Day 139 Jokulsarlon to Hveragerdi, South Iceland.

After the excitement of yesterday, today seemed a bit of an anticlimax. We had had such a brilliant day in terms of weather and natural beauty, that it was always going to be hard to match.

After breakfast, we went and had one final ‘fix’ of the icebergs in the glacial lagoon. It was a cloudy morning, and so the light was a lot more subdued. Interestingly, the icebergs really do look bluer in this light. We parked in a slightly different area to yesterday, where the glacial lagoon empties out into the ocean. We watched the icebergs being pushed along by the raging torrent of water leaving the glacial pool, and slowly depositing them into the sea. The smaller ones just rushed along. The monsters often sat a while, shuffling position initially, before eventually being dragged headlong into the salty waters. It was quite mesmerising to watch. Howard took several videos, and decided that when we get back home, he will make a ‘Slow TV’ video with them.

The tongues of the glacier were still visible as we drove back along Route 1, but without the vibrant blue sky of yesterday. As we drove back towards Vik, the weather really closed in again. We laughed as we approached the town. The huge sea stacks, which we have previously witnessed in the snow, were yet again barely visible through the mist and rain. We opted not to bother walking out to see them, and went to buy supplies instead. I think we are destined not to see them!

Remarkably, within fifteen minutes of leaving Vik, the rain stopped and the sun came out. I had read that Vik, being the southernmost town in Iceland, is also the wettest – but this was ridiculous. We continued on to Skogarfoss, a spectacular waterfall, and decided to take a look. Unfortunately, so had a thousand other tourists! By now, the sky was bright blue, and the thundering waterfall looked magnificent. However, trying to take a decent photograph when there were tons of people stood at the base proved near impossible. I persuaded Howard to step out into the river on some stones, to try for a photo opportunity. He then proceeded to dance on a rock, Mick Jagger style – talk about drawing attention to yourself!

We moved on, and started to remember some of the scenery from our previous visit to Iceland. That had been for a few days in snowy November – so everything had looked white and frozen. Today, everything looked incredibly green, presumably due to all the rain.

We pulled up at another waterfall, one which we had visited previously, called Seljalandsfoss. Although not as impressive as Skogarfoss, this waterfall is one that the public, if so moved, can walk behind. On our previous winter visit, we had just parked up and been the only ones there. Today, like Skogarfoss, it was heaving with tourists, and we were charged a whopping £10 to park the van – total rip off. I guess being nearer to Reykjavik, we should expect to see more people. We have been truly spoilt so far round Iceland, with very few tourists, particularly in the North and East. Fast approaching June now, we are coming into the busy season, and we have found a noticeable difference in the past week.

We walked up to the waterfall, but sensibly decided against walking behind it – mainly because we have no means of drying out our clothes. We did, however, watch those foolish enough to do so – and they seemed to be having fun. With the sun shining, a beautiful rainbow formed at the base. Howard, yet again, posed on a grassy hummock for a photo. Yet again, he embarrassed me. This time, it was Saturday Night Fever moves!

I’m not quite sure what Thomas will make of his father when he arrives tomorrow. Currently more Ben Hur than when he left Scotland – he definitely needs a haircut. I suspect he’s also considerably more relaxed, although this new tendency to dance in public is a little worrying. We set off for the airport tomorrow to pick up our new ‘house guests’. We have saved Reykjavik and the attractions nearby to do with them, so there will be plenty to see. Since we will be ‘entertaining’, I anticipate that the blog will go on hold for a few days, but I will pick it up once Thomas and Katy are away.

In the meantime, spare a thought for the three of us, trying to guide John Travolta round the Golden Circle!