On our recent trip to Iceland, we decided to drive for nearly a full day. It took about 5 or 6 hours by car. We wanted to get out to the Ice Lagoon at Jökulsárlón.  Vatnajökull is a glacier where it descends off the mountains and the volcano. It flows into the ice lagoon, called Jökulsárlón.  Vatnajökull is the largest glacier in Europe, and covers approximately 8% of the island.

You have this scene. A glacier is coming down off the hills and into a lagoon. As the water warms up the ice, large ice chunks break off and float around in the lagoon.  A river connects the lagoon with the Atlantic Ocean. Many of these icebergs float out to the ocean. They are washed back onto the beach by the waves.  Of course, this is Iceland, so it’s not just a normal beach, it’s a black sand volcanic rock beach.  So you have these enormous, man-sized chunks of ice washing up on a black sand beach.  It’s really something to behold.

Today’s shot is over the river. A few of these icebergs try to be free. They make their way out to the ocean.  More of the lagoon to follow!!

Canon 7D | Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 | 49mm | f/18.0 | 1/160th | ISO100

During our trip to Iceland, we rented a car for a few days. We explored the part of the island outside of Reykjavik, which is most of the island.  There is a ‘tourist Golden Circle‘, which includes stopping in Thingvellir where the world’s oldest parliament was established in year 930, Gullfoss, one of Iceland largest and most powerful waterfalls and Geysir, the one and only original geyser which all others take their name from.  All three can be done in a single day trip from Reykjavik, but if you have crazy people taking a million photos, you may not get back into the city until after the restaurants and shops have closed, and will have a very grumpy group of travelers.

One interesting fact about Thingvellir is that it is where the North American and European tectonic plates meet. More specifically, it is where they are pulling apart.  If I remember correctly, they pull apart at between 1 and 10 millimeters per year. This movement is not too drastic. However, the plates do cause frequent earthquakes.  You can see the ridge of rocks in the photo below.  Absolutely amazing place.

Canon 7D | Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 | 14mm | f/11.0 | 1/160th | ISO100

Well, back in June I promised some photos from Iceland.  It’s now October.  I intended to post much more frequently, but life sometimes gets in the way.  In fact, we have finally achieved a long dream of an overseas move.  We will be leaving Seattle by the end of the year and will be relocating to Sydney, Australia.  We’re both super-excited. However, as you can imagine, there are a lot of decisions that have to be made. We have to sell or give away a lot of stuff, and manage the eventual move.  Sometime around the new year, I’ll start posting from Oz. I hope to highlight Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific, and Southeast Asia.  Looking forward to it.

Today’s photo is from the Blue Lagoon, just outside Reykjavik, Iceland.  A natural, geo-thermal bath, it’s a really nice spa as well.  Also, there is a small bar on the edge of the pool. Imagine me sitting, squatting, or floating in water up to mid-chest. The water is this milky-blueish/white color. It is naturally heated to approximately 100° F. I am sipping on sparkling wine.  It was glorious.  This photo is looking over the pools outside of the actual spa, with the building just off in the background.  More of the actual spa to come later!!

Canon 7D | Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 | 14mm | f/11.0 | 1/25th | ISO100