Iceland #14 - Day 2 - my Birthday!

What a nice place to wake up on your birthday - a lovely cosy cabin in the middle of nowhere in Iceland, with the surrounding landscape covered in fresh snow and (mainly) blue skies above. I was mostly excited about heading to Jökulsárlón beach (and staying in a magnificent hotel that night), but before that I had a couple of hours' drive ahead of me, which would probably take me double that, given that I was prone to stopping along the way quite frequently.

iPhoneSE shot of the new cabins at the Glacier View Guesthouse

After a delicious and leisurely breakfast I said goodbye to my lovely hosts and headed on my way. It was already 10.30am, but the sun was barely above the horizon, just above a layer of snow storm clouds in the distance. Coming this early in the year was definitely very good for me getting enough sleep, even if it meant I was limited to eight hours of daylight. The road back down to the ring-road looked stunning, and if I hadn't had an exciting destination I might have spent longer there, exploring the little frozen ponds and black rocky bits.

I drove for a while without stopping, realising that the fresh snow made the possibility of pulling over at the side of the road a little dangerous (I did not want to get bogged down). The usually-bright green mossy section before Kirkjubæjarklaustur was covered in snow; the car-park that's been created at one point looked treacherous. I drove on to the town and stopped at the supermarket (no idea what I was looking for!) and then continued on, passing the turn-off where I'd stopped a couple of years earlier to witness the most incredible northern lights show. I didn't stop until I reached the little hamlet of Hamrafoss with the delicate Foss á Siðu off to the north. There was a small amount of water flowing, but mostly the lower sides of the cliff were covered in heavy snow and icicles.

The snow cover had become lighter, so I felt able to pull off on side-roads a bit, and stopped when I reached a great view of Lómagnúpur - how I love that mountain!

I stopped at the foot of the side of the mountain to capture the wonderful contours of the cliffside.

Soon I was at the pull-out just before the first long bridge at the foot of the mountain; it was midday. Light snow had settled on some of the ledges and on the peaks behind. There was no wind, and it was relatively warm in the sun, so I decided to do a few of my silly self-portraits. When I wasn't in the shots the sun was behind me, so it was tricky to get a shot without my shadow. I had a play around for a while. It was absolutely glorious and I felt so happy to be there, on my birthday, staring at this magnificent beast!

I was there for over half an hour, but it was still relatively early, and I didn't have too far to go. I drove on, along the long stretch of road that leads away from the mountain. I always want to stop, but there is pretty much nowhere that it's possible, so on I went. There were some tufts of dead grass along the black sandy plains, similar to those I'd seen on my first trip in 2012, but which had been missing for a few years. The road takes a massive bend and in front of you lies the glaciers - a fantastic sight to behold. I didn't stop - I just wanted to get closer! I decided to stop at Svínafellsjökull, where I hadn't visited for a few years. The road looked okay - it's not somewhere I would want to go if there was heavy snow. There were plenty of potholes, reminding me of my trip to the Westfjords last September. I was expecting to see about ten or fifteen cars in the parking area, but was happy to only find five - it wouldn't be too crowded after all. The lagoon looked stunning in the early afternoon sun and I set off along the path up to the edge of the glacier - some extra fences had been erected since my last visit and the glacier itself had receded dramatically in the last few years.

As I got to the first viewpoint a guy was standing looking out at the glacier. He moved just as I got my camera up to capture him, so I asked if he'd mind staying there for a moment, looking out - he obliged :)

