From Ambassador (A journey to a Vatnajökull glacier)
2022/2/10
About 11% of the land area of Iceland is covered by glaciers. Their sizes vary but among them Vatnajökull glacier, located in the south east of the country, is the most outstanding, being the largest glacier in Europe[i]. The area surrounding the glacier is a national park and visited by many tourists all year round.
Finally, I was able to take part in a package tour to visit this place over the weekend. I took a small 20-seater bus for a one-night, two-day itinerary, from Reykjavik. It is also common to visit the park by a private or a rental car, but in my case, since I was a little unsure about driving on the winter road, I joined a sightseeing tour. The highlight of the tour is the visit to the “Ice Cave”, which is only accessible during the winter season. The group of sixteen people consisted of four Americans, two British sisters, two Belgians mother and daughter, one Argentinean couple, four Chinese studying in the UK, one Taiwanese who also works in the UK and myself.
I was picked up at my house by bus before 9 am on Saturday morning and started the journey, but a trouble occurred immediately! Due to the snow from the previous day, the road condition was poor and all routes from Reykjavik to the south were blocked. I thought that the tour might be canceled, but the itinerary was accordingly changed. While sightseeing in Reykjavik city and the suburbs before noon, we waited for the road to open and after a light lunch, we were back on the road to the south.
Despite these early troubles, with the quick thinking of our driver and guide Gulli, we managed to check in at a hotel near the glacier late at night before the hotel restaurant closed at 21:00. What a tough job it is being a travel guide! I cannot give enough thanks to Gulli-san for all his kind considerations!
Since I cannot write out all my experience in detail, I will come to a stop quite soon. Fortunately, we were blessed with a lovely weather the second day and we were able to enjoy the natural scenery unique to Iceland: Vatnajökull glacier and the Ice Cave. Due to the effects of climate change, I was told that glaciers were diminishing year by year. If you have the opportunity to visit Iceland, please consider taking a glacier tour!
Finally, I was able to take part in a package tour to visit this place over the weekend. I took a small 20-seater bus for a one-night, two-day itinerary, from Reykjavik. It is also common to visit the park by a private or a rental car, but in my case, since I was a little unsure about driving on the winter road, I joined a sightseeing tour. The highlight of the tour is the visit to the “Ice Cave”, which is only accessible during the winter season. The group of sixteen people consisted of four Americans, two British sisters, two Belgians mother and daughter, one Argentinean couple, four Chinese studying in the UK, one Taiwanese who also works in the UK and myself.
I was picked up at my house by bus before 9 am on Saturday morning and started the journey, but a trouble occurred immediately! Due to the snow from the previous day, the road condition was poor and all routes from Reykjavik to the south were blocked. I thought that the tour might be canceled, but the itinerary was accordingly changed. While sightseeing in Reykjavik city and the suburbs before noon, we waited for the road to open and after a light lunch, we were back on the road to the south.
Despite these early troubles, with the quick thinking of our driver and guide Gulli, we managed to check in at a hotel near the glacier late at night before the hotel restaurant closed at 21:00. What a tough job it is being a travel guide! I cannot give enough thanks to Gulli-san for all his kind considerations!
Since I cannot write out all my experience in detail, I will come to a stop quite soon. Fortunately, we were blessed with a lovely weather the second day and we were able to enjoy the natural scenery unique to Iceland: Vatnajökull glacier and the Ice Cave. Due to the effects of climate change, I was told that glaciers were diminishing year by year. If you have the opportunity to visit Iceland, please consider taking a glacier tour!
[i] If the Arctic Islands are not considered to belong to Europe, Vatnajökull is the largest glacier in the continent.