Spectacular East & South Coast

After waking up at our Hofn guesthouse (that was covered in darkness when we arrived around 11 pm) we were stunned by the amazing landscape that greeted us on our way to breakfast. Not only were there snow capped mountains but two giant glaciers that came down to the ground.

First stop on our journey would have to be my favourite place in Iceland - Jökulsárlón. Here, a giant glacier has formed down to a lake and bits of ice breaks off with a bang to form icebergs that float onto the lake. The water current moves them out to sea where they sit on Diamond Beach - so called because the ice is beached on black sand - where they are slowly eroded by wind and water and eventually washed out to sea. It is an unforgettable sight that can only be seen here.

Further down the coast at Skaftafell, more glaciers can be seen from the coastal ring road. The Skaftafell Falls are spectacular as the water plunged over columns of basalt.

The town of Vik sits on the point where the East Coast meets the South Coast, and a good spot to stop for fish and chips. Sea stacks have formed off the headland to create a spectacular sight.

Travelling around Iceland, there are many examples of volcanic formations. Some of the more unusual and spectacular are the lava fields where you can imagine the hot molten lave oozing across the land and then hardening into craggy rock structures when cooled. You can even see the path of the lava as it covered the land and then came to a stop. These lava fields are now covered with green moss but look eerie over the landscape like something from Mars.

As we moved to the south coast in the evening we passed Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano that erupted in 2010, that was looking very passive covered in snow.

The sun sets on another day...actually the first one we have seen because it’s been so overcast.