STOP 9 | Iceland: Inside the Ice Cave + Her Majesty Lady Aurora Borealis

Dedicated to the artists, who are able to paint the nature. And to those who strive to reach the light at the end of the tunnel.

Day 3

 

We started the day going to a secret spot, not included in the trips notes: the Nauthúsagil ravine. Steinthor, our guide, let us climb it inside till reaching the inner waterfall. I was a little bit torn, as I am usually clumsy, but eventually, I did it, making till the end, climbing the rock following the iron chain put for the purpose.

We then visited a couple of other waterfalls. A Icelander tried to count from the satellite images all the waterfalls and he reached the number of 35 thousand, without even finishing it.

 

This waterfall below - Seljalandsfoss - was so cool in that we could go behind and take a pic from the back.

After the waterfall we headed to the Black Sand beach, which to be honest was nothing so spectacular to me. And it was also raining.

 

On the way to our night destination, we went through all the volcanic lands, caused by the eruption of 1783: such eruption is thought to be also the responsible of the French revolution of 1789.

We reached our hotel at about 4:30pm and we jumped immediately on Brutus, a mountain truck similar to this, guided by Tom from Blue Iceland for our next adventure: Ice Cave.

It was a 30 mins drive + 30 mins walk but it was fully worth it: we basically stepped on the Vatnajökull glacier.

 

I’ve always studied glaciers at school when young, but had never figured it properly. Such glacier retreat tens meters per year more or less (in some areas even 200 meters).

 

 

And below me pickaxing at the ice:

 

 

But the most beautiful thing was entering the Ice Cave - Blue Sapphire 3: such cave has been there (or nearby) for about 3 years, hence the name. It has a river flowing inside.

And below me seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Being inside the ice was mind-blowing, entering the cave was like entering another dimension: it seemed like being in a movie: was it real or was it a fiction? Can you reach the light at the end of the tunnel?

 

 

 

Night proceeded smoothly with only some issues at the hotel restaurant, but I managed to have my soup indeed, with frozen bread though. The funniest this was that I interacted with the waiter 3 or 4 times and he confirmed with either "Yes" or "Ok" that he was about to bring the bread. Bread arrived 30 mins later - half frozen - once I had already finished my soup.

I believe I became remarkable for the entire group because of this, even though it was not my intention. #takelifeasitcomes.

 

 

Day 4

 

What a better way to start the day going on a tour? We embarked on a boat tour on the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon. Such a glacier was formed in 900 AD more or less. Icebergs are created every day and they start floating in the lagoon.

Our guide Anna was Italian and I was so proud of seeing an Italian girl as a guide in Iceland: she moved here from China – and specifically Manchuria - and Iceland weather was summer to her.

 

Tour lasted about 45 mins and was conducted aboard on an amphibious vehicle.

 

 

Water temperature was 7°C, warmer vs the average of 2-5°C. Icebergs color may go from blue – since light does not reflect blue – to grey/black – due to volcanos’ ashes and dirt.

 

 

The lagoon is a great habit for many animals, including seals, with almost no predators over there. At a certain point, Anna gave us a piece of ice, about 1000 years old to hold.

 

 

After a couple of pics, she broke the ice telling us to pick a piece and throw into the lagoon making a wish, which I did ☺

 

 

Also many movies were shot here, including Tomb Raider and Batman Begins.

 

 

After the tour we had a sneak peek at the diamond beach and we headed to our next destination listening to beautiful Icelandic music, like this.

 

It was a pretty long drive as we passed the glacier on the coast, heading East, then slightly up North and then West again, driving towards the Fjalladyrd farm in Möðrudal. On the way we stopped at the Stuðlagil canyon.

 

The farm-hotel in Möðrudal was really really cozy but beautiful: all of us stayed in a wood house, with shared facilities, including a kitchen.

 

Dinner got served by two nice waiters, including Leonardo, an Italian guy just moved to Iceland. We kept checking Aurora Map app to understand the forecasting and chances to see the northern lights. Percentage kept increasing starting from 9%. And the sky was pretty clear, with some clouds going up and down. Chance of seeing the Northern Lights was forecasted to be about 25% around 11pm: we thought it was just a random app.

 

We didn’t expect to see what we saw, after dinner, freezing at less than 10°C outside of our apartments: Her Majesty Aurora Borealis. I was even able to capture some of it with the camera of my iPhone but pictures taken by Ashley - a fellow travel - with a proper Canon camera, where she could control exposure and light were much better.

 

I’ve always heard about aurora borealis, but never got the chance to see it anywhere. Probably I could have tried when in Bergen, but Norway was pretty expensive and I was a student, so didn’t want to pay more money to travel, at my parents’ expenses.

 

Seeing the Northern Lights above you - really shallow at your naked eyes, but empowered by your camera lenses - makes you feel really really small, in the universe; lets you question the existence of something beyond humanity: is a god for real? Or is it just the rule of nature? And what if God and Nature coincide!?