Home from the Glacier

I'm back after a weekend of adventures! I've now climbed a glacier and I had a great time.

On Saturday we left early afternoon. We were slightly delayed because the bus went to Reykjavik University instead of Iceland University and we had to wait for it to drive across town - typical! Then we had a very long bus ride. Again, in typical Icelandic fashion, the bus driver didn't actually know where we were going and we got lost. I figured something was wrong after we pulled off the side of the road while the driver talked on the phone, and after we turned off the highway onto a rocky dirt path I knew we were in trouble. We spent about two hours on the path before the driver turned around. Eventually we got back on the right road, but we didn't get to do some of the activities that were planned for Saturday. I didn't mind too much because of the magnificent view outside the window - I was content just watching the landscape zip by.

While we were travelling, we had to stop because locals were herding sheep! There was a bunch of people standing around the sheep leading them across fields and streams. I don't get to see this side of Iceland life in Reykjavik, and it was really cool to watch this genuine Icelandic experience.

Eventually we got to Stykkishólmur, a town on the north end of Snæfellsnes peninsula. It wasn't too remarkable, although I found this sentence on the town's Wikipedia page: "Today, the most important employer of the town after the fishing industry is a convent of Catholic nuns." This tells you something about the size of the town.

After that, we had dinner at a lodge in the middle of nowhere (We were almost always in the middle of nowhere on this trip). Then we went to a community centre-type building...except that it wasn't in a town. It had a swimming pool and a big hall. We had a pool party and then slept on the floor of the hall. The air outside was freezing when we were in the pool, and the water wasn't much warmer so we were mostly shivering. Then we went into the big hall where there was music. Everyone was really tired but there was music until 5 am so we were all pretty crabby the next morning.

It was tough to wake up Sunday morning but it turned into a great day. First we went to the hot springs at Deildartunguhver (try to pronounce that without looking!). Then it was a long drive into the interior to the glacier. The glacier was unlike anything else I've seen. Langjokull is the second largest glacier in Iceland. As we got closer, the soil turned to rock and it began snowing. I didn't expect the glacier to be too tall, but it rose out of the horizon like a mountain of ice. We got into a special vehicle - the only one in the world that can drive on glaciers - and drove to the summit of the glacier. As we got higher it began snowing more and soon all I could see was white on every side of the vehicle.

We reached the top of the glacier and got out for a look. I didn't expect it to be that cold but it was freezing! All I could see in the distance was stretches of white. As we were descending the glacier the clouds lifted and suddenly I could see snow-capped mountains surrounding us. The glacier was amazing although apparently some people go camping on Langjokull and I can't imagine ever wanting to - brr!

After that the adventure continued! We went caving at Víðgelmir which is, again, in the middle of nowhere. I've never been inside such a big cave before. We had to put on safety helmets, then climb down some rocks to get inside, where it was pitch black. It was a little creepy when we turned off the lights on our helmets because I could see nothing and I could only hear water dripping from above. According to our guide, the cave is big enough to hold 250 houses. Also, apparently they found evidence that someone lived in the cave 900 years ago - I can't imagine doing that! The land around the cave was, to me, the most beautiful place I went on the trip. It was a vast lava field with no trees - just mountains on all sides. It was just how I imagine Iceland is supposed to look, and I could have sat there for hours just watching the landscape.

It was a long trip back to Reykjavik. We stopped at a waterfall, but at this point everyone was too exhausted to be very enthusiastic. We got back to the university around 7 pm, but it'll take me a couple of days to recover. It was an unforgettable weekend, and I'm happy I was able to see this part of Iceland before winter sets in.