Day 3: 🥾⛏️ Hiking on Ice, 💎 Diamonds on the Beach, and 🧊🦭Floating with Giants
Rise and Shine!
We were all pretty tired from the previous day's activities, but we woke up early on Day 3 for another full day of excursions. Not everyone slept great that night, which I'll get to later in this post when I talk about our AirBnB a bit more.
For this trip, I had pre-booked only 4 activities - which, for those who might want to travel to Iceland, is pretty much essential to do, especially in the summer months. So far, we had done Sky Lagoon on Day 1. On this day, we were doing two of paid excursions nearly back to back, a glacier hike and a glacier lagoon boat tour.
Our first excursion was a glacier hike in Skaftafell scheduled for 8:30 AM, the first tour of the day. I was super pumped to do this as glaciers are something I have taught in school for a long time but never had the chance to experience in person. I was really excited to learn more about them.
It was about a 55 minute drive to the Skaftafell from our place and we were supposed to arrive 20 minutes early to get our hiking gear on. By the time we wrangled everyone out the door, packed the car, and navigated the parking lot, we weren't late… but well, let’s just say we weren't “20 minutes early” either.
Parking
It's may be a good point to mention that EVERYWHERE in Iceland has paid parking. Most were paid for using the Parka app and more popular locations would have a parking kiosk. A few used the EasyPark app but I think only if they were parking paid for by the hour. Generally speaking, parking was not too expensive - usually around $10. Every parking lot has a camera taking a picture of your license plate when you go in and when you go out. I mention this because it did add a couple extra minutes to our travels, especially this day when we had a tight time table.
We would also get messages from the rental car company if there was ever a parking we did not pay for. They added a $20 fee on top (from the rental company) to your $20 late fee for not paying on time. So, not paying for your parking would quickly turn $10 parking fee into a $50.
 |
| The Parka app |
 |
| The EasyPark app |
Look mom, I'm on a glacier!
As I approached the desk to check in for the glacier hike, an attractive woman at the counter looked up and said, “Are you Shane?” I paused. “Yes?” I replied. She nodded. "How did you know?“ I asked. She said, "You don't sound Dutch, and you’re the only ones not here on time.” Ouch. Not exactly the warmest welcome.
Late or not, we were soon being outfitted for adventure—crampons (spikes), helmets, harnesses, and rental boots that could survive a trek across the glacier. Yeah, you know we were looking cool.
Our guide, Mark, was a pleasant Irishman who handled our ragtag group of foreigners speaking 6 different languages by handing out a healthy blend of sarcasm, cautionary tales, and glacier knowledge.
First Mark asked us if any of us knew the name of the glacier that we were about to hike. Sadly, not one of us did. He said it was called Vatnajökull Glacier, pronounced (VAHT-nah-yer-kutl). He said if you called it "fat yogurt," locals would probably get what you mean.
Next we loaded onto a bus with our gear. They had actually told us to buckle our seatbelts and wear helmets on the short bus ride. We soon understood why. As we traveled on the "road" (and I use that word loosely) up to the glacier, the bus felt like we were auditioning for a rodeo, bucking and bumping the whole way. The video below definitely does not do it justice.
When we reached the foot of the glacier, I realized we weren’t just hiking—we were entering another world. The landscape was part black volcanic sand, part giant gravel pit, part frozen alien terrain.
Our guide showed us how to carry our pick axe safely. We all laughed as the guide removed one Chinese man's pick axe which he had placed in the loop nearest to his privates. Not a good idea.
Our guide also cautioned us about deep holes and fissures in the glaciers. Mark told stories of many people who had dropped phones in to these holes like these. He said the record was 2 phones in 15 seconds. In one spot we dropped a rock down into a deep blue water filled hole, and the rock just kept sinking until it was completely out of site.
I had always told my students that glaciers are " a river of ice." Something interesting that I learned about glaciers from the guide was that they have different sections, much like a river.
