Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Day 5 - Katla Ice Cave

who needs words?
when everything is crystal clear
when happiness is so sincere
across this universe
Who Needs Words - Young Gun Silver Fox

Day 5 was a Friday and I was going to Katla ice cave. I guess I was a bit nervous because I don't know how physical it was going to get. It was a long drive to get to the starting point, Vik, which I had been on the Monday that week. To break the long drive, there was a stop at the waterfalls which I already saw on Monday. What was different was that the landscape was no longer white and covered in snow and instead of blue sky, it was cloudy with a little drizzle. I guess it made it quite interesting for me to see the same waterfalls in a completely different light. First stop that morning was the Skógafoss waterfall. The guide mentioned there's a staircase that we could take to see the top of the waterfall and the river that feeds the water. When I saw it, I was thinking how come I didn't notice it on Monday, but maybe it was closed that day due to the snow. Since I have seen the waterfall before, I thought why not climb these stairs. It wasn't easy, like almost halfway I was thinking, why am I doing this?!? Shouldn't I be conserving energy for the cave? But when you're halfway, you just have to commit to it and I made it. I was quite relieved when I saw a teen boy who was taller and looked fitter than me bending over to catch his breath, because then I know it was really not easy, not just for me who don't exercise :D There was also a dad in my group who took the stairs and he was behind me, he was on the large size and I was worried if he could make it without incident, but he did and I was glad for him :D On top of the waterfall, we could see the river of this waterfall which Google told me is the Skógá river and if you walked a bit along this river, you would see a smaller tiered waterfalls in the river. Now that the cliff around the waterfall was not covered in snow, I saw there were many birds on them. I wonder where the birds went when it was covered in snow.

Arriving in Vik, we only had a small break which was actually not enough to have a proper meal. Before I left that morning I bought a pastry (just one this time) from the bakery near the hotel which I love and so during the break I quickly gulped that down. I was worried that the pastry, big as it was, was not sufficient but we had to make do. I think I lost some weight during this whole trip due to the many steps taken each day; it was more than 10,000 each day and there were even more than 20,000-step days; but I think I have gotten them back now. When we re-grouped, our driver guide divided our group into 2 separate jeeps and that jeep took us nearer to the cave entrance. It was quite a long ride where after the paved road we were on black volcanic dirt. When someone commented that it was bumpy, it reminded me of the drive in Kenya last year :D The jeep then stopped at this one place where we were given crampon. Now I have read about this before coming and was quite concerned about having to put it on. Since I had no experience with winter gears, I had concerns if I had the right shoes. By the way, I got many of my winter clothings from Decathlon because it's just way cheaper than the alternative and I was really thankful that they exist and they're fast. My shoes should be right for the occassion but I was still concerned. When the guide passed me the crampon, he just pointed which part the front one was and that information didn't help at all. He was busy with other people so I couldn't really ask for more explanation, so I asked a girl who was sitting next to me in the jeep and turned out the crampon is like a slip on. You position the toe part first and drag the back part to fit the back of your shoes. Another girl asked that girl if she had her ones correctly, so I guess it's also a new experience for some people too. Other than the crampon, we're given helmet too. The crampon helped a lot when walking on the ice. It made me feel safe. It gave a crunch crunch sound as we walked. Someone in the group said it sounded so crunchy :D It was some walk to where the cave was, but I was just in awe with what I saw. Mind you there was a drizzle, but the landscape was so different.

On booking this trip, I was thinking there might not be many people going for this so I really had my concerns because this was the most physical activity I booked and I was worried if I would be the weaker one in the group :$ but turned out there were so many people doing this. At one point suddenly behind me a group of Singaporeans arrived. I think they're a tour group. I identified them by accent. I didn't say "hi" because, well as bad as I am to say this, I don't think Singaporeans are the friendly bunch especially to one who is not one of their own who comes from places like mine. Anyways, so we're all waiting below this ice arch (picture below) because they could only let a few people at a time in the ice cave. I have to say that the cave I went to was different from the pictures. The guide was explaining that nothing is permanent there, depending on how the ice grow and melt, new caves are formed and some caves may not be accessible. Even the arch we're under was getting smaller. So he said the guides always have to find ways to adjust the trip. He had an ice pick and he said that the water in the blue ice is pure so he hacked some of it and told us we could try it if we wanted to. After many others took the pieces, there wasn't a small piece left, so I didn't. Google told me that the black streak in the ice was of black ash from past volcanic eruptions.

So we're divided into smaller group to enter the cave and it was dark inside, kinda couldn't see much, but it was still interesting and at the same time scary for me. That is because there's like a stream with strong current by our pathways and there's only so little space to walk and this small space had to accomodate people going in and out in a single file. There's rope you could hold on but I became kinda edgy inside and I kinda snapped when someone behind me asked, are we not moving? I had to tell him there's nowhere to go because the people in front of me hadn't left and I proceeded to tell him and his excited group, please can we go slow. I couldn't take many pictures inside because it's dark and because there's people waiting, I chose not to stay long. This picture below was not a good one, but it shows a bit of the stream with the strong current which I was so afraid I was going to fall into. I wonder where I would end up at if I did fall into it.

