Skaftafell Glacier Hike and the drive to Hofn
We would have loved to stay longer in the quaint town of Vik, will definitely be on our next Iceland itinerary. A quick stop at the church helped us admire how tiny this town of 750 people actually was and understandably so. Why would anyone want to build in a place that is constantly threatened by an active volcano waiting to erupt any minute and drowning it with the resulting tsunami like floods!
Vik in it’s entirety
The Skaftafelljokut outlet is one of the most accessible of the 30 outlets of the expensive Vatnajokull glacier. The private hiking tour with our Czech guides, Alishka and Borris Troll Expeditions was an easy 3.4 miles, yet an exciting experience. The crampons were different and sturdier than the Katla Ice Cave tour and putting them on involved a step by step tutorial despite which most of us needed help. We couldn’t have enough of the view of the glacier and the postcard perfect surroundings on a clear blue sky day. The ice axes 🪓 worked both as great photo props and toys to dig through thick layers of ice. The kids had a blast on their digging exercise under Borris’s expert guidance. Alishka took us adults to explore further into slightly deeper areas of the glacier. Note to self- go for a full blown glacier hiking experience in the form of a longer hike which they also offered.
Lunch break at the gas station was hot broccoli soup and paprika cream cheese sandwiches that I had prepared that morning at the Vik apartments using the spread from the breakfast stash at the Reykjavik Residence Hotel.
While our next stop, the Diamond Beach did not live up to the dramatic pictures of diamond like icebergs on the black sand, it was spectacular nonetheless. Icebergs large and small of various shapes, some looking like carefully carved ice 🧊 sculptures had made peace in their Jokulsarlon lagoon. What’s visible on the surface is only 1/10th of an ice berg, the remaining 9/10th is under the water. Some of us went crazy with our “climbing on an iceberg” game in the ocean connected to the lagoon by a small river. Co-incidentally, we r at the same lagoon as I add this missing portion of our day to this blog post and the lagoon looks completely altered from how we left it on our visits over the last 2 days!
Going crazy with ice-bergs in the ocean
Driving through miles and miles of vast empty land lined by glacial mountains, dotted with haystacks and grazing sheep and horses we arrived at the fishing village of Hofn on the eastern end of a small peninsula sticking out of Southern Iceland. The town is significantly larger than Vik with multiple apartments, a few hotels and restaurants and a beautiful harbor looking out on the glaciers.
Apotek guesthouse, our accommodation for 2 nights was a cute cozy little place with small and minimalist but neat rooms. The common sitting areas upstairs and the breakfast area downstairs with chairs and tables and a touch screen coffee machine were perfect for adults and kids to hang out. The kids did go crazy on hot chocolate that evening and also burned some of it off in the rainbow trampoline park next to the crepe stand.
Simple pleasures
Chinmay and Kahan got take-away pizzas from the pizzeria which we enjoyed at the dining area in the guesthouse. Another memorable day with beautiful weather and unique experiences in jaw dropping scenery had elapsed bringing us closer to the end of an epic trip.
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