Waterfalls and glaciers

Yesterday we had a lazy morning in Vík.   Sheryl and I negotiated ourselves laundry, which took forever.  We ate, made sandwiches and visited the Ice Wear store while we waited.  Sage made friends with a little girl named Lyra from the UK who had just biked around with her parents.

Once on the road we headed east along Rte 1.   We stopped for a short hike and lunch at Fjadrargljfur, a beautiful valley where the river has carved a deep crack out of the rock. 

After sandwiches we drove on to Skaftafell campsite inside Vatnajokull National Park.   We took a nice easy hike to where the glacier ends and breaks off into a lagoon.

Then back to the visitor center for a yummy dinner outside.   The view and weather were perfect.   Sage was very interested in the soup until dessert arrived.

Back to the campsite.  Setting up the bed and getting ready is getting easier and easier.   Sage went to sleep happily, offering a fist bump after I read stories, talked about the day and put her in bed.    Another great day!

We woke up this morning to rain, packed up our stuff and drove east to our easternmost stop with the Benners, Jökulsárlón Glaciar Bay.

We took a quick look at Diamond Beach, where the icebergs from the glacier float out to sea and then wash back up on the beach glistening like diamonds. It was raining, so I stayed in the car with Sage while Steve hopped out to walk on the beach with Sheryl and Brian.

Then we crossed the street to Jokularsalon Bay and had a few minutes to look at the water and icebergs rushing through the bay. Sage enjoyed the puddles.

Since Sage was too small to go on the rib boat tour of the bay, I stayed with her in the car while she napped and I checked out the food trucks.

Brian, Sheryl and Steve took a zodiac boat tour of the bay, going right up to the face of the glacier.   They saw ice breaking off, seals swimming, lots of birds and learned about the glacier.

Back from the zodiac, we all enjoyed the food trucks before heading back to Grindavik.

Even a 5 hr drive wasn’t so bad.   The scenery was beautiful and the driving was easy.

We stopped for dinner in Selfoss, one hour from our campsite in Grindavik.   We came here because tomorrow Sheryl Brian and I are all going to the Blue Lagoon, a very touristy, but awesome thermal spa where we’ll meet Melissa and Jason and their son Jack.

It’s very windy here, but sunny. Sage is now a pro at sleeping in her tent.