Iceland 6: An ice beach and a glacier hike with ice caves

Today was our last full day of activities.  It rained all day, but never very heavy.  Wind was on the low side at least.  Be began with a one hour drive to the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon.  This popular tourist spot is a beach filled with tons of pieces of ice, in all shapes and sizes.  Miles had ab absolute ball.  Even after we had arrived back at the bus, when he found out that we had seven minutes left, he went outside to play.



We took a brief stop to get hot chocolate and then a short drive later and we were dropped off to prepare to hike the glacier at Vatnajökull National Park to see two natural, small ice caves.  I brought our waterproof pants and Miles had a waterproof jacket.  Unfortunately, my jacket didn't prove to be entirely waterproof, and our gloves definitively weren't!

We took a huge vehicle to the site, traversing a dirt road and then a REALLY dirt road, bouncing back and forth in the massive truck.  We arrived and split into two groups.  Our guide was fantastic and took extra care with Miles, having him stay in the front of the line, just behind him, and even holding his hands in the steeper sections.

After just a short while, we stopped and were given crampons to put our boots into.  Crampons are a metal outer structure that you step into with your shoes and then secure.  They allow you to stamp the spikes into the ice to make sure you don't fall.  While walking on the slanted ice it was bizarre because my brain was telling me that I should be falling down and then sliding uncontrollably, but the crampons kept me in place.




We walked to a very small natural ice cave, which had a handful of lights inside.  I was able to take my cameras safely out of their bags at this point, to take some pictures.



We exited the cave where we came in and proceeded up the glacier until we had a nice view of the surrounding area.  I took out my camera for some very quick pictures before drying it off and putting it right away.  There were many opportunities for great pictures that I just had to skip due to the rain.  One of these moments was just after I had finished putting my camera away, when a raven decided to land just a few feet from us.  Our guide informed us that there are a pair of ravens that stay near the glacier and had learned to follow the people so they could feed on any scraps of food left behind after snacks.  He made a reference to Odin's ravens.



When we first began the hike, I was worried about my cameras getting wet, but as my waterlogged clothes got heavier, I started worrying more about my pants falling down!  We walked down the glacier and around to a second ice cave.  This one was a little more spacious, but not by much.



We hiked just a little farther until we were back where we started.  We returned to our hotel, took showers, and then went out with 3 other fellow tour goers and the tour guide himself for dinner at a nice restaurant nearby.  I had a pasta with squash and pesto sauce.  It was an interesting dinner, with the tour guide again showing that he could be a bit wise, have some interesting Icelandic opinions, but also a bit old fashioned.  Although a bit awkward at times, I still enjoyed myself and Miles enjoyed himself and involved himself in the conversations!