“BEEP, BEEP, BEEP” was the alarm call for those early risers who got up before expedition leader Lisa Kelley’s gentle wake up call, welcoming us to Djúpivogur, Iceland. Djúpivogur is located in eastern Iceland. We had lovely croissants for breakfast before taking a two-hour bus ride towards our day’s activities. We saw sheep, Icelandic horses, and noticed how the local geology caused all the mountains to slope towards the middle of the country. There was plenty of interpretation about these phenomenon by our Icelandic guides along the way.
We arrived at the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon in the morning and saw lots of ice- the same 800 year-old ice we were able to eat when we took amphibious vehicles into the water. The vehicles were used during the Vietnam War by the U.S. troops. It was a boat and a car all in one and we basically drove into the lake and floated atop the 160 meter deep lagoon below us. They were painted yellow and had huge wheels. As we were cruising around we saw ice of all shapes. Some looked like stairs turned upside down. Some had a very deep blue color but actually they looked this way because of the way the light of the rainbow passes through them. It was an awesome ride!
Our morning at the lagoon was followed by lunch. Some chose to eat while others discovered the Wi-Fi connection and took advantage with some authentically Icelandic cyber activity.
It was a ½ hour drive up to one of Vatnajökull’s exit glaciers following lunch. To get up to the ice we had to take 4-wheel drive vehicles. As we were approaching we could see a lot of waterfalls and the exit glaciers of the Vatnajökull ice cap. It was a narrow road with a steep drop with no guardrails. “It was weird,” said one of our young explorers, Theo, “for the first time I felt like my life was in the hands of someone I didn’t even know. When another car came it was even scarier!” Despite the excitement some managed to sleep through the scary drive.
After arriving safely everyone who was snowmobiling had to put on “zoot suits” which made us all look “puffy as penguins.” We all had to listen to a safety talk so no one got hurt then we hit the surface of the glacier, some going faster than others. The feeling of the breeze flowing through our hair with the fresh wind of Iceland was refreshing and elegant! As wonderful as it may have been there was still energy for a snowball fight atop the exit glacier to Vatnajökull before our return.
Many of us fell asleep on the ride home following a great experience filled with memories that will last a very long time!
