Ring Road Iceland - Vik

In the shadow of Mýrdalsjökull glacier sits the tiny seaside village of Vik. It only has 300 inhabitants but it is not short of services for the locals and tourists. Vik has much to offer and most of it all within walking distance. 

Starting in town, Vik is rich in maritime history but quite surprisingly has never had a harbour, largely due to strong waves and shallow shores making it too difficult for ships to navigate without stranding. However, the nearby museum centres around Skaftfellingur, a trading ship that serviced the south coast for 20 years (1918-1939). Renown for saving a crew in 1942 from a German submarine, the ship was salvaged in its entirety in 2001 and made available to see in the museum. 

Up on the hill is the famously photographed Vikurkirkja Church. With its white walls and red rooftop, the church is a safe haven should the highly active volcano, Katla, erupt. Katla is covered by Mýrdalsjökull's ice cap and it erupts every 40-80 years (16 eruptions have been recorded to date). Although the last eruption was in 1918, scientists predict that an eruption may occur soon. Should that happen, the concern is that it would cause a flash flood big enough to annihilate the whole town, hence making the church the safest place to be. 

If having an active volcano beneath a substantial glacier isn't impressive enough then imagine an ice cave beneath the volcano. It is referred to as Katla's Ice Cave Dome. With crampons on, I climbed a few steps on ladders to the entrance of the cave where I was greeted by a narrow snake-like ice tunnel before entering the dome. The opening that formed in the ceiling made me feel like I was standing in a cathedral. In 2018 a secondary cave was discovered inside this one when a new opening was found. I'm told that ice caves are an ever-changing phenomenon making each visit different from the last. 

Black sand beaches permeate through southern Iceland or anywhere with volcanic activity since the sand, as I mentioned in my letter from Höfn, is cooled lava shattered into small particles. However, the black sand beach of Reynisfjara, a short walking distance from town, is the most famous. It provides access to Reynisdrangar, two basalt sea stacks that are all that's left of a cliff (just like the 12 Apostles on Great Ocean Road, Australia). In folklore the stacks are said to be two trolls who unsuccessfully tried to drag a three-masted ship to land and when daylight hit, they became needles of rock.

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