Every Day is a New Adventure

As I indicated in my previous post, I got a little later start on Day 3 so didn’t leave the campground until late morning.  My plan was to continue east and head towards Hofn, but I first wanted to stop at Jokusarlon, the glacier lagoon.  By the time I got there, the parking lot was packed, and the place was jam-packed with tourists!  (Darned tourists.  Didn’t they know I was coming?)  It was also still raining.  However, my Frogg Toggs® rain jacket, pants and hat were up for the task and worked amazingly well (fortunately it wasn’t windy).  I took quite a few shots and decided to go back to the “Diamond Beach” where I was the night before (they call it this because the ice chunks setting on the black sand look like huge diamonds).  After a while the sun came out again (whoo-hoo), and when I eventually turned around, I could see the mountains behind the glacier lagoon, and the glacier itself, clear as a bell!  OMG, what an impressive sight!  Needless to say, I had to go back to the lagoon.

Spending more time at Jokulsarlon than I had planned, I finally set off for Hofn.  I checked into the campground (which ironically was right across the street from the gas station where I stopped to check the map to determine it’s location), and since the skies were still clear, I went to the Stokksnes peninsula, the preferred vantage point for Vestrahorn mountain.  The angle of the sun wasn’t ideal, but I did shot shots from the black sand dunes.  Suddenly the wind kicked up, creating a horrific sand storm.  I felt like Jim Cantorre as I leaned into the gale force wind and headed back to the van!

Arriving back at the background, I discovered yet another issue: my portable WiFi was dead and wouldn’t take a charge!   I bought a new charging cord at the gas station (for $39, thank you very much), thinking this might be the issue.  Nope!  It still wouldn’t accept a charge.  Finding free WiFi at a gas station (a different one this time), I live-chatted with a support person (for the second time this week).  They could send me a replacement, but it wouldn’t arrive until two days before I was scheduled to leave.  So now what?  Well, onto Plan B, which is to upload blog posts when I can find free Wifi.  But, it would be nice to have WiFi continuously, so I do have a Plan C in, which unfortunately might not come to fruition until late Saturday or even Sunday.  Oh well, we will just have to deal with it!

What have all the issues I’ve experienced so far taught me?  Three words come to mind: resilience, fortitude and most importantly, gratefulness.  We have so many “conveniences”, especially in the US, that we forget these are truly luxuries.  Would having Wifi all the time be desirable?  Of course.  But, do I really need Wifi to survive and in my case, carry on with my trip?  Absolutely not.  In the end, we need to be ever grateful for the things God has provided and ask Him for strength and courage when things don’t work out like we expect!

Stay tuned for more new adventures!

Icebergs floating in Jokulsarlon, the glacier lagoon (you can see the 9/10ths of the front iceberg that is below water – apparently, sometimes this bergs will flip over as their center of gravity changes)Add caption

Some tourists getting ready to kayak around the lagoon (I heard the guide tell them about the iceberg flippy thing and not to get too close as it might make for a bad day).  Also on the lagoon were motorized rafts and big “duck boats” full of tourists, all of which I found quite annoying and hampered the scenic splendor.

If you look closely, you can see the head of a seal peering at me (or at something).  I saw several seals in the lagoon, which are quite common along with many shore birds

The surf retreating from small stones on the black sand (a.k.a., Diamond) beach

A rather large chunk of ice on the beach during clear skies

Clear skies over Jokulsarlon – isn’t this beautiful?  (The glacier, which isn’t visible at this angle, is at the far right of the picture)

On the way to way to Hofn, I found a road side picnic area with porta potties, which I had to use.  While inside, I heard some running water.  I know I had to go, but not that bad!  I discovered there was a small stream running behind the units (see just to the left), which was fed by a waterfall in the distant mountain. The water was clean and fresh, so I filled up my water bottle (no worries, they say this is safe to do).

Vestrahorn from the black sand dunes on the Stokksnes peninsula.

The sun breaking above the clouds and the mountains in the distance as seen from the back window of the van.  Time: 5:13 am!  (I was awake anyway, but it does mean I may need to use the eye shades after all.)