It has an accumulation zone which is a wall of ice that builds up high kind of like a waterfall. It has another section that resembles "rapids" in a river (the crevasses). And finally, it has shallow areas that would be like a still section of a river. These sections don't all move equally either - steeper sections move fast, while the shallower parts move slowly.
 |
| You can see the glacial "icefall" in the background (waterfall) and the crevasses (rapids) in the foreground. |
We never really used the harnesses we were wearing except for holding our pick axes. I suspect they were more for climbing or for situations where you would need to be rescued by being pulled up out of a deep hole or fissure.
At the end of the glaciers massive mounds of rock and soil called moraines sat like sleeping giants around us, the leftovers from thousands of years of glacial movement. I had studied glacial moraines with my students, but I had no idea they were this huge. Again, the pictures don't really do justice to the sheer scale of the piles.
Once on the ice, Mark gave us a quick crash course in crampon-walking (take small steps, walk only forward without side stepping, look where you want to go, etc...). Soon, we started our climb. Walking in the crampons took some practice - particularly learning to trust the grip of the spikes and knowing that you weren't going to slip on the down icy slopes.
It was all surreal—crunching across ancient ice, peering into crevasses that seemed to drop to the center of the earth, and marveling at the glacier’s wild variety of blues and textures. Some ice was glass-clear, some glowed deep turquoise, and some was frosted like a giant scoop of mint chip.
At one point, Mark led us to a narrow ice canyon where the glacier walls curved around us like frozen waves. “This formed just yesterday,” he told us, pointing to the newly revealed tunnel. “Every day it changes.” That stuck with me. The idea that this ancient, hulking mass was still shifting under our feet, evolving by the hour.
One last thing I wanted to do was take a drink of the glacial water. It flowed in tiny streams all around us. So, I laid my pick axe across the tiny valley and took a swig. It tasted cold and delicious!
After about three hours on the glacier, we hiked back down and returned our gear—tired, sweaty, but totally exhilarated. But the day wasn’t even close to over.
Next up: Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon
Next up: Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach. We made our way to the parking area and followed our noses to a small gathering of food trucks. The options were surprisingly good. Some of us had fish and chips, others grabbed lobster soup and I think everyone had our first Icelandic hot dog. I’d like to think we were refueling like real adventurers. Really, we were just hungry.
With a little time to kill before our next excursion, we strolled across the street to Diamond Beach. As luck would have it, it was just past low tide—the perfect time to see glimmering chunks of ice scattered across the black sand like nature’s jewelry store. The contrast of crystal-clear ice and jet-black beach was unreal.
Just when we thought it couldn’t get better, Jen spotted a seal bobbing in the water near a sandbar, tail arched like a floating banana. We watched it for a while, laughing as it lazily swam and flopped around. Iceland, we were learning, has a talent for surprise wildlife cameos.
Then it was time for our zodiac boat tour of the glacier lagoon. I had honestly forgotten which excursion I booked until someone handed us giant rubberized survival suits and told us to suit up. Definitely not the car-boat hybrid I half-expected—but way cooler.
We waddled down to the dock like puffy penguins and climbed into the inflatable raft. Our Icelandic guide, whose name started with an “H” and may or may not have been Hodor (as from Game of Thrones), gave us the rundown. Our guide was very friendly and informative.
The lagoon, he explained, is only about 90 years old—created as the glacier retreated. He talked about the effects climate change, about the ever-shifting landscape, and about how each iceberg tells a story in its striations and shapes.
 |
Map of the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon |
Some icebergs on the lagoon were the size of houses. Others were streaked with black from ancient volcanic ash. And all of them were stunning. Each was like a unique sculpture made by mother nature.
 |
| A recently tipped glacier. |
Eventually, we returned to shore, still laughing and talking about the seal, the ice, and the beauty of the place.
As we tied up the boat, everyone climbed out and I walked down the dock to meet up with the others on shore. Suddenly, Ryan walked up to me and handed me my wallet. I was confused. How did he get my wallet?
Apparently, it had slipped from my back pocket while we were bouncing on the boat, and it had worked its way down my water suit pant leg. When I stepped out the boat, my wallet had dropped out and right on the dock. Obviously, wearing two pairs of pants, I didn't even feel it or notice. Miraculously, Ryan and another guy spotted it though. If it had fallen out ten minutes earlier or in the lagoon? Goodbye wallet. Goodbye credit cards. Hello new identity.
