The latest eruption on the Reykjanes peninsular has been declared over, but you can walk to the eruption site. It's 4.7km one way, so we set off about 9am from the car park. The track was actually a road also used by the Volcano Shuttle, who were charging 70 Euros for the trip. Had I known the eruption would have ended as quickly as it did, I would have taken the Shuttle option on the day we first stopped here, the day we arrived. I didn't feel up for the hike at the time due to jet lag. Shoulda woulda coulda.
Today was perfect weather wise, sunny, warm and zero wind to speak of. It was a pleasant walk, rocky underfoot sometimes as we are walking over an ancient lava field to get to the new one.
We could feel the heat from the lava and see the heat shimmer above the lava field. There was quite a strong smell too, and it took me a while to figure what it reminded me of, but it smelt a bit like fireworks.
I sent the drone up for some photos, had to bring it back twice because the stupid gimbal wasn't working properly and everything was crooked. Finally got it sorted. No red hot lava to be seen unfortunately, but it was still awesome to witness it up close.
 |
| Smokin |
The peak in the middle is the largest eruption site, the fissure was about 2km long. Hard to estimate how far away it was, best guess 2+ km. You can see it's still smoking. The photo also shows the ancient lava flow now covered in moss, being overtaken by the new black lava.
This is a close up of the woolly fringe moss that grows over the lava. Here it was a bluey/purple colour, brighter than it shows in the pix.
 |
| Woolly fringe moss |
 |
| Ok then |
This is the very end of the lava flow as it's finally come to a halt. B is standing between flows on the ground, not on the lava itself.
 |
| Heat shimmer |
 |
Panorama showing the new lava filling the valley
|
 |
| Sending the drone for a look |
 |
| Selfie |
 |
| Monitoring equipment |
Once we got back to the van we headed to Grindavik for a quick stop at the lighthouse and to make some lunch.
We made a stop at the site of the big eruption from 2023, that destroyed the car park at the Blue Lagoon and has essentially caused Grindavik to be abandoned, at least temporarily.
 |
| Lava just spilled onto the road |
You can see the dam wall in the background that they built to keep the worst of the lava from the town. However the ground is still unstable and there are parts where large cracks have opened up that are fenced off. The campground is open, but the supermarket is closed, as is the service station. Hard to see how the town can survive without those essential services.
We headed to Reykjavik to camp for the night, and do an initial pack. I've checked in for the Keflavik to New York leg.
We have some final chores to do in town tomorrow morning and will head out to the airport to drop off the trusty camper.
It's really good camp site here, great facilities and easy to get to from the main road into Reykjavik. Plenty of stoves and sinks, tables and chairs and most importantly, showers are included 👌 I can at least start the 30+ hour trip home clean!
Comments
Post a Comment