Vik to Solheimajokull to Reykjanes Peninsula

20. May 2007 South Iceland 0

On the road back to Reykjavik, we drove by a sign that said “glacier walk” right outside Solheimajokull. I casually asked the Dr. if he wanted to check it out. He shrugged and made a U-turn. We drove down a gravel path, parked our car and walked to the opening of a glacier. We thought the sign would tell us to keep out because it looked a little delicate, with ice melting and water dripping. When we got closer to the sign, it only warned us against falling ice. We turned on our video cameras and started shooting as we entered the dark ice cave. It was the coolest detour ever!

Inside was a running brook formed by the melting ice. It was a little eerie and scary because the glacier has been melting throughout the years. Deep inside me, I was hoping that the thing won’t collapse while we were inside. I got claustrophobic after a few minutes, so I walked out and climbed up. The surface of the glacier was spotty–volcanic sand from Katla peeking through the ice. I imagined it was all covered in ice hundreds of years ago, but alas, we were witnessing the effects of global warming.

We just kept driving towards Reykjavik, eager to check in the hostel and rest since the Dr. had been driving since 10:30am. On our way there, we decided to skip town and drive to the Blue Lagoon to avoid the weekend crowd. It was the second best detour of our trip. We paid the fee of what turned out to be $20 each and soaked in the lagoon with the other tourists. It felt good to be in a hot spring with the sun shining. There were wooden chests around the pool filled with volcanic clay. We imitated everyone else and put them on our faces like mud masks. In between soaks, we spent time inside the saunas.

After the novelty ran off though, it was just like being in a regular pool. We felt the gooey clay beneath our feet. I grabbed some with my hands but there was hair all over. Gah! It was time to get out! The best part was getting out of the hot water and running to the showers in the cold. I’ll refrain from describing the feeling of seeing a hundred naked women of all shapes and sizes in the locker room.

We were completely relaxed when we arrived in our hostel. We were ready to conquer Reykjavik.