Glacier, Fjords, and Bathsalts (I mean, basalts)…Day 3 and 4

Well, the baton has officially been passed to me to update for the past two days of our journey so here goes nothing! Upon departure from K-camp (lovingly nicknamed due to the incredibly long formal name), we headed east along Highway 1. It was here I got my first official view of a real-life glacier at Skaftafell.We also got to feast our eyes on some basalt columns established at the Skaftafoss waterfall. Insert Bill Nye reference, “Did you know that??” Basalts are a specific mineral combination (e.g. magnesium and iron-rich lava) formed from volcanic activity. When the rock cools, it develops a hexagonal shape which is the most efficient shape for dissipation of heat. They can then develop into horizontal or vertical columns resembling Settlers of Catan board pieces or organ pipes for you non-board game night folks. “NOW YOU KNOWWWW.”They also had some of the original housing from early settlers to the area at the top of the hillside. They were said to live in the area in the early 1900’s and left the area around 1950. They also had to bring all their supplies for building from the seaside which was very far away (especially without paved roads).Still being tired from trying to adjust to a new sleep schedule, I took yet another nap. When I woke up, Morgan informed me we were at Jokulsarlon…the ice lagoon! I managed to sleepily stumble out of our home on wheels, and I was stunned at how drastically the landscape had changed in an hour!! There were huge masses of floating ice everywhere…in the water and beach. It was unlike anything I had ever seen.We left the ice lagoon and needed to find our next campsite. Options were fairly slim heading east toward Hofn so we decided to do some more rustic camping at Hakafell. This site was very romantic in its overlook of the mountains, and we were right next to the Flaajokull glacier.Given we hadn’t showered in three days and the lack of available showers, we decided to give the glacial stream at the campsite a go for a birdbath. So we hiked over with our camping cocktails made from my leftover flight medication (Tito’s mini bottles) and ginger ale, and we hobbled into the stream. It was absolutely freezing but strangely refreshing at the same time.We hoofed it back to camp, ate some dinner, and went to bed.The next morning we woke up and immediately set out on a hike to the glacier near the camp. We didn’t see another soul for two hours as we hiked alongside the range of eroding terraced mountains to the glacier. Before you know it, we were looking straight at it and even touched it! Bucket list item we didn’t know we had…checked! Haha.Back at camp, a new acquataince had told us about these hot spring tubs that were close to the camp. We followed up on her suggestion, and it was a total trip highlight. These were naturally fed by hot spring water, and it felt amazing!!! We spent a full hour there relaxing our bones.We got back on the road and traveled into Hofn to pick up some supplies and headed north. We saw a pretty cool black sand beach on the way to our next campsite. Definitely not as many umbrellas or towels at this location this summer.Continuing on along the coastline, we eventually stopped in town called Faskruosfjorour (Try saying that three times fast) located at the back of a fjord. This has been my favorite town so far. It had a whopping population of roughly 600 folks, but the infrastructure was awesome. They had multiple park attractions for kids and adults alike in the middle of town, walking trails, medical service, breweries, and the nicest campground I’ve stayed in. They had full shower rooms with HOT water, very clean bathrooms and a beautiful view of the fjord.I’m passing the baton back to Morgan now. Thanks for reading.