We docked at Djupivogur which had marble carved eggs of different species lining the edge of the road. We boarded our buses and drove about 2.5 hours to Vatnajokull.
Vatnajokull is the largest glacier in Iceland covering more than 8% of the country. They say at it's melting rate it will probably be gone in 200 years. It's the laargest glacier in Europe in volume (8,100km2). Our daily program said, "The average thickness of the ice is 400m, with a maximum thickness of 1,000m. Iceland's highest mountain, Oraefajokull (2,110m), is located in the southern periphery of Vatnajokull, near Skaftafell National Park. it is classified as an ice cap glacier."
I asked Peter the difference between an ice cap and glaciers, iif I understood correctly, Greenland and Antartica have ice sheets, but Iceland has many ice caps...these are simply different types of glaciers. Interesting fact, because of the volcanic activity, Iceland is growing in the middle but shrinking at the edges, so the country really is staying about the same size.
Our first stop was Jokulsarlon. It's the glacier river lagoon. The icebergs were spectacular! The blue icebergs are denser compact ice and the white is more melting. Some ice had waves, others almost looked like swiss cheese. Some of the ice had dark stripes which are rock sediments the glaciers picked up as they moved. After some time for pictures, we got on a duck boat that can drive on land and float in the water. The tour lady let us hold some of the glacier ice, and broke it into pieces for us to "eat a glacier" as well. It was cool to get a tour around the lagoon, but it was difficult to take pictures while we moved and with 25 people on the boat. This was probably my favorite place yet. I think I got some good shots, the weather was gorgeous- sunny with puffy white clouds in the sky. I started the day wearing all my jackets, but soon got too hot, so I took some layers off.
Lunch was a buffet at a hotel. We only had an hour, but Videographer Steve asked Xochitl and I to eat quickly so we could do our GTF interview on camera. Xochitl went first and did a great job. I was next and we didn't have much time left. I think it was okay, but unfortunately, since I'm a music teacher, most of the music stuff I wanted to talk about they don't have footage examples of. Oh well.
We got on a 16 passenger van which took us up a mountain road. It was beautiful to see all the rivers flowing into the ocean from so high. At one point the driver stopped and said the glacier had been down here in 1930, but it has since receded. On the Vatnajokull glacier we arrived at a station which fitted us with helmets and snowsuits. We geared up, got an instructional talk of how to snowmobile and then paired up. Susan and I were some of the last to get on a snowmobile, but it meant we were the first to follow the guide in line. Now it was raining and when I would move my head, the water would fall off my helmet. I drove first, which I found more difficult than I expected. They had plowed a little section so we had some guidelines of where to drive and there were lots of ruts. They told us to stay loose, but at first I was trying so hard to drive I was very tight. Eventually I relaxed, and soon we got to an open free spot where it was easier driving. We took 2 stops for walking and pictures, and luckily we drove out of the rain so it was more pleasant. Even as the clouds lifted it was hard to see anything besides white. From every direction, all you could see was the glacier, and we had only see a tiny fraction of it! At the halfway point Susan and I switched. It was so much easier to be a passenger, but it wasn't as fun.
Lunch was a buffet at a hotel. We only had an hour, but Videographer Steve asked Xochitl and I to eat quickly so we could do our GTF interview on camera. Xochitl went first and did a great job. I was next and we didn't have much time left. I think it was okay, but unfortunately, since I'm a music teacher, most of the music stuff I wanted to talk about they don't have footage examples of. Oh well.
We got on a 16 passenger van which took us up a mountain road. It was beautiful to see all the rivers flowing into the ocean from so high. At one point the driver stopped and said the glacier had been down here in 1930, but it has since receded. On the Vatnajokull glacier we arrived at a station which fitted us with helmets and snowsuits. We geared up, got an instructional talk of how to snowmobile and then paired up. Susan and I were some of the last to get on a snowmobile, but it meant we were the first to follow the guide in line. Now it was raining and when I would move my head, the water would fall off my helmet. I drove first, which I found more difficult than I expected. They had plowed a little section so we had some guidelines of where to drive and there were lots of ruts. They told us to stay loose, but at first I was trying so hard to drive I was very tight. Eventually I relaxed, and soon we got to an open free spot where it was easier driving. We took 2 stops for walking and pictures, and luckily we drove out of the rain so it was more pleasant. Even as the clouds lifted it was hard to see anything besides white. From every direction, all you could see was the glacier, and we had only see a tiny fraction of it! At the halfway point Susan and I switched. It was so much easier to be a passenger, but it wasn't as fun.
The driver on the way back told us about the 4 political parties in Iceland, which many are not particularly pleased about, so there is a new party called the pirates, that right now make up about 34% in the polls, but it is hard to tell what they stand for. In general, crime is not very bad. In fact, there is only 0-2 murders per year for the whole country!
Summary:
Wow moment-Jokulsarlon is my favorite place in Iceland! The ice is beautiful, and the diversity in each glacier makes it so interesting.
Worst moment of the day-Rain on Vatnajokull so that it was hard to see because we were in a fog.
Human/Nature connection-Many of us wondered at the human effect tourism is having on Vatnajokull. Is it good that we are getting to experience an awesome icecap glacier and then we care more about preserving it? Or is tourism actually wearing the glacier down more and speeding up the melting process as we snowmobile and cuz through the ice and snowy layers?
Teaching connection-I think the different ice formations would be great for students to explore making iconic representations with their bodies. There are so many interesting layers, holes, and angles. Then, what if we watched some of "Chasing Ice" DVD and saw the glaciers melting and they created a dance to show how their iceberg melts into a lake, travels down the river and into the ocean?
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