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| Kverkfjöll ice cave |
We were going to Kverkfjöll ice cave, one of the largest ice caves on earth. They expand 1,764 miles and 1722 feet tall, and are located under Vatnajökull, the largest ice cap in Iceland, and the Dyngjufjöll, a volcanic mountain range. Ice caves are frequently formed from when a glacier melts a little, and the water eats away at the ice until there is an air pocket that eventually expands. Others, in the case of Kverkfjöll, are formed by hot springs and geothermal vents under the ice.
A small stream runs through most of the cave, and the blue ice looks like glass. The cave is fairly unstable because the glacial movements and the unstable magma chambers under the caves makes them susceptible to collapse. There's even a warning sign in the parking lot to warn inexperienced tourists not to try exploring the caves without a professional tour guide. The safety wavers we had to sign were extensive, but we trusted our tour guides and couldn't resist the ice caves. "If we're going to our deaths, we might as well die in style," I said to Abby who got a little nervous when she saw how big the waver packets were.
"They're just about as big as the ones for bounce houses, and no one's ever died in a bounce house--actually I take that back one time one deflated on me and i almost got smothered. Still scarred for life by that. It was like being sat on by a rainbow elephant," Kyndall shivered.
"You're not helping, Kyndall," Taylor said, rolling her eyes.
We still ended up still doing it because majority rules. Abby grumbled all the way there, promising to haunt us if we die. Arguing that if we all died, then how would she haunt a ghost, didn't help at all.
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| Alissa, Taylor, Abby, and me freezing while Kyndall brags |
Abby lost her shoe... somewhere. We're not really sure how, or why it was only shoe, but Abby had to struggle-hop everywhere with a wet sock. We're still not sure if the tour guide noticed, or if it's still there.
There was frozen over snow that capped the ice under the openings. The wasn't clear like it is back home when puddles freeze over, it was a rich blue. We hadn't thought it would be that cold, so we didn't wear snow pants, but Kyndall in her stupid coat was nice and toasty because it went all the way to her knees.
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| Jökulsárlón |
Once we got back to the hotel we packed up and drove to Jökulsárlón, which literally translates to "glacier river lagoon." It was only a hour long drive to Jökulsárlón from Skaftafell hotel.
Jökulsárlón developed into a lake when the glacier started receding from the Atlantic ocean, which made a beach and lake full of bright blue glacier chunks. Every year it gets a bit bigger because the glaciers are melting, and is currently at about 7 square miles, four times what it was in 1970. Jökulsárlón is the deepest lake in Iceland at 814 feet.
The tour started at 4:30 and lasted for an hour. The water was so clear that you could see the bottom of the icebergs all the way to their bottom. Seals lounged on the ice burgs in between dives into the water to catch fish. Large seabirds like Arctic Terns catch herring, trout, salmon, and other fish. Puffins also live at Jökulsárlón.
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| Jökulsárlón |
We booked a night at the Glacier View Apartments in Hnof, only two hours away from
Jökulsárlón.
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