True Travels: Iceland's Glacier Lagoon
Hands down, the most beautiful of my Iceland experiences happened at Jökulsárlón. It's a sea-level glacier lagoon off the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier, which is an "outlet glacier" off the big guy, Vatnajökull. Have fun pronouncing all of those.
It's truly one of the greatest things I've ever experienced in my twenty-four years on Earth. Even driving up to the Vatna Glacier (the more pronounceable term) on our way south sent the pit of my stomach into twists of awe. Huge chunks of ice floating in crystal clear, presumably frigid water (I barely dipped my fingers in the shallow end)...even with all of the tourists around, it's magnificently silent. You can hear the glacier's deep, barreling creaks and groans in the distance, and even the ice chunks breaking off and splashing into the water.
The ocean is just across the road, and sea water spills into the lagoon at high tide. Once you cross the street, the rushing water drowns out a lot of other tourists and it's like you're in the fjords of Arendelle (I know, #Frozen reference, not sorry). There are huge chunks of ice to climb or crawl through at your own risk, and so many pretty vistas that the hardest part is deciding when it's finally time to leave.
But then you remember you're in Iceland, and there are incredible views all the way around everywhere. I'll be sharing more of them here soon!
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Read more + get yourself on a tour of the glacier here! I didn't get to go on a boat tour this time around, but it'll definitely be a priority on my next Iceland adventure.