Today we took off north of Reykjavík to tour the Vesturland region. Our main stop was an ice tunnel tour in Langjökull (long glacier), the second largest glacier in Iceland. Built into the stable top of the glacier, we were able to see how a glacier is formed and reacts to the different pressures that build up over the years due to snowfall. See it soon though, the glacier is in retreat, the location of the ice tunnel will be gone in 50 years and the Langjökull glacier is predicted to be gone in 150 years leaving a high dry desert like region. Our tour guide said she did not know what she will do after the glacier is gone and me being me I recommended checking out Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico which will have more staying power than glaciers. Got a laugh from her.
The game plan was to get to the glacier and tour on the way back but alas the weather had different ideas, a windy storm kicked up forcing us to skip a fjord tour, one of the nicest in Iceland, due to hazardous conditions. Spring like weather has persisted much longer than usual and some locals have told us that it seems summer will skip them this year and winter will be back soon. June had very few days where the sky was visible and the local’s frustration is quite understandable. It did not completely stop us, we managed a few stops including Hraunfossar, or Lava Falls, where the water runs out of a cliff side after flowing through the a lava bed and Deildartunguhver, one of the most active hot spring in Iceland. Nice end to the day.
Jet lag is not my friend…
