Now we find ourselves travelling along the south coast of the island, constantly in sight of massive glaciers to the north of us. Often they hide in their own mist and fog, but sometimes they come down a valley and poke out into the sun, many times leaving waterfalls both large and small, always leaving outwash plains that give every sign of constant change. Generally, the day remains overcast. Our little car's dashboard thermometer usually stays around 10 degrees C, so not too bad out.

We reach Jokulsarlon around 11:00 am and have to wait 40 minutes for the next amphibious boat ride (one left just as we arrived). No big deal. We wander around with the cameras shooting the small icebergs that have calved off from Breidamerkurjokull but remain trapped in this freshwater lake because the only outlet stream, just to the south, is too shallow to take them out to sea. Most of the 'bergs have striations from various layers of dirt or volcanic ash in them. As the 'bergs melt and turn over the striations change from one orientation to the next, so there's an interesting view that changes from time to time as sun and water take effect on the ice. When a 'berg is newly flipped, it reveals ice that takes on an intense blue color, which disappears in a few days as air bubbles inside change its nature.

The guide on our boat tour around the lagoon indicated that the water reached some 200m in depth on the lake, but dove to 300m under the glacier, making it Iceland's deepest point. Iceland's highest point lies only a few kilometers away, under the icecap, so we have quite a contrast here. During the boat ride, the guide fished out a chunk of ice and broke it up so that we could each eat a piece. Not bad for ice that's over 1000 years old! The extreme pressure put on the ice by the glacier makes it both harder and clearer than normal ice.

The glaciers along the coast have been retreating for some time now, and numerous terminal morraines parallel the coast, more or less. The ocean has been rising as well, so the coastline's constantly changing. Dramatic jokullflauts (glacial floods) occur when a volcano erupts beneath a glacier, releasing billions of tons of water and ice and mud. This results in a constantly changing landscape from decade to decade, in a process that will continue as long as the glaciers remain part of the landscape.

We reach Vik around 5:00 pm and decided to go up to a nearby headland before taking a room in the hostel there. This headland sports dramatic seastacks, natural arches, and seacliffs, where puffins can be found (in season). Most puffins leave by early August so we saw none, but we did find some of their cliff-top burrows. We also took in the scenery for a couple of hours and wandered around enjoying the natural sounds and smells of the sea.