The collected writings of a Renegade Tourist

Tag Glacier

Walking on ice

Today we had a glacier tour booked, but since it was all the way back in Skaftafell, we got up as usual, hopped in the car and drove off, going west this time so we could see the scenery from the other side as we zoomed by. Except for picking up a forlorn hitchhiker standing in the rain, it was a smooth and uneventful drive.

At skaftafell we had a quick lunch, put on all the warm clothes we had with us and reported to the glacier guides. They fitted us with safety harnesses, helmets, ice axes and crampons (kind … Read the rest

Svinafellsjökull 2:10 pm

The rhythmic crunch of spike-soled boots on ice, the air is cool and crisp but my body is hot from exertion. Spread out in front of me is jumbled field of snow and ice, crisscrossed by crevices and gullies, sprinkled with volcanic ash and dotted here and there with puddles of absolutely clear water where the blue core of the ice shows through. Even if you’ve grown up with snow and ice, this is quite an experience.… Read the rest

Long drive and glaciers

We left Vik this morning and drove out into the ever changing, ever spectacular Icelandic landscape. Due to the rain, we only made a few stops to look at the scenery and quickly made it to Skaftafell national park.

Skaftafell is an outlier of Vatnajökull, one of the worlds biggest glaciers. Due to … Read the rest

Road no 1, afternoon

The black sand eventually gives way to some sparse yellow grass spreading out over the fields, the snowy mountains looming closer, masses of ice blocks from the glacier spilling out onto the grass. The road curves away from the mountains, running through fields of greenish yellow, the glaciers tumbling down in the distance. The road curves back and the mountains grow higher but less steep, slopes of sand running down towards the sea. The grass grows higher and the mountains become darker again and more rocky, tendrils of broken black cliffs crawling out on the plane, the road snaking between … Read the rest

Titlis glacier 1:52 pm

The view from up here is magnificent; all around in the distance the stupendous mountains of the Swiss Alps, snow-clad broken tips and bare cliff faces. The sky is overcast but lively and and on the horizon, just above the mountain tops, is a gap in the clouds showing a strip of azure blue. The weather however is bad, my provisional winter clothes that have worked well so far, are insufficient to withstand the cold. The wind blows icy needles into my face that sting my eyes and my hands quickly turn to frozen lumps. I cannot remain here. No … Read the rest

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