Glaciers

Along the south coast of Iceland lies Vatnajökull, Europe's largest icecap. Dozens of glaciers slide from the icecap towards the ocean. We stopped at two distinct glaciers. The first was near Skaftafell. Game of Thrones watchers will know it as "beyond the Wall." The second stop was Jökulsárlón, a glacial lagoon where the ice cap breaks off and slides out to sea as icebergs.

Inside a cave, inside a glacier

Beyond the Wall

Jökulsárlón

on the left, beyond the bridge, is the ocean

the day was bright and sunny and the icebergs moved so fast you could see them sliding to the ocean.

South Iceland

One day, 14 hours. Just a taste of the gorgeous southern part of the island. The weather was so clear we were able to see three major volcanoes in one vista—apparently, that's pretty unusual. I went with GoEcco, and the tour was wonderfully tiny: just me, a young couple from NYC, and our guide, Jonas. It was such an intimate and easy-going way to see the sights.

Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano that erupted in 2010, and the farm it buried in ash at its base.

In the black lava desert, Jonas recently uncovered this crashed US Army plane.

a hidden hot-spring-fed swimming pool

lava flow covered in thick moss

a river cuts through black lava sand

What's missing in this post? Glaciers. So many glacier photos, I had to split the posts up.

But I'll leave you with the Blue Lagoon. And lest you think it's too romantic to stand, the last photo gives a better idea of the reality.

Reykjavik views

On my way back from London and Paris recently (more on those stops in later posts), I stopped in Iceland. It has always been on my wish list, but never at the top. I added it to my itinerary on a whim—a three-day solo visit to a place I'd always been curious about. And it was just soooooo beautiful. And really freaking expensive.