From Seydisfjordur to Glacier Lagoon
Day 7, 8th August 2023
Seydisfjordur is a major town in the east fjords, nestled beneath imposing mountains. We drove slightly inland for the first part of our journey south, and then hugged the coastline until our destination of Glacier Lagoon. I had hoped to stop overnight in Hofn but a lack of accommodation meant that today's journey was rather long. Still, it was probably one of the most scenic drives as we had to cross the mountains on a gravel track rather than a tarmac road and the views across the fjords were delightful.
The white specks on the water in the photo below are Whooper Swans; something I certainly did not expect to see. Whooper swans used to be harvested as food but have been a protected species since 1914.
Near to Hofn is the Stokknes Peninsula and the much photographed Vestrahorn mountain. This area is privately owned and has a very welcome cafe and facilities before you drive into the area. We walked to the old Viking film set which was built and never used, and then drove to the other parking spots for a better view of the mountain itself.
Because of the long days, we still had time for a quick exploration of the Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach before settling into the Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon. The Glacier Lagoon at Jokulsarlon is Iceland's deepest lake and is full of icebergs which break off from the Breiamerkurjokull, a tongue of Europe's largest ice cap, Vatnojokull.
The icebergs slowly break up as they float down the river to the sea, and here they can be washed up on the black sand beach and look like diamonds; hence the name 'Diamond Beach'.