The sides of the hill above were covered in ice and icicles, and the path beneath my feet was absolutely treacherous - I wish I'd had some of those crampons that you can attach to your boots (everyone else had them this year!). When I'd visited before I headed around the base of the hill, where a few paths had been worn by other visitors. This didn't seem to be possible this year with the paths of glass, but I saw some people return from further around the hillside, so decided to investigate. I had my tripod with me, which is massive and unwieldy, and I didn't have the strap, so had to carry it (or put it down). I realised that it would be too dangerous to carry it with me on the icy slopes, so I laid it down on the ground, put my camera away in the bag and continued onwards with great care. I managed to get a bit further, wondering how I'd return... I was glad that I persevered as the view of the top of the glacier and the snow-covered peaks above was incredible. There was thick snow on one of the peaks, making it look completely different from what I remembered (the mountain is called Tindaborg). I didn't get as far round as I'd been before, and the ground was too slippery for me to feel comfortable to even stop and change lenses, so I took a few hand-held shots on the 70-200mm. There were no well-placed hikers on the glacier on this occasion, which was a shame - it really does add scale.

One of the most fascinating things - apart from the massive craggy snow peak, was that there was water melting under the ice, flowing down the sides of the hills. I took a bit of footage on the iPhoneSE so hopefully this comes out okay! It was very cool (literally!)

The journey back down was as treacherous as I thought it might be and the bit before where I left the tripod was the worst - a sheet of sheer ice with a couple of rocks which I'd used for grip to climb up it. They weren't going to perform the same purpose on the way down, so the only option was to slide down on my bottom. This worked, but I did slightly bash myself as I slid down, falling a little as I got to the bottom. Oh well, it could've been worse. Camera equipment had been packed away, so not too much damage other than a little bruise. The view west towards Lómagnúpur was stunning, if a little hazy.

I got back to the car and started the last section of my journey, my anticipation of the return to Jökulsárlón growing. I did stop at the petrol station opposite the Skaftafell Hotel for the tasty burger (two days in a row!) and then headed on, eager to get to my wonderful destination. I made one stop, a little further down the road (I found the location after poring over google maps - it's called Háalda and the white snowy peak is possibly Rótarfjall). I always love this view on a clear day, with the partially-snow-covered turquoise glacier spilling down into the valleys below.

I didn't stop again until I reached Jökulsárlón - how can I stop when it is so close? (although it would've been a good day to visit Fjallsárlón as the approach road was reasonably clear of snow). I could have stopped at the hotel to see if I could check in early, but I wanted to get to the beach asap! I love that last bit of the journey, when the mounds of terminal moraine at the foot of the lagoon at Jökulsárlón loom into view and the electricity pylons finally stop to reveal the top of the little suspension bridge over the river between the lagoon and sea that carries the icebergs to their death! I didn't feel tearful this time - sometimes I do - just very happy to be back and excited to see what the iceberg situation was on the beach. I took the first turn-off before the bridge, down towards the west beach. There were a few cars and small coaches parked on both sides, but it wasn't horrendously busy. I parked up, got all my gear together and headed down to the beach. There weren't a great number of icebergs on this side of the river; most of them were piled up on the sandbanks at the edge of the eastern bank, with swarms of tourists wandering between them (seemed to be more than the number of cars would give, so perhaps they'd walked from the car-park across the road next to the lagoon).

It was already 3.15pm by the time I arrived, and sunset was only two hours away, so I didn't have all that long to enjoy the place. I didn't wander along the beach very far, but took a few shots of one iceberg at the shore. I mostly captured details in the ice of some others further away from the shoreline. The majority of the icebergs stacked on the beach were unlike any I'd seen before - big flat slabs in the most part, and not particularly photogenic. Occasionally I noticed some decent patterns.

Time flies by quickly when I'm there, with half an hour on that beach seeming like about five minutes! I headed back to the car and drove across the bridge and took the turn-off to the car park for the east beach. Some new fences and cordons had been built, with paths marked towards the beach. There were plenty of cars parked there now, and plenty of people in the distance, but mostly they congregated at the edge near the estuary, investigating the piles of icebergs that amassed there.

I walked a little away from there and found no people, and some more icebergs in the surf - not just weird flat slabby ones - and settled myself there for a while. I went through the usual routine of trying out different filters and lenses - certainly an easier task when there was no wind or precipitation. It was quite glorious, with the sun low in the sky to the west of the beach. What a way to spend my birthday, at my favourite place in the world...

