Getting ready to begin a day trip around the Eastern Region of Iceland
Fosshotel Vatnajokull is located in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps that in part is why we absolutely loved its location. Vatnajokull National Park is to the north and the fishing village of Hofn which is a few km to the south. There is a farm half kilometer away. Beautiful countryside!
Isolated but beautiful surrounding of Fosshotel Vatnajokull
Fosshotel Vatnajokull
Fosshotel Vatnajokull
Fosshotel Vatnajokull
Fosshotel Vatnajokull – Standard buffet breakfast with good coffee
Fosshotel Vatnajokull – Standard buffet breakfast with good coffee
While having breakfast, we enjoyed a great view of the mountains and the glaciers to the north (3 fingers, probably the Hoffelsjokull (far east 20 km), Flaajokull (30 km), Heinabergsjokull (middle 40 km) and the 4th one named Breioamerkurjokull (which is 80 km to the west and was too far to be seen from hotel). More on the Vatnajokulll NP later.
Today, we experienced the first sunny and cloudless day since setting foot on Iceland. Not so good for landscape photography but great for Aurora Borealis tonight (so I wished). But who knows, weather could change "on a dime". So, we will see.
Our plan for today is to backtrack to Eystrahorn (we passed by the night before) and then reverse direction to Jokullsarlon, all on Route 1. This part of the Ring Road is in very good condition.
Road map – To Eystrahorn & the Hvalnes Lighthouse
On the way out of the hotel – Farms & ranches in Hofn
Ranches near Hofn – There are more sheep than population in Iceland
Horses in this Ranch loves tourists – they love to be fed by visitors
Mountains near Hofn
After passing through the tunnel, Eystrahorn and the Hvalnes Lighthouse were not far away. It was sunny and no clouds here as well, ie more boring blue sky. In this area, you find some great but odd looking mountains such as the Krossanesfjall, large black sand beaches and the Pufuhraunstindur Mountains. Note that the Krossanesfjall is the rock outcrop of Eystrahorn, on the other side of the Bay of Lon is the Vestrahorn
Approaching tunnel – Eystrahorn is not far
Eystrahorn & Hvalnes Lighthouse
Eystrahorn – Krossanesfjall
Eystrahorn – Black sand beaches
Black sand beaches – difficult to walk on
Eystrahorn – Krossanesfjall
This place was interesting enough. We did some hiking around scouting for possible foregrounds for Aurora shoot tonight (wishful thinking).
After a couple of hours, we wrapped up here and drove back in south-east direction toward our hotel and beyond to Jokullsarlon (aka Glacier Lagoon).
Road Map: Eystrahorn to Jokullsarlon
In Vestrahorn, there is a café named Viking Cafe. Snack and coffee are offered here.
To visit the Viking Village, there is an admission charge of 900 ISK per person, not per car. Entry to Stokksnes costs a separate 900 ISK. Stokksnes is a stunning seascape for photography. I would’ve preferred a more dramatic cloudy sky as oppose to the blue sky. So I did not go in during mid-day. Thought about possibly returning tonight for aurora shooting, weather permitting. Unfortunately, later that night, it didn’t happen.
We kept pushing toward Jokullsarlon, because we wanted to be there at sunset. Along the way, we noted that the weather got more cloudy, with the sun poking out here and there.
Jokullsarlon at sunset – Crazy clouds and the golden sunset make for dramatic skies. Big contrast to the earlier cloudless blue skies!
You couldn’t quite notice it from the images, but this place was full of tourists. The golden hour was gorgeous due to all the dramatic cloud formations.
I was checking aurora forecast for Stokksnes and Hofn areas constantly. We would have clear sky but extremely weak KP index. It was getting dark. We had no time and no light to see the nearby Diamond Beach. Save that for later date.
We picked up a sandwich at Jokullsarlon before returning to the hotel. Double checked with the front desk for aurora forecast. They saw the same as I did. Clear sky, but no KP. We stayed up till 22:45 hoping for better luck to no avail.
Up next, Part 15 – Nice Adventure to Vatnajokull and Diamond Beach