Reykjavík Grapevine - 16.06.2016, Page 58

Even during the peak of Iceland’s
summer’s season, there’s always a
place to be cold. So, feeling the 13˚
heat of the Reykjavík summer, we
decided to go there.
The south coast of Iceland is
probably one of the most trav-
elled routes in the country, but
it somehow never gets old. The
road winds past dramatic white-
topped mountains, yellow hills,
green flatlands and grey beaches,
with the scenery stretching out
around us.
After a six-hour drive, and
many picturesque stops, we ar-
rived at our destination: the Jökul-
sárlón glacial lagoon, and the
Svínafellsjökull glacier.
Old ice

After putting on orange life jack-
ets, we boarded an amphibious
boat, which drove down to the
shore and straight into the water.
Soon, we were out in the middle
of Jökulsárlón, gazing at the ice-
bergs floating by in the deep, cold
water. Whenever the boat slowed
down, the head of a curious seal
appeared above the surface.
Our guide invited us to taste a
piece of 1000-year old ice. “You can
try it,” she said, holding a chunk of
ice that could slip and smash into
thousand pieces at any moment.
“But don’t get too excited. I mean,
it is still just water.”
One of the group got excited
and quietly asked: “Is she going to
chip it?” His friend laughed: “Of
course she’s going to chip it. Or,
we’ll all get a lick.”
Black pyramids
We finished the day by walking on
Svínafellsjökull (or the “pig cliff
glacier”). I wondered if the name
had something to do with the
dirty black colour of the glacier—
the result of ash and dirt blowing
onto the glacier, then freezing into
its surface.
The glacier walk was a first-
time experience for all of us, and
the more safety rules we were told,
the more we cringed with trepida-
tion. But as we strapped on our
crampons and took our first steps
on the ice, we soon started to get
the hang of it.
We passed some small pyra-
mids of dirt, named Drulludríli
in Icelandic, which means “dirt
cones.” These natural formations
are made when holes in the sur-
face fill up with sand and dirt over
the years. When the ice then starts
to melt, these neat piles are left
sitting on top of the ice.
Deeper holes, on the other
hand, don’t fill up—instead, they
become passages into the glacier.
Meltwater then trickles down,
storing up deep inside the ice.
Where the water goes, nobody
knows. This phenomenon is called
a múlan—and if you should slip
and fall into one, there’s no way
out.
We crunched along the glacier
in a line for an hour or so, taking
in the views, thinking about noth-
ing other than our next step. Aside
from the impressive landscape, I
was also impressed by how knowl-
edgeable and proud of her country
our guide was, telling us stories
and facts that made this the fine
day it was.
Book trip at extremeiceland.is
SHARE: gpv.is/extr
Glacier Walks And Boat Trips
All Ice Everything
Words JÓHANNA PÉTURSDÓTTIR Photos ART BICNICK
As we approach
midsummer, Ice-
land’s nights are
getting pretty in-
d i s t i n g u i s h a b l e
from her days. But
as well as being nastily surprised
when the bell rings for last orders,
constantly missing the supermar-
ket’s opening hours because it
feels like 6pm rather than 11pm,
and having your sleeping patterns
distorted beyond all recognition,
the 24-hour light and the restless
energy that it brings mean you
could potentially use these win-
dows of insomniac half-sleep to
do fun stuff instead.
One great way to take advantage of
sunlight is a Midnight Hike. If you
have the luck of a mild, cloudless
night, there could be little better
than taking a guided walk up into
the pink sky at Úlfarsfell, Helgafell
or Esja. An enterprising Icelander
named Arnar Ingi has started run-
ning Midnight Hike tours—find out
more at midnighthikes.com.
The Golden Circle is an incredibly
popular trip, and rightfully so—
as well as dropping by several of
Iceland’s most spectacular natural
sites, it’s within easy reach of Reyk-
javík. Seeing as it’s bright outdoors
24/7, one way to beat the crowds is
to turn your daytrip into a night trip
and go “after dark”—it’s an amaz-
ing feeling to have all that nature
to yourself. Book a trip at yourday-
tours.is or hire a car at hertz.is.
Reykjavík Excursions have a hat-
ful of different trips you can take
to make the most of the night, in-
cluding a trip that includes a horse
show at Fákasel and then a trip to
the Krýsuvík geothermal area on
the way home; or you could go for a
dip at the Laugarvatn Fontana spa,
which stays open late May-August.
Book by visiting re.is and search-
ing “midnight”.
Words John Rogers
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58 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 8 — 2016TRAVEL