One of the things that captivates me about this beach is the waves - it's not all about the icebergs (although that is the greatest draw, and the greatest disappointment in their absence). But the waves I can stand and watch for hours - the immense power as they crash and catch the light as they do. From time to time a little seal head will pop up and stare at me, nostrils giving it away, before diving back and playing in the surf. I experimented with longer-exposure handheld as well as on the tripod but was just mesmerised by these crashing waves. The handheld method doesn't work particularly well if you're taking a wider shot, including clouds, so I reverted to the tripod for a while.

The sun was getting lower in the sky and I started to get a bit panicky about sunset and finding the right composition. It creeps up and you and then it's gone!

I noticed a little berg sitting at the edge of the shore line, part of which was glowing weirdly yellow - I was fascinated by it! It's truly amazing what colours a bit of sun can create. It looked like an animal about to take the plunge (so many of them do!). The light on the waves (as well as the icebergs) was just exquisite.

The view towards the sun showed some icebergs glowing like golden jellyfish.

The sun fell behind some cloud and within a couple of minutes it was gone and the light had completely changed. No more gold, just a tranquil blue-green-grey. The sky to the east became the unmistakeable blue and pink of the earth's shadow, and everything then became a little blue.

There weren't enough clouds in the sky to bring a post-dusk explosion so I headed off, excited to get to the posh hotel! It certainly wasn't as conveniently located as Hali or Reynivellir, but the drive was pretty quick.

I'd watched the Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon being built over the last few years, and at first had thought "what on earth are they doing building this massive structure here in the pristine Icelandic countryside?" The first stage was a big wooden frame and eventually it was finished with (possibly) blackened wood, and it didn't look bad at all. The rooms and floors were slightly higgledy-piggledy, but the design was similar to many Icelandic buildings - it took inspiration from the landscape, and ended up fitting in really well.

The wind had got up on my drive back to the hotel and the car park was full when I arrived, so I had to park on the far side and carry my gear a little further. It was absolutely freezing now. Check-in was nice and quick - the friendly Romanian man on reception acknowledged that the date had been changed and I thanked him very much; "we try to please our customers," he said, and they had certainly pleased me! I made a reservation for a table (for one) for dinner and then headed to my room. It was just wonderful - darkly-lit with the most stunning Tom Dixon light above the bed, one large window, one smaller one to the side, simple stylish decor, and a lovely bathroom. I didn't have the energy to get the proper camera out, so took a couple of shots on the iPhoneSE.

I noticed that the light above the sink was round and made my eyes look rather alien (had to take a cheeky selfie of that)!

iPhoneSE shot - looking a little alien!

I had a delicious lamb dish for dinner, washed down by the Einstök Wee Heavy that I'd discovered up in Djúpavík last September. It was beautifully presented and all yummy. I did feel a little odd, being alone, especially given that it was my birthday, but what better place to spend it!

As I headed back to my room I noticed the most incredible display of lights above the foyer - more of the Tom Dixon melt pendants (for that is what they are!) - in different colours and lengths - quite a spectacular display (one day I shall have my own!).

iPhoneSE of the wonderful Tom Dixon Melt Pendants at the Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon

I had another beer in my room - one of my ridiculously strong Sutur - reviewed my photos, spoke to hubby and went to bed. There was no northern lights forecast, although it would have been a pretty good place to see them, as there wasn't a great deal of light pollution (and apparently they come and knock on your door if there are, if you request it). Ho hum, aurora would have to wait. I didn't set my alarm to head to the beach before breakfast as there wouldn't be time to capture sunrise and get back in time for breakfast. Sometimes you have to give some things a miss. And sleep is always very important to me! Fortunately cloud was also forecast for the morning, so I didn't feel too guilty. What a fantastic way to spend my birthday.

Click here for the blog from the journey there and Day 1
Click here for the blog from Day 3 - Jökulsárlón Beach