Day 9 — Sky and Water (7 July)

Mulagljufur was our first trailhead this morning. The hiking path winds its way up the spine of one side of a canyon. Here are some images of from the climb.

About 1000 feet up, one faces the waterfall at eyesight level. This waterfall can be seen in distance in the above image. This falls reminds me of Yosemite Falls. A narrow band of water in a long free fall.

This drop and those that I imagined looking up the path from this spot prevented me from continuing up the spine. Everyone else did and came back excited that they had made the complete climb. Laird told me later that there was one segment that was three feet wide with drop offs on both sides. I probably would not have made it across. I waited for an hour until the group returned at the spot where I took the image. While I sat in a rock formation that blocked the wind, I talked with passersby and meditated about my surroundings which were awesome.

After the descent, we drove further east to our farthest point from Reykjavik. We were almost in the Southeastern section of Iceland. We encountered Jokulsarlon — the Ice Lagoon, and the Diamond Beach. Do did hundreds of others.

I have seen glaciers elsewhere but not with their calved icebergs so up close and personal. You can even get closer to them if you board the “duck” boat. Sharon and I boarded a “duck” boat in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia several summers ago. The operators in those cities asked you to quack at bystanders when we were on city streets. Good fun. We didn’t hear any quacks here. What sound do Icelanders make for a duck? This vehicle can go on land and in the water.

The Ice Lagoon’s waters spill into the sea. As the icebergs split into smaller pieces, many of them wash ashore on the adjacent beach known as the Diamond Beach. What an unusual site to behold. We were lucky to see these diamonds because depending on the climate and tides, we might have struck out.

Another exciting day that was culminated at the town pool which is actually three pools of varying temperatures, no sauna or steam room. Although not as luxurious as the spas we had experienced, it did the trick of soothing muscles and for one quarter of the price. Seven of us went to the pool. Here are Aleah, Cary, Heather, and Dianne (left to right, photo courtesy of Cary) leaving the pool.

Dinner was not included last night. I think all of us ordered one course — various kinds of salads and burgers with fries. No soups or desserts. I asked for fries well done, crispy. The first batch came out about medium to soft. The restaurant graciously tried a second time and they came out crispy and crunchy. I asked the head waiter who was Portuguese if anyone had ordered well done fries. He said this was a first. I suggested that this was a trial run because another American might make such a request. He said probably so because 80% of the guests are American. In my best Icelandic, I said, “Obrigado.”