The glacier lagoon

Yesterday was all about waterfalls, today is about icebergs. The Glacier Lagoon is at the foot of Iceland’s largest glacier.

At this point I will mention that Icelandic is a very difficult language so we have given up saying or spelling place names. The GPS gives us some very unusual directions when we try to use the microphone!

We took a Zodiac boat to the face of the glacier with a very knowledgeable guide. There had been extensive calving the night before. We were about 40 metres away, in a quiet area which she said had been full of small icebergs that morning. (Our guide mentioned she got hemmed in by them that morning and struggled to get back to the dock!). The glacial river gradually pushes them out to sea. The topography changes very quickly here.

We saw beautiful bergs; saw one “roll“; saw a small calving off the face, and 2 seals very close. We were very lucky and enjoyed the trip immensely.

Our guide mentioned the glacier was melting and scientists estimated it would be gone in 100 years! The loss of this enormous weight could cause the island to rise and some speculate might cause the island to fracture along the continental divide.Read more