Iceland - Eating black sand on Diamond Beach

We started the day with a picnic in the room. Most of our picnics consist of the same thing, pepperoni and cheese sandwiches, crisps and biscuits. After a few of these meals, today we decided that we need more balance in our diet. I went out for a walk around the Kirkjubæjarklaustur while Ali got ready. The sun was shining, i didn’t see another person. It was perfect. I first walked to the waterfall, the church and then a cemetery. The village is on the side of a huge ridge which was really striking in the morning sunshine.

Today was a day of long drives. Our first drive was an hour and a half to get to Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon. We’ve visited before but Reyka hasn’t so we booked for her to go on an amphibious vehicle into the lagoon. The drive to the lagoon was amazing. First were the ice caps, then the glaciers, then the glacial rivers.

The glacial lagoon is a tourist honeypot. We boarded our boat, Reyka had her own little life jacket to wear. We sailed through the numerous ice bergs and ate some of the ice that the guide chipped away from an ice berg.

We drove over to Diamond beach. The stranded ice bergs on the beach were a lot smaller than last time but Reyka enjoyed touching them. But her absolute highlight was the black sand. We sat for a long time on the warm sand, just watching her pick it up and letting it fall through her fingers. She would kick her feet and turn in circles. Then she would eat it. Yum.

Alas, we needed to get to our next apartment for the night. We left the glaciers and volcanoes and headed to the Eastern Fjords, driving along roads with shear drops into the ocean below. This is the Iceland I remember, with very few tourists on the road, nothing but us an the environment.

Tonight we are staying in Apartment Bimness. Oh I was grateful to see the washing machine and drier. We’ve had to economise on the amount of luggage, so the amenities in the apartment already made me rate it as the best place we have stayed so far. The view is phenomenal,. As I wash up, I can see mountains and a Fjord. Perfect.

Overnight - Appartment Bimnes, Djupivogur