Snow - On the Way South

The everlasting ice was to be followed by the desert, according to the dramaturgy of the Ring Road and thus our travel planning. Iceland had the largest ice cap beyond the poles. South of it, the clouds released their rain (to the north, the desert).

Our journey south began on Sunday morning in dense fog. After a few kilometers, drizzling rain joined in. The path led through the mountains before we met Ring Road 1 again at the coast. There, whooper swans held their ground in the dreary weather. Instead of a hiking program, we prepared for bad weather alternatives. This included visits to a weather-beaten Viking village film set and the fishing village of Höfn with 1,800 residents, the center of the southeast.

The day's planning was as unclear as the weather. Majestic mountains and eternal glaciers remained hidden in fog and clouds. The day's program melted away, and we reached our hotel early, already in the afternoon. Thus, there was time for a short nap. A boat tour on a glacier lake had already been booked for the late afternoon the day before.

Once again a boat tour, this time with a motorized inflatable boat on a glacier lake. Weatherproof clothing was distributed, and we bundled up to start around 5:30 PM. Tour guide Andrea steered the boat and explained glacier formation and calving.

Ultimately, frozen glacial ice behaves just like mountain streams; gravity pulls the water (frozen or liquid) back into the sea.

The fog, the ice, the glacier - the scenery was fitting, the water was 2 °C cold. A seal was chilling on an ice floe. Afterwards, we visited the nearby lagoon, more fog, more ice, more seals, more drizzle.

At the estuary to the sea, isolated chunks of ice sparkled - remnants of the glacier calves drifting out to sea - on the black lava sand beach. The guide referred to the beach as Diamond Beach. Children played in the mud, enjoying the sand and ice. I was cold.