Our second day here in Iceland began with a sunny morning of beading.
[Here's a shot of our farm house hotel. The farm's on the right, the room buildings on the left.]

Some of the women (like my roommate Kathy) woke up very early to slip into the dining room and bead. Others (like me) slept in a bit later to counter the last remaining effects of jet-lag. But as soon as breakfast was over with, the whole group was working right along. We completed more of our spirals, chatting and sharing beads and tips along the way.

We worked straight through to lunch. After we ate, everyone piled into the bus and headed North on the "Ring Road." (The highway, there's only one - Highway 1, circles the island, hence the name.)

 
Though I was still in the same outfit, at this point I'd had a shower, and my clothes has been washed.  That, coupled with the rainbow we encountered along the way put me in a much better mood.

Our eventual destination was the largest glacier in Iceland, Vatnajökull. It's beyond massive, at around 3,200 square miles. It's also the largest glacier in all of the European continent.

We drove around the glacier and mountains around it for the better part of 2 hours, and eventually stopping at Jökulsárlón, the Glacier Lagoon. This is where the run-off from the glacier flows out to meet the ocean.

The lagoon's studded with icebergs, a few of which hold some seals! These two seemed to be hoping for a suntan.

 
On our amphibious boat tour, the guide pulled a small floating bit of iceberg onto the boat. She chopped it up, offering everyone a taste of something 1,000-1,500 years old. Of course I was game!

I couldn't help but snap a photo as I tasted this amazingly pure ice. It's colder than normal ice, and so dense that I couldn't chew it even when it had melted down to a very tiny piece.

After the boat tour rolled back onto land, we all gathered on the hill overlooking the lagoon for a group shot.

Yet again I was thankful for the generosity of my travel-mates. Without my borrowed sweater, scarf, and vest I don't think my thin t-shirt would've cut it out on that windy boat.