Jökulsárlón (Glacier Lagoon)

The most unexpected experiences are always the ones most worth remembering. That seems to be the way things work out in my life anyway.. but anyway, I decided to take a risk and visit Iceland a little while ago. Many people miss this place out because of it's wayward position relative to the rest of Europe, it is disconnected from the main land mass of Europe, but unlike the United Kingdom, it is not visible from the main costs of Europe.

Iceland is considered a Scandinavian country where most of it's original settlers come from. For much of it's more recent history, it has been closely tied to Denmark. Contrary to popular belief, the island is actually not made of ice. It is a full body of land with many active volcanoes which continue to disrupt the island today.

The central highlands are the coldest part of the country and where you will find most of the permanent glaciers and snow. On average, the temperature reaches about 13 degrees celsius in the summer, and has average lows of about -3 degrees C in the winter. This is quite unexpected because of it's close proximity to the arctic circle. However, because of the warm north atlantic currents, Iceland enjoys much warmer temperatures than other places of similar latitude.

I decided to visit the southeast of Iceland where I was promised some real land forms naturally composed of ice. Actually, the place is called Glacier Lagoon and is one of Iceland's most popular attractions because of it's inherent beauty.

In Icelandic, the Glacier Lagoon is called Jökulsárlón and is one of Iceland's natural crown jewels. The ice chunks here are like large diamonds and hence it's other nickname, the "Diamond beach".

What's amazing is this place is pretty much the same all year round. It is situated next to Vatnajökull which is Europe's largest glacier, and around it, you will find Iceland's largest national park which is also the second biggest national park in Europe.