the first teacher and we made plans to start lessons when I’m back in the US.

Then we went on a hike to a few waterfalls and overlooks. The waterfalls were beautiful, but the trail overlooking the glacier was the best part. It’s amazing how much of the whole landscape you can see. It was about 5.5 miles in total.

Back at the car, I talked to Steve’s parents while he and Sage played outside.

For dinner we walked to the cafeteria at the welcome center. I remembered the food being better last time. The views and the company, though, were birthday-worthy.

Sage liked the food, and especially the dessert. We had a nice chat with my parents before heading back to the van.

It was a great birthday!