It was my last week in Iceland and I wanted to make the trip to Jökulsárlón, the Iceberg Lagoon, about a five hour drive from Reykjavik according to Google Maps. As it turned out, the drive took a lot longer than that (slow snowy roads and a maximum speed of 90km is guaranteed to lengthen the trip) not to mention allowing for adequate time for stopping at interesting places along the way.
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| View through the mud splattered windscreen |
The large expansive skies are a continual source of inspiration and I have made a note to self that next time I come back I will be bringing a much better camera, rather than relying on my phone.
We stopped at Hjörleifshöfði Cave (also known as Bull Cave due to its silhouette) and watched the clouds rush by in the sky, propelled by the strong winds. Iceland is enshrouded in folklore and you can easily see why. It is believed that the lava fields, eerie natural formations, and large expanses of isolated wilderness is populated by hidden people and ghosts.
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| View from Kálfafellsstadur Bed & Breakfast |
Jökulsárlón is in the middle of nowhere, the closest hamlet is 13 km away and due to its popularity can book up quickly. I was lucky to find Kálfafellsstadur Bed & Breakfast, which was a pleasant place to stay and not too far away from the lagoon. The view of the church was a delightful way to end the days journey.
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| Jökulsá beach |
Thank goodness the sun rises at 10am here at the moment, which allowed time for a leisurely breakfast before our drive back to Jökulsá beach to watch the sun glisten on the icebergs that have washed out from the lagoon and onto the black sand. It was a stunning moment as the warmth of the sun painted the snow capped mountains pink and gave everything a warm glow.
Moments later the warmth of the sun was overshadowed by dark, heavy, snow clouds and so we saw the monumental glacial icebergs surrounded by swirling soft eddies of snow. This quickly turned into a blizzard as Iceland issued a yellow weather alert. Moments of the drive back to Reykjavik required 'active driving' due to the high winds and swirling snow. Beautiful. But also terrifying. Making me think of Sublime and its 18th century meaning relating to our awe of nature. Later we found out that they closed sections of the road - so we were very lucky to make it back before the weather closed in.
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| By Olafur Eliasson |
Catching up on cultural sights around Reykjavik we discovered Studio Olafur Eliasson, who just happens to be one of my Art Heroes. His studio is open to the public, and whilst not a working studio as such, the space displays many of his designs and creations.
For more images of my adventures find me on instagram
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