Day 15 Thursday May 26, 2016

 Yesterday we drove all day from Sólheimer to Vagnstadir which is a tiny tiny place in southeast Iceland. The girls are in the three little cabins, and everyone else is staying in the main cabin. We definitely switched from roomy accommodations to rustic living. Despite the chill, I love the cottage. Almost as if we were living in the prairie with Laura Ingalls. The hostel is situated in a grassy plain with dramatic mountains and a view of crashing waves in the distance. Quite a combination. The rain from yesterday let up, and today had pretty blue skies, fluffy white clouds, and sun. Our sleeping area was quite toasty, but the entrance was quite chilly. I pulled out my wool sweater, and warmed up quickly. I now know what sheep feel like! We spent the majority of the day at Brejöamerkurjökull which is an outlet glacier of Vatnajökull. This glacier is the largest in Iceland. The glacier and mountains were in the distance and a wide lagoon flowed out into the ocean. The wind was the most intense wind I have ever experienced (possibly 35 miles per hour). We were all layered up. I had three pairs of pants on (those rain/wind pants are key), snow gloves, two pairs of socks, sweaters, my dad's fleece hat, and my rain jacket on. The layers worked well. The temperature was not bad, but the wind chill definitely was prevalent.

Icebergs were floating in the lagoon. Some of the ice was extremely clear, while other were such a deep aqua blue. The blue color comes from the interplay between light and ice crystals. In the 18th century some people walked across this glacier by foot because crossing the river was too dangerous. By the 1870's, there was a glacial path for people to use. Loose sediment mounds or terminal moraine were near the lagoon which acted as a dam to create the lake when the glacier melts. I sat on the volcanic basaltic rock and sketched the icebergs floating in the choppy water.  About ten seals swam close to shore and did little flips in the water for us. We then walked by the water almost all the way to the glacier. The wind pushed us along as we shuffled to our destination. The blue ice constantly captivated me during the journey because I had no idea that ice could have such a vibrant color. The way back took about an hour, as the wind was against us. I warmed up quickly though, and we pressed onward. It was a difficult hike back over the moraines, but definitely worth it. We were all wind blown in the face and had crazy tangled hair. Lunch on the bus was a nice break before we went to the coast to see the icebergs quickly (due to the wind) float into the ocean. We headed back to the hostel for a relaxing few hours before a delicious home cooked vegetable pasta dinner. The adventure today was exciting, and I am looking forward to our hike tomorrow deeper into the glacier.

The girls' cabins

Brejöamerkurjökull outlet glacier