To start the fifth day of the trip, we headed to Jökulsárlón. This lagoon formed as the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier has retreated over time. The lagoon had beautiful blue water and was filled with large floating icebergs. Many of these icebergs slowly drift toward the ocean, where waves sometimes push pieces back onto the nearby black sand beach known as Diamond Beach. Seeing the chunks of ice sitting on the dark sand was really impressive, and I was also able to spot a few seals swimming and playing in the current.
After that, we traveled to Fagurhólsmýri and went on a hike to see a waterfall. This waterfall was especially interesting because it had striking basalt columns, which formed when lava cooled and cracked into geometric shapes.
Later, we stopped to see a monument made from a twisted piece of an old bridge that had been destroyed by powerful glacial floods. The warped steel showed just how strong those floods can be.
We ended the day by returning to the hotel and enjoying a great lamb dinner with skyr cake for dessert. Now I’m planning to camp out and hopefully catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights tonight.
Swanson School of Engineering 