[This post is part of a series documenting my last trip to Iceland in October 2017. The previous post is here and the next post is here.]

I didn’t plan to drive very much today because I wanted to spend the day shooting ice at Jökulsárlón and the black sand beach on the other side of the road. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate at all as both the rain and wind were heavy, with the wind sometimes making it difficult to stand up.

Nonetheless, I parked on the beach side of the Ring Road, took a few shots there and then wandered under the bridge to the lagoon itself where there was plenty of ice. Contrast was low and it was challenging to keep water off of my lenses.

I then headed west on the Ring Road to the lesser known Fjallsárlón — really just down the road a bit from Jökulsárlón. The water was very churned up and the weather continued to make interesting photographs a challenge. One thing that did surprise me was the nice, paved road that leads most of the way to the lake. Last time I visited, the place had been completely undeveloped. A new restaurant has been built there, but it was very disappointing in that the only vegan option I could find was an apple. 😦

Before going to my hotel for the evening, I stopped at a favorite place — Svinafellsjökull, specifically the parking area just to the west of the outflow where you can walk to an overview of the glacier. I love that place!

I finished my day at the nearby Hotel Skaftafell, which is located close to Skaftafell, a part of Vatnajökull National Park. The hotel is also directly across the street from a combination market / restaurant / gas station with restrooms as well. I always stop here because it is so conveniently located on the edge of Skeiðarársandur. I haven’t noticed vegan options on the restaurant menu, but this is my reliable Oreo refill stop. And I fill my water bottle there as well. From the tap. Remember, don’t buy bottled water in Iceland — you don’t need it.

I liked the hotel a lot. Nothing fancy, but comfortable. And they have a vegan chili! And because they have multiple vegans on staff, there were no fewer than three different alternative milks at breakfast.

Plus the view! But I didn’t really see that until the next morning…

Proceed to Day 7.