Ice Hiking on a Glacier and more Iceland Adventures

The next day we took it easy after the long road trip and decided to enjoy a little bit of Reykjavik.   We took the bus over to Kringlan, which if you don’t know, is the place to go for all of your shopping needs. Kringlan is the biggest mail, and it also has a Hagkaup Supermarket and Bonus not as super market.  We wandered through the mall evaluating offerings from top Icelandic brands like Hugo Boss, Body Shop and Adidas.   About half of the malls stores are American or European brands as Icelanders import most of their culture. 

After some vigorous window shopping we proceeded to the food court.  We settled on Serranos, a popular local burrito place. After the woman explained to us what a quesadilla is (thanks, I didn’t know) we ordered a burrito.  Burritos are relatively inexpensive for Iceland at only 900 Kr. ($8).  After lunch (and 8 glasses of water after Richard underestimated the spicy salsa) we cruised to Hagkaup for some groceries.  We also passed by one of the state run liquor stores.   They can only sell liquor for a limited time each day, and they have to charge obscene prices, per Icelandic law.

The mall and liquor store had free gift wrap stations!

After we got back, we rolled over to one of downtown Reykjavik’s other public swimming pools.  In the pools, you are required to shower fully before you go in, making it seem reasonably clean. We then walked around the city for a bit too. (By the way, you can click on any of the photos to see them bigger too :-) )

Feeling relaxed we wandered through the streets back to the hotel to prepare for our big night on the town.  Fast forward to midnight, we figured since it was almost dark outside, we could go out.  The streets were crowded and we wandered by and through several bars to soak up the nightlife. 

The next day we woke up early to prepare for our big ice hiking expedition.  Our bedroom had two shades because it is so bright all the time.  (The sun is up from 5am to about 11:30pm right now).   It's like the movie Insomnia, but fortunately, neither of us shot a police officer.

We boarded our tour bus to head for the glacier.  What's the glacier’s name?  If I told you, you couldn’t even pronounce it.  Starts with an S, ends with a jokull.  Sólheimajökull. 

We drove for a couple hours to the dirt road leading to the glacier.  This is a glacier tongue, as it is a small part of the glacier that has squeezed out through a mountain pass.  When we say small, we mean relative to an entire mountain’s worth of ice.  At one point our guide told us we were standing on some 600 feet of ice.  (*He said 200 meters)

Whats the scariest thing you can hear on your way to hike up the side of a glacier, wearing only crappy sketchers loafers and a sweatshirt?  No bathroom stops for 3 hours!!  This is madness.

We strapped on our crampons – basically metal spikes – and loaner hiking booths.  Beth demanded hiking boots with at least a 2.5” heel, and in a color to match her outfit.  After a little back and forth, she agreed to wear the ones provided.   After this, in her agitated emotional state, she was handed an ice axe.   Personally, I don’t think Beth should ever be given an ice axe, and some of the below pictures vindicate me.

Crampons

We hiked up and around the glacier, reaching an elevation several hundred feet about the trail head.  We saw crevasses, moulans and glacier monsters.  Moulins are depressions that form when melting ice congregates and increases the rate of melt in an area.  The water then brings dirt and debris into the moulin, and water eventually drains out through a series of tunnels that are forced through the ice.  At the bottom of the glacier, a huge underground river gushed water.  The level of the glacier falls enough that the rock piles remain above the surface.  They insulate a mountain of ice below them creating a monster affect if viewed with a liberal eye and through a mist of fog.   The glacier views and scenery were just incredible.  A major highlight of the trip.

Walking on ice!

                               

Moulin

On the way home we stopped at a view point of Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano that erupted last year.

Eyjafjallajokull in the background

That evening we again went out and stopped at a sports bar to catch the end of a basketball game.   We watched with Svingi (?) an Icelander who had lived in Philadelphia.  He told us that many Icelanders learn their English from American and British TV.  After that we stopped at one of the local Waffel Trucks and shared a sublime fresh waffle with chocolate and whipped cream.  Exhausted, we returned home.

On the final day here, we returned to the Blue Lagoon as part of an airport transfer package.   After a few hours in the lagoon, we put as much sample product on ourselves as possible.  Beth started with anything for more than 10,000 kr. per bottle.  After checking in, Beth was singled out for a thorough passport and baggage check.  I didn’t want to say anything, but I have always lived in fear of her, and now, apparently, the authorities are onto her.  Afterwards, we found out it may have been related to her ticket being purchased in her maiden name.  We may never know who incorrectly purchased these airline tickets, but Richard will be much more careful next time.  Now, we’re waiting to board our flight out of here.  Does anyone want to pick us up at the airport? :-)   (we're actually posting this later now.. and made it home okay, no thanks to any of you! ;-) )

Some final thoughts on Iceland:

The weather never really got below 40 degrees, and even on the glacier, Richard often took off his beanie because he was sweating so much.  Today, the weather was in the mid to upper 50s.  Beth actually returned from Iceland...with a tan!

The glaciers and lava based terrain was very unique to us.  Interesting geothermal activity.  All very cool and interesting to see.

All of our photos are able to be seen at: https://picasaweb.google.com/103069234450074012107/Iceland