Jokulsarlon is 'glacier lake' in Icelandic. And it does what it says on the tin. Like most bits of the Icelandic landscape, it's both very young and constantly in flux. It only formed in the last hundred years as the huge Breidamerkurjokull glacier started retreating faster and faster, shedding meltwater and calving icebergs into the growing lagoon in front of it. Now the lagoon is huge, and swarms of icebergs float majestically around it, eventually massing in the short river that flows under the suspension bridge carrying Route 1 to Hofn, and collapsing spectacularly and flowing out to sea. Big chunks of ice wash up on the black volcanic sand beach beyond the bridge and are gradually worn away by the waves.
Last night we were lucky enough to see the annual fireworks display at the lake - the icebergs lit up by flickering flames, and rockets shooting for the stars, staged by reckless Icelanders who zipped round the lagoon in motorboats and clambered all over the bergs to set off the fireworks. It was heaving with excited locals and tourists, and we drove home at midnight in a wildly out of character miles-long queue of traffic on the normally deserted road.
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