[dropcap custom_class=”whb”]This morning when we woke up the sun was shining. Later it would cloud up and we would experience showers. After eating breakfast, we drove into Vik to get gas. I like to start the day out by getting gas. That way, I don’t have to worry about which will happen first, run out of gas or finding a gas station. We stopped at a gas station and mini mart. I do not have a chip and pin credit card like they use in Europe, so I went inside to see about paying with cash. The clerk told me that I could not pay with cash. That I had to use either a chip and pin credit card or buy a prepaid gas card and use it at the pump. I bought the prepaid card and went back outside. I looked all over the pump and did not see where you put the card in. Jay then noticed that between the two gas pumps was the credit card machine. You put the card in and tell it the pump number. It then shoots out your card and you pump your gas. To get a receipt, you put the card back in and it will print out the receipt.
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OK, we got gas and headed to Jökulȧrlὁn. Along the way I noticed dirt mounds on the side of the road. I wondered what was on the other side. I then got a glimpse of something, but was not sure what it was. Up ahead was a small parking area. I pulled off the road, and Jay and I got out of the car and followed a marked trail over the mounds of dirt. On the other side was the Glacier Lagoon and it was filled with icebergs of all sizes. It was truly a beautiful site. Jay took a lot of pictures. We then got back in our car. Just a short distance ahead was our destination. We were going to take a boat ride on the glacier lake. I bundled up against the cold. Even though it was not that cold today, I k new it would be colder on the water. I had on a long sleeve shirt, a pullover sweater, a fleece jacket, a lightweight parka and my leather coat. I also wore a scarf, gloves and a knit cap. I could hardly move, but I was not going to be cold. When we got on the boat, they had us all put on life jackets.
The icebergs are very beautiful. They are over 1,000 years old. The black in the icebergs was where volcanic ash had gotten mixed in and compressed into the iceberg. The lake we were sailing on was only about 80 years old. The sea had gotten to the glacier and the salt in the ocean water had melted the glacier and formed the lake. The icebergs had broken off from the glacier. We were given a piece of the ice to taste. It taste like pure water.
After the boat ride we headed to Höfn, where we were staying the night. We had heard about a good restaurant where you could get lobster so we decided to eat there. Jay had a lobster pizza and I had the lobster tails. Jay decided he wanted dessert (which he hardly ever gets). He ordered the Crème Brule. He said he enjoyed it.
We then headed back to our hotel. There is no one that sits at the front desk. You have a key to let you into the hotel. If you need anything you pick up the phone next to the desk and someone answers and you tell them what you need. I don’t think anyone else is staying here tonight because the parking lot is empty. The room is pretty big with two twin beds. The bathroom as usual just has a shower.
