2018 ICELAND Jökulsárlón 11 - The "Yoke" Was On Us

We were imagining a quaint little town by the looks of the map. We were going to shop and browse the streets. Take in the feel of little town life in the outbacks of Iceland. Maybe have a coffee or cocoa. Shortly after we crossed the suspension bridge we saw the sign for Jökulsálón.

We turned left and right into a parking lot. This was Jök...basically a meet-up point for various tours and the Glacial Lagoon. Hmmm. So here we were with a two-and-a-half hour wait for our tour to start. The yoke was definitely on us.

There was a small structure housing a gift shop, food concession, and excursion info. We tried there to find our tour company and check arrangements. No luck.

While we were there we took a few minutes (maybe 10!!) to slowly peruse the gift shop and use the restroom. There were puffin hats (only thing I considered buying, but didn't) and the usual schmaltzy stuff. Soup in big kettles smelled good--one was lamb stew and the other a veggie chowder.

Next we walked across the parking lot to see the lagoon. It was beautiful, but folks were saying there were not as many icebergs as usual due to the recent warm and rainy weather.

Another tour we had considered was a Zodiac boat ride around the lagoon. We were glad we passed on that one because you could pretty much see everything from shore, at least on this day. It was mostly open water.

This was our first glance.

This sign displays what it usually looks like. The parking lot and viewing area are not shown, but just to the right.

To recap the sign..."The white cap of Breiöamerkurjökull glacier (an outlay from Vatnajökull) dominates the lagoon and its icebergs. From 1890 to 1998 the lagoon expanded while the glacier retreated. The maximum water depth is 190m (624 feet). Icebergs break free from the glacier's edge, in some areas as far as a 30m (or 98 foot) drop, and are carried by current toward the river mouth (under the bridge we crossed).

Tidal currents move the icebergs back and forth. Winds and tides erode them until they are small enough to float down the river, a short distance to the sea. Seals often sunbath on the bergs (we did not see any today). Shoals of herring, sometimes carried into the lagoon by the tide, make a great feast for local birds."

Besides educational signs, there were lots of warning signs, too.

Here is one of several areas where the glacier feeds into the lagoon. We traipsed up this hill for an even better view.

Other shots.

Another visitor took a gals photo.

These were some of the biggest chunks. Most bergs are milky white, but some have a bright blue color caused by the interplay of light and ice crystals. Only one-tenth of the iceberg's mass is visible above water.

Birds sitting on barely underwater bergs. Looked like they were walking on water.

Icy water here. It was all quite beautiful.

After surveying the area and waiting some time, we again tried to find our guide. Finally found him with the aid of some other guides. He said he had e-mailed early in the morning (we missed it), advising that the trip was cancelled due to "floating." I'm like what was that!?! Trying to picture an ice cave chunked off from the glacier and floating somewhere in the lagoon.

We finally figured out that this was his pronunciation in English of flooding. That made a lot more sense. It had rained steadily the last two weeks and the cave was flooded and unsafe to visit. He had an alternative for us, but we decided to pass. We weren't too unhappy because we were a little cranky from the long wait and we had seen everything we needed to see at the lagoon.

Oh, well. Best laid plans. We hopped back in DBY48 for our last destination of the day, the town of Skógar.