After that short time in the cave, it was a walk back to where the jeeps were and this walk back was the most memorable thing about the whole trip or even my whole time in Iceland. A good thing about it was there was some time where the people in front of me and behind me were some distance away and I felt like I was the only person in that out-of-this-planet landscape. Yes there was a drizzle, it was cold, but I didn't care. There were some streams around which I think was from the melting ice and I don't know how high we were but there's like a mist or cloud shrouding the landscape and it felt ethereal. You know, somehow seeing the landscape of mountains or black rocks covered in snow in Iceland like below always made me think of a whale. It was truly the best experience I had in Iceland. I may sound ungrateful for not being amazed much with all that I had experienced in the days before but this one thing is truly the most memorable one. It is something I would hold on in my heart as that wonderful blessing God took me to see, a completely new experience, one that I may not encounter again elsewhere. My words are really not adequate to express what it was like to me, the awe and wonder.

For pictures from the trip to Katla ice cave, you can go here. On the way back to Reykjavik, we stopped by Seljalandsfoss waterfall which I also already saw on Monday and so I decided to walk more towards the smaller waterfalls. Turns out at the end there was this waterfall which is quite hidden. I saw the path towards it, but I didn't take it because I was alone (I guess the rest in the group were tired, they didn't really get out) and I don't know how long the path was and I was running out of time. Like the Skógafoss waterfall in the morning, it was quite interesting to see Seljalandsfoss and its friends in a different light without all the snow covering them.

Now, earlier that day I received the message that the aurora tour which was cancelled the day before was on that day. I was hopeful it would all work out, but then the drive to Reykjavik was taking longer and I started to get worried. We're supposed to arrive around 8 pm, but we're not even close. My pick up for the aurora tour was 09:30 pm. I really wished I could arrive as early as possible so that I could clean up a bit and eat a bit. I got dropped off just before 09:00 pm and it was a dash to get cup noodle ready and tripod ready. I don't have a habit of bringing instant noodle on trips but did so purposely for this and since I couldn't find soupy Pop Mie here, I had to settle with Nissin and I prepared for it but it still annoyed me that it didn't come with eating utensils. I mean, what?!?! How are you supposed to eat this supposedly convenient food if the one tool you need to eat it is not provided? *sigh* Well, as I said, knowing that possibility, I have brought the necessary utensils. Somehow I managed to eat, get the tripod ready, and was punctual at the bus stop for pick up. I was worried about this because since I arrived, I have gotten very sleepy around 09:30 pm or so and to stay up until late was something that I wondered I could do especially after a physically tiring day, a day which was also perhaps the wettest and coldest I'd been. A lot of prayers to God to help me through this. We're driven to a place which the map said would be clear enough to see the aurora. There's a lighthouse nearby and the sound of the sea. I have googled the forecast myself so I couldn't blame the guide for choosing the place which other guides also chose because there were other groups as well. When we arrived, we could see the moon somehow covered a bit by cloud but there's reason to be positive because of the forecast. It was really cold, another worry for me if I could make it. The guide gave us hot chocolate and it helped stop my shivering and he also gave us some chocolate too to snack on. Now you see this post and there's no more pictures because the weather somehow completely didn't work out. It was really cloudy, not like what the weather forecast said. The guide tried to go to another place but it's the same thing, then we went back to the first place and the moon was now completely covered. Is it stupid to be driven around in the middle of a cold night for nothing? Yes, but that is what happened to us. I guess if we had seen some, it would have been worth it, but gosh :( I tried y'all. There's nothing else I could do - I got someone to lend me a tripod, I tried to learn how to photograph aurora, I scheduled it as such so that I had options if one day didn't work out though perhaps I should have scheduled it better so that I had more nights available. The forecast was saying it was a good chance we could see something and the weather forecast showed clear sky on the area we're in but that part didn't materialize. It hit me hard, like God why? We have this saying in Indonesian, manusia berencana, Tuhan yang menentukan - human makes plan, but God decides. I don't know why God said no :( but I cannot be that pissed because He had protected me throughout and yes there was that wish to see the aurora but deep inside it was something that I thought was far fetched for me. I even remember saying to the guy who lent me the tripod that perhaps after all the effort, I got to see nothing at all. Maybe I jinxed myself there and then. I know that maybe a no from God is not a no, it's just a not yet, but if it really is a no, it's just one thing among the countless wonderful things and places He has taken me to experience. I was delivered back around 02:00 AM something and in the grand picture kinda way, what really important was I survived that long day. I was okay and I had experienced something that felt out of this world.

:) eKa @ 9:41:00 PM •