Iceland 2017 Photo Tour, Day 4

By Michelle Alten

lava field, left behind from the 1783 eruption of Lakagigar

Buffeted and battered by the wind, we travel in our little yellow bus along Iceland’s southern coast.  The forecast warned of fierce gusts, so we left our little luggage trailer behind, loading all our bags in the back of the bus instead.  On our way to Vatnajokull National Park, we stop at ta lava field, left behind from the 1783 eruption of Lakagigar.  Today mosses blanket the boulders and lupines burst with color, turning the field into a canvas.

Hofkirkja, a wood frame church with a turf roof

Further down the road, we visit he little Hofkirkja, a wood frame church with a turf roof.  The Lutheran church, ringed with blossoming Mountain Ash, is home to a tiny, carefully tended cemetery where a white cross marks each grave.  Helge, our guide, tells us that this was once a pagan worshiping site before Christianity came to the island.

Glacier Lagoon

Glacier Lagoon of Jokulsarlon

We pass tongues of the great Vatnajokull Glacier, stretching down towards the sea.  Parasitic jaegars, arctic terns, and great skuas soar near the shoreline as we approach the famous Glacier Lagoon of Jokulsarlon.  Here rafts of ice calve from the Vatnajokull Glacier. Sculpted by the wind and sea, and often donning a patina of grey ash, they set sail in the narrow body of water.  In grasses nearby, arctic terns nest, rising in a flurry and diving at anyone who approaches too closely.  Barnacle geese tend their chicks amidst the throng of terns.

Barnacle geese tend their chicks amidst the throng of terns

Day 4 Birds – Barnacle geese, Arctic terns, eider ducks, great skuas, parasitic jaegers, fulmars