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Traveling Iceland’s South Coast: Svínafellsjökull

There are 13 main glaciers in Iceland, covering 11% of the country – the biggest is located in Skaftafell National Park. The Svínafellsjökull glacier tongue is a breathtaking outlet glacier of the Vatnajökull glacier. And today, we hiked it!

The wintery terrain is so cinematic, that the movie Interstellar was filmed there. Our guide told us that we might even be lucky enough to find leftover pieces from the Hollywood shoot. (we didn’t)

We were all required to wear hiking boots and outfitted with a helmet, crampons and an ice ax, while our guide, who has survival training, carried a 20 lb pack with a climbing harness, rope, fissure-rescuing equipment.

Some fun facts:

The glacier is made up of fallen snow, not frozen water.
The accumulated snow gets compressed over hundreds of years, eventually turning it into ice.
The ice eventually gets so compact that most of the air is forced out of it, resulting in that crystal blue colour.
The older the ice, the better.
Where glacier flows more rapidly, giant cracks called crevasses or fissures are formed, which can be covered over by snow.
The glacier is constantly changing shape as it melts and freezes under warm daylight and freezing nights.
The marbling on the glacier is what happens when crevasses opened and closed up again.

A few safety pointers from our guide:

The glacier has crevasses in many places.
Always walk in single file on the glacier because the snow conceals such deep crevasses.
Minimum number for hiking on a glacier with crevasses is 5-6 people.
For balance, we were told to walk like a cowboy – the more exaggerated the stance, the better.

As I never hiked on a glacier before, I was a little nervous at first. I was afraid that I’d lose my footing or fall down in a deep crevasse 165 feet deep. But after a few minutes of bendy legged walking with straight back and small steps, and the sound of ice being crunched underfoot, I was able to relax and enjoy the lunar-like landscape.

And instead of being at the front of the line, closest to the guide for the most assistance, I was one of the last ones. All the more to lag behind and take more photos.

The drive back to Reykjavik was a little brutal though. With no other stops along the way, save for washroom pitstop at gas stations, it took nearly 5 hours. I was exhausted by the time I was dropped off at my AirBnB.

But what an adventure! I even made a friend on the tour. Another solo traveler from Japan named Kaoru. And after a shower and decompressing, we met up at the famous Saegreifinn aka Sea Baron by the Reykjavik Harbour to partake in what was touted as the “world’s greatest lobster soup.” And it didn’t disappoint.

At $12 CDN a bowl, it may have been pricey, but it was tasty and hit the spot. Just don’t mind the wax figure of the owner. A great way to celebrate my last day in Reykjavik.