Iceland – Þvoðu skola endurtekið

I have included some pictures I meant to include in the last blog entry before my energy gave out. This marked the end of the Iceland part of our journey. Magnús took us to the airport at Keflavík, on the way he showed us a memorial near the Blue Lagoon memorializing the crash of the B-24 Hot Stuff in May of 1943. One of the passengers was Lieutenant General Frank Maxwell Andrews who was at the time of his death the commander of all United States forces (He replaced Dwight D. Eisenhower) in the European Theater of Operations. General Andrews was key to many events in World War 2 and upon his death Dwight D. Eisenhower recovered his old position and became history while General Andrews was left to the obscure history book. Joint Base Andrews (formally Andrews Air Force Base) was named after him. Magnús felt it was important we saw this and I am glad he took us there. Thanks Magnús!

Then it was time to move on to the second part of this trip, London. We have taken up residence in Kensington in a nice sized flat booked on One Fine Stay. Beats a hotel any day!

The remains of the Skeiðará Bridge, wiped out by an eruption of the volcano The remains of Skeiðará Bridge Vatnajökull which which was wiped out when volcano Skeiðarárjökull erupted melting portions of glacier Skeiðarárjökull creating floods. Now a piece of atr. — The remains of the Skeiðará Bridge, wiped out by an eruption of the volcano The remains of Skeiðará Bridge Vatnajökull which which was wiped out when volcano Skeiðarárjökull erupted melting portions of glacier Skeiðarárjökull creating floods. Now a piece of art.

The bridge across the outlet from Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon.

Magnús Thoroddsen at Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon.

Kim, Syd and Tom ready for the Zodiac boat tour of Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon.

A memorial to the crash of the B-24 Hot Stuff in 1943 which changed history.

The Queens Arms Pub in Kensington. We will hang here.

The powers that be finally gave us a break in the weather on the one day we could use it best, our visit to Jökulsárlón and Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoons. Located at the easternmost point in our a visit to Iceland both contaIn icebergs and runoff Vatnajökull (Water Glacier), one of the largest in Europe. In our visit last year Kim and I took an amphibian boat tour of Jökulsárlón, this year we opted for a Zodiac boat which offered a more intimate tour with less people and much more speed. Our guide got us right next to the glacier with a spectacular view and the occasional sound of what sounded like gunshots but what really was the ice in the glacier cracking. He weaved between icebergs of a variety of sizes crossing the lagoon with an occasional stop for iceberg viewing. Jökulsárlón is deep (a bit over 600 feet) and actually quite young forming in the 1930s when the glacier started to retreat. Eventually a fjord will form at Jökulsárlón as the glacier continues to shrink.

We also visited Diamond Beach, across the road from Jökulsárlón. High tide at our visit this time meant there was not as many “diamonds” as last year but the clearer day made it a nice visit.

The weather break was good for not only us but Iceland overall. The country has has had a record low amount of sunshine this summer, only a third of normal. To add to matters Hurricane Chris may come through this weekend. Iceland Cant catch a break this year!

Our visit came with a small price, a long ride back to Reykjavik for a our approaching departure. The nice interesting thing was we were able to check in for our flight in a moving vehicle essentially a wilderness, something that may not have been possible even a decade ago. Patient Magnús took good care of us today, thank you (Þakka þér fyrir) Magnús, much appreciated (mjög vel þegið).

More on this day soon. We were all exhausted with the busy day so I am keeping it short.

Category: Iceland

Part Two

The Gods Smiled On Us