Jökulsárlón, The Glacier Lagoon, Iceland
/Jökulsárlón, the Glacier Lagoon, is quite possibly one of the most impressive natural sites I have ever seen. I had no idea what to expect, other than a load of water with a few lumps of ice floating in it, BUT this was mind-blowingly cool.
We drove to the lagoon via Vik and stopped off for lunch to break up the 3+ hour drive. The weather was utterly miserable, rain from all directions so you couldn't see much of the scenery other than the odd sheep on the road or bridge to break up the monotony. When we did arrive, I planned my venture out into the rain wisely. This meant counting to 3, jumping out of the car, and making a mad dash for the boot where my spare shoes and waterproofs were. Back in the car to change, waterproof layer on and we were off.
I was pretty excited by this point, let’s be honest, it had been building for hours whilst staring out at the grey day and knowing we were driving past waterfalls, mountains, and glaciers hidden by the gloominess. Speed-walking from the car park up to the top of the hill, I caught the first glimpse of the glaciers and was speechless. Yes, a pool of floating compacting snow, but just look at it!! I let out an excited yelp and then a frustrated moan to my boyfriend to hurry up. He, being the typical Icelander, was walking up the hill wearing a waterproof, pair of shorts and flip-flops. It was raining upward and we were soaked already. I started walking down to the shore where he proceeded to kick off his flip-flops and go for a paddle in the icy water.
Mesmerized but interrupted by my need to try and capture these amazing ice structures, their patterns, and the colours, I took my camera out from its new home inside my waterproof and concentrated. A cracking sound and then a quiet splash, a glacier that had just broken in two and a half was now floating down the lagoon and heading out to sea.
The Glacier Lagoon acts like a basin for when small pieces of the main glacier break off and float down headed for the North Sea. They are too big to float downstream and out to sea so sit in the basin until they break down. If you are lucky you might see this happen in front of you. You might also be able, as we did, to spot a seal or two playing in amongst the glaciers.
Soaked through with a rather rained-on camera, not to mention the cold, we headed back to the car to change and dry off. I don't know if it was the naturally soothing greyish-blue water of the lagoon, greyish white gloomy sky, and a mixture of icy tones in between or the magic of these structures and their variety as they floated slowly, cracking and melting, but I could honestly have stayed there all day.
