Today is my longest excursion so far. It's also my largest group. Up to now I've gone with companies that limit to email groups. The cave was my largest at 16, but it was really 2 groups we combined together because we all got along so well. Today there were 30. I believe this is my only large group.
On top of that, we had a tight schedule, so I really did feel like I was being herded. The good news is I come back to this area with another group my last full day. Between the two trips, that will be plenty of time. My biggest complaint is that the window don't open and they're filthy. So there's no taking pictures of the scenery while we are driving.
So they picked us up at 7, which felt really early after staying out late searching Northern lights. But I did it. I talked the restaurant concierge into letting me take the food to go, which we aren't supposed to do.
Or first stop was the Seljalandfoss waterfall. Then we stopped at the Skogafoss waterfall where I saw my only rainbow for the day. We stopped for lunch in the early part of the glaciers, right by Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano that erupted in 2010 and some mountain that I think he said was the highest peak in Iceland. I heard him say the name, but the complex Icelandic names are hard enough to get. Then add a Spanish accent,
and its impossible. (Later I looked it up, it's Hvannadalshnjúkur, which is at the edge of the world's largest glacier, Vatnajokull, over 3 times the size of Luxembourg).
It seems every guide has a story about trolls to tell. These rock formations are supposedly the trolls that did not make it where they were going before daylight hit. I don't remember the rest of the story about these trolls, but really all of them have the same tenet:
They are giant size, to be feared, and will turn to stone in daylight.
Last, we headed off to the glacier lagoon for a boat ride. Along the way we saw lots of waterfalls, rivers, volcanoes, glacier tongues (first time I've ever heard that term), and mossed covered lava fields (much like yesterday; They must be everywhere here). I also saw my first animal - a swan. I guess if you go to the right place, you can see seals, foxes, lynx, and some birds, but there really aren't many animals here.
Eventually we ended up at our destination, the Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon. It's a 25km lagoon which is at the base of a huge glacier and is filled with several large pieces of glacier and tons of little pieces, which have fallen into the lagoon and will make their way to the nearby ocean. It was sad to see how much the glacier has decreased in the last 60 years (the glacier went all the way to the ocean until 60 years ago). By the way, the lagoon has shown up in several movies, including James Bond's "Die Another Day".
The lagoon is where, somehow, I ended up with another tour group. We were given half an hour to walk around before our boat ride. I got back in plenty of time, but honestly, we did not interact much on the bus. The only people I recognized was a couple from my hotel. In addition, throughout the day there were three tour buses that all went to the same places and often overlapped. So the people on the other buses looked as familiar as your own. I are lunch with a tour guide I thought was mine, but later realized was from one of the other buses. That's really I think what caused the trouble.
When I returned for the boat ride, I didn't really recognized anyone other than the couple from the hotel, and there were at least 50 people hanging around. As we're waiting I went up to the one guide I are lunch with who was speaking Spanish with another guide and asked him if I was with him. He said yes. A l little later he said another group was in front of him and we should come back in half an hour (my 1st clue). So I did. When we return, I'm talking to another couple and having a great conversation. In fact i was thinking how these guys were much more interactive when not in the bus (my 2nd clue). Then they started talking about "the French family" (3rd clue). We were talking about lunch and i mentioned the bus that arrived at the same time we did. No one knew what I meant. About then, they mentioned "gray line". I didn't go on gray line. They kept telling me I did, and almost had me convinced I was wrong. I realize something's not right and go up to the guide again. He again says I'm with him. I say something about him being from Barcelona, and he says no, here from Italy. He just speaks Spanish. About now
we're getting on the boat and I know something's wrong. I picture myself stuck in
Jökulsárlón. I look over and there's my group. They had just gone. I'm not
sure if I should go, but my" real " guide said to go ahead (later I found out the three on my bus who decided to go on the boat at the last minute want able to go until the boat after me). All this, and the boat ride was OK, but honestly, I enjoyed walking along the shore more. It was a small boat, and crowded. Sorry me had to hold my camera over my head to get any pictures.
So to end this, I get off the boat and there's my guide with the fake guide. I say something about getting on the bus to my real guide, and fake guide says, "you're going home with him? Why?" I explain I came with him, and he says, "no, you came with me". At least I wasn't the only one confused.
On the way home we lucked into a northern light show. It was pale green, so still not bright, but easily recognizable (or maybe I'm just getting experienced at searching).
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