July 3

We drove by many moraines, a landscape feature we know well in Michigan and landscape that is desert, in fact the largest in in Europe. The landscape is either covered with large rocks , gravel or fine black volcanic sand. On many of the walks you must be as surefooted as a mountain goat. Sometimes I get carried away climbing to get a picture, look down and remember I don’t like heights. Bobby, one of the members of our group is always at the highest point, the sheerest cliff, the most risky spot to get the shot. It has become a close race between Bobby and Wendy to reach the prime spot with no people in your shots.

Today we walked along a beach where the volcanic stone was similar to that that covered Pompeii, igminorrite lava. (Susan Keilb if you read this please check this fact) It is a green stone, a fast cooling lava. We walked along the beach and gathered stones.

Later in the day went to a glacier lagoon. After the war in Vietnam the American government sold a large number of semi amphibious vehicles, duck boats, which were purchased by tourist venues around the world. We road in a duck boat on the lagoon,among the glacier calves. What a remarkable sight/ site. Glaciers are only 10% above the surface of the water and we passed among some remarkably large chunks of ice. It was a very overcast day but the colours were amazing. The guide showed a small piece of ice, the water in it would be about 1000 years old, it sparkled like a large diamond. We stopped at one spot where we were at the lowest point in Iceland and I front of us was a mountain that is the highest point in Iceland.

Our hotel for the next two nights is on the edge of a glacier field.