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July 30, 2024
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Puffins and Sneaker Waves and Glaciers (Oh My!)

The weather today was super promising! Small chance of rain, medium chance of sunlight, and big chance for adventure! Our first stop was the home of the Puffins!

Boy do they look awkward when they try to fly! From every angle and every view, take off or landing! But they are very colorful and cute!

Our next stop was one of the many black sand beaches. This beach has a warning system, green — explore with caution, yellow — don’t get too close, red — stay in the parking lot. Never turn your back on the ocean and watch closely for rogue waves.

The plan for the afternoon included the Katla ice cave tour, a lava show, or chilling at the house with the grandkids. The ice cave tour is on the Mýrdalsjökull glacier which is on top of the Katla volcano, currently well overdue for an eruption! No need to worry it is very closely monitored and the guides all have an evacuation plan should an unexpected eruption occur.

It is quite a ride just to get to the glacier, and our guide definitely subscribed to the theory that you can minimize the impact of potholes in the road by driving as fast as possible over them! The glacier itself isn’t like other glaciers as it is covered in ash, and the ice itself has many layers of ice with ash in between the different layers.

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As part of our hike we also got to help maintain the trail for those coming after us. Just a little work with an ice pick.

After returning to the house I started the spaghetti for supper and Tanner and Johannes headed to the lava show. We also tried it the sauna and hot tub on the deck. This house is so amazing views of the ocean out one window glaciers and horses out the other!