A Day Beneath Painted Skies and Crystal Glaciers
Have you ever had one of those moments when you see something so strikingly beautiful that you have to take a step back and pinch yourself to make sure it’s real?
If you have, I hope you’ve stored that memory (and maybe a photo) away forever.
If you haven’t yet, put Iceland at the top of your travel list. I guarantee you will have at least one of those moments there.
Our first one came on our first morning in Skaftafell, which is on the southeast coast, basically in the middle of nowhere. We had booked a hike into the Jokulsarlon glacier cave, so we woke up early and drove about 20 minutes further east to a small visitor center near the lagoon. We parked near, walked up the icy gravel path, looked to our left, and saw this:
We had no words in the moment, and I still have very few to describe how we felt. We mostly just stared at the lagoon, taking in the rainbow of colors that streaked across the sky and danced across the water. Occasionally , we would look at each and say, “Wow!”
For our tour, we met up with a small group and rode a “super jeep” over the glacier to hike inside the cave. This “super jeep” was actually a Mercedes van outfitted with ridiculously huge tires. Needless to say, it was quite a unique ride!
The driver dropped us off near the cave entrance with another guide who helped us suit up with helmets and crampons. After just a few minutes on the glacier, our faces were completely frozen, but we were pumped!
According to our guide, this was the first tour of the season because storms and warmer-than-normal temperatures forced them to cancel all previous tours. The cave had shrunk by 100 feet in the last year and wasn’t quite what we were expecting, but even still we were so grateful for the opportunity to hike it. On one end was a river and on the other end, near the entrance, were gorgeous shades of blue reflected throughout the ice formations.
The cherry on top — and the second breathtaking moment of the day — was the sunrise over the snowy landscape.
Again, we had no words.
Our group hiked and took photos for 40 minutes, then we piled into white van to go back to the visitor center. This ride was more like a roller coaster with the driver fish tailing and going over bumps at full speed (on purpose, of course). It was the exact opposite of our smooth ride in the luxurious van going to the cave!
Having made it back safely and not ready to come down from our adventure high, we hurried back to the car and drove west toward the Svartivoss waterfall.
This is one of the most famous waterfalls in Iceland, so nothing was going to stop us. We skipped paying $70 each on recommended pairs of crampons and braved the icy uphill climb — and downhill sliding — all of which was worth it for the views. We passed over gorgeous half-frozen rivers and got to see the sky change from grey to bubble gum pink to navy blue overthe course of an hour.
Once we hiked (ahem, slid) back down, we decided to head back to the hotel, fully planning to call it a night. We felt pretty accomplished on our first day! We had entertained the idea of going Aurora hunting, but our Aurora forecast app showed only a 9% chance. We had agreed that we’d go out only if it got close to 20%. So, we settled in and started prepping for the next days’ adventures, periodically checking the app for updates.
Just when we were about to give up on the idea, we checked one last time. The percentage had jumped to 18% and there was a pinpoint on the map exactly over our location! I think it’s fair to say we’ve never gotten dressed and packed so quickly!
We ran to the car, turned on Christmas music, and drove back to the glacier lagoon since we knew there was parking and very little light pollution. We tried to talk ourselves down but we couldn’t contain our excitement. We both were going to freak out if we saw them! Just as we pulled into a spot, we caught our first glimpse of the Northern Lights over the mountain! It was faint, but there it was! And, yes, we freaked out! 🙂
We stayed out for about an hour and saw several streaks of grey, green, and white. Each time, we’d jump out of the car to get a better view and then scurry back to huddle under the blanket. When we couldn’t see the lights, we got to admire the largest blanket of sparkling stars either of us has ever seen. We felt all at once so alive and so small.
This was the third breathtaking moment of the day, and we felt like our hearts were going to explode with joy.
I wish we had a photo to share; unfortunately, I couldn’t get the settings on my camera right. I also didn’t have a tripod, so I’m not sure it would have turned out anyway.
The whole drive back to the hotel we couldn’t believe what had happened. It was one of the most incredible bonding moments of our trip, especially since we had almost given up. I honestly think we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect start to our time in Iceland!
Luckily, this was just the beginning! We had much more excitement to come with a road trip around the Golden Circle and a few nights in the capital city, Reykjavik.
Big hugs,
Juliette