Back to Kirkjubæjarklaustur to refuel the car and ourselves
In Kirkjubæjarklaustur I stopped at an Oli's (a popular gas station there) to fill up the rental car’s gas tank for the first time on the trip. The gas fill up area was a little different looking than at home. I began by changing the language from Icelandic to English and then followed the directions on the touch screen.
 |
| There the handle for diesel (which I needed) was black and unleaded was green. |
I had a little trouble figuring it out as the screen suddenly turned black so I asked a person who was there filling up if he could help me and he came over. Unfortunately, he was as confused as I was as to why the screen had gone blank. So, I just restarted the process, and this time it worked. I thanked the guy for trying to help me.
At this station you had to prepay in increments of 5,000 Icelandic Krona (roughly $36 USD). That was hard to estimate since I didn't know how many liters the tank held and how much that would even cost.
Let's just say, I was doing a lot of quick mental math, but decided to do 10,000 Krona which did not fill us up. So I did another 10,000 Krona. After a total of 17,000 Icelandic Krona (about $138) and dozens of liters of diesel gas, I was filled up and ready to roll.
It is easy to see why electric vehicles are growing so popular in Iceland. The average price of gas is $8-$9 per gallon. 😳
Dinner that night was in the tiny town of Kirkjubæjarklaustur, where we found a casual local spot (Systrakaffi) serving pizza and other comfort food. Rogan and I shared a pizza and some cheesy bread; it was delish. Mikah got fish and chips, Ryan got lamb, and Jen ordered cauliflower soup. Jen and I got a beer as well to cap off a great experience that day.
Back at our Airbnb, we were pretty wiped out. Legs sore, bellies full, phones overloaded with glacier photos and videos of cute seals—and feeling deeply grateful.
Our Lodging.
A bit about our AirBnB. Of the 4 homes we stayed in, at face value, this was probably the nicest one we stayed in. It was in a beautiful, secluded area, and had the most space of any of the rentals. It had 3 bedrooms, a nice kitchen, a deck with a grill, and a nice big living room area.
 |
| Lovely Alaskan lupine surrounded the house. |
I knew before visiting Iceland that air conditioning isn’t really a thing there. Instead, they rely on radiant heat—usually from radiators on the walls—to keep buildings warm, and they open windows to cool them down. Every place we stayed in had radiators like these.
 |
| All the radiators we saw in each home looked like this. |
Each room in this house had one or more of these heaters, so I raced around turning them all off and also cracking open windows as fast as I could. One radiator in particular was blasting at full strength and was likely the culprit behind the sauna-like heat. By bedtime, the house had cooled somewhat, but I was still too warm—I ended up sleeping on top of the covers. Jen and the others reported they didn’t sleep very comfortably either.
While it might seem odd to throw open windows while the heat is running, in Iceland it’s totally normal. Thanks to abundant geothermal energy, heating is so cheap there that letting in fresh air—even in winter—is just a part of everyday life.
 |
| Every place we stayed had windows that opened like this. Foreshadowing - take note: no screens on the windows |
What about Icelandic bugs?
With everything wide open, you might expect bugs to be an issue. But Iceland’s cool, windy climate and lack of trees mean it’s blissfully free of the usual pests—no mosquitoes, gnats, or ticks.
That said, a new nuisance has started showing up in certain regions: the midge.
While most midges are harmless, some bite—and apparently, Mikah, Ryan, and Jen (but most especially Ryan) were very much on the menu. These little pests traveled in massive swarms like gnats. This makes sense that they are closely related to them. While they didn't bother me at all, some of the others were noticing bites accumulating on their arms.
We were hopeful that with the house cooled down, everyone would get a better night's rest tonight.
Day 3 was an epic day of ice, adventure, and perfectly timed seal sightings. If Day 2 was the emotional high, Day 3 was the visual one.
Will these tiny bugs bring big drama? Stay tuned for Day 4!
Comments
Post a Comment