Rjúkandafoss, Reyðarfjörður, Djúpivogur and Jökulsárlón

Before we arrived at the Hotel Austur in Reyðarfjörður for the night, we enjoyed another foss, the Rjúkandafoss.

Entering Reyðarfjörður.

Reyðarfjörður harbor in the morning sun

The following morning, we packed up for Jökulsárlón and stopped at Djúpivogur, a village intertwined with German history, as Hanseatic merchants were the first to be granted trading rights here in 1589.

Today, the residents make their living from fishing and tourism.

The village has colorful houses, including one painted red, Langabúð, considered one of the most beautiful in Iceland. 

A liberty monument

Our next destination was the Jökulsárlón glacial lake.

In the background, a tongue of the Vatnajökull Glacier

On our way on the national N1 ring road around the south coast ...

... we longed Iceland's giant Vatnajökull glacier.

Toward the end of the 19th century, Vatnajökull's glacier tongue Breiðamerkurjökull (Glacier of Wide Woodland) extended almost to the sea. Today it is more than 6 kilometers from the coast. Lakes have formed at the glacier's edge, such as the well-known Jökulsárlón (glacial river lagoon), which covers 17 km².

With a depth of around 300 m, the lagoon is Iceland's deepest lake. It never freezes over because saltwater regularly flows into it from the sea. Jökulsárlón

Icebergs up to 15 meters tall break away from the glacier tongue. They may float in the lagoon for 5 years, drift slowly to its mouth, and eventually flow via a small tributary toward the ocean.

Our group booked a boat ride on the lagoon, but it was canceled because of high winds.

On the way to our hotel, we stopped at another foss near Fagurhólsmýri.

During an evening stroll, we tried to approach a flock of grazing sheep, but they kept an eye on us and drifted away, keeping their distance.

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