Whenever we go to Iceland one of the things I’ve always wanted to view is an active eruption. But they always happen just after we leave and stop just before we go.
Today an eruption has begun on the Reykjanes Peninsula, the eleventh in just over four years and the eighth since December 2023. The eruption appears to have occurred just southeast of Mt Þorbjörn.
And as quick as it arrives, it’ll disperse just as quick. So by the time you get to peruse this video, it may well be over. Sorry about that. That’s Mother Nature for you.
Live volcano cam
And we were there about five weeks ago. Missed it again….damn.
All joking aside, here’s praying everyone in the area stays safe.
Today will be consumed by just the one activity, we are heading down to the south coast of the island, somewhere we have never visited before. So today will be Black beaches, Volcanoes, Glaciers and Waterfalls. We’ve been looking forward to this one.
On our way we passed the volcano Nick named by those who struggle with the Icelandic language as E15. Why E15? Well it began with the letter “E” and has 15 other letters after it that’s why! Its proper name is Eyjafjallajökull, you will know of it, as it was the one the erupted in 2010 causing all the disruption to European airspace as its massive cloud blanketed Europe. It looked so serene from the bus as we passed by on our journey south.
Eyjafjallajökull from the route one road
Leaving early from the city centre we were heading out on Route 1, the island circular road that encompasses the island, we will be heading south for approx 2.5hrs towards Reynisfjara beach just outside the town of Vik.
From this point on I’m going to post some pictures as written text does not do these places justice.
Reynisfjara beach
Reynisfjara beach
Strong seas at the black beach
Rock formations on the black beach
And this video at the black beach sums it all up. It was shot in normal full colour mode but all you can see is black and white, maybe the odd colourful coat or two on passing tourists.
Full colour, but black and white
After some time at the beach just drinking in its mystical majesty and getting some fantastic pictures we moved on to the town of Vik, about 20 minutes away to have some lunch. A very pleasant Lamb Stroganoff later we moved on to our next point of interest.
Sólheimajökull Glacier
Sólheimajökull glacier is a perfect example of how global warming is effecting the last remaining glaciers in Iceland, that are retreating year on year at quite an alarming rate. However, it is a beautiful site, what is left. They say that within 150 years there will be no remaining Glaciers on this island.
Sólheimajökull glacier
Glacier ice pack
Panorama capturing the glacier decline. Only a few years ago this entire lake was solid glacial ice, now the only remaining glacier can be seen on the far right.
From here we went on to visit our first of two waterfalls we would be seeing today and this first one has always been one I have wanted to visit.
Skógafoss falls
Skogafoss falls are purely wonderful. With a four hundred plus step climb up to its top you can look down onto the river as it makes its descent to the ground below. It is a magical and most beautiful site surrounded by volcanoes and lush green land. (As the snow has all gone)
Skogafoss waterfall time lapse
Volcano
Long climb up the side
Skogafoss waterfall standard shot
From here we moved on to our second waterfall and last point on today’s trip. This waterfall has a uniquely individual twist to it, you can actually walk behind it if the weather is good enough, and today it was fine. Just be prepared to get wet as it’s a constant mist of water all the way around.
It’s been a day of pure majesty and scenes of some of natures finest displays of grandeur and beauty. We haven’t even began to scratch the surface of some of the places we can visit here, there is so much more to see and do. And I’m certainly hoping we are back here again soon as we are both still very much in love with this island.
I won’t be posting a day 5 post as that will be a day of recovery from all the walking, some packing and dinner at the Hard Rock Reykjavik. All pretty boring stuff. I will however do a little recap post with some other pictures when we arrive back in the Uk. So thanks for looking in, it’s always appreciated. Back to boring old fixing stuff next week.
Anyone who’s been to this part of the world has probably been on the golden circle tour, which is a great introduction to what this area has to offer.
However we are not, as we’ve been here before and done that, so the next couple of days will be spent doing variations of that trip to our own agenda. Today was one of those days. We’ve spent the morning after breakfast browsing the area. I always look for an item to take home that will remind me of our visit and today I think I have found the item I would like. It’s a piece of art on glass painted by a superb glass artist named Ella Rosinkrans. Ella is one of only a few glass artists on the island and has been designing and creating these art forms for about the last 25 yrs. it also helps living near the Eyjafjallajökull volcano as all the black portions of her art contain ash from this volcano that caused so much disruption back in 2010 when its eruption closed airspace over Europe for a number of weeks.
Anyway I will be purchasing one of her items as a memento of this visit. We will be back to her studio on day 5 to collect it.
Whilst browsing the shops we came across this one. the shop name loosely translates as “The Golden Cat” it hadn’t opened yet, however patiently waiting at the door for opening time was….a black cat.
The cat patiently waiting for the shop to open
We then popped around to the original Reykjavik cathedral just down by the old government building.
The old Cathedral The Cathedral interior Cathedral roofCathedral organ Cathedral exterior The old government building “Alping”
As with a lot of Reykjavik this cathedral had a big connection to Denmark. it was built by the Danish king at the time, built for the people around a time of great hardship as a place where they could all congregate for safety.
We then moved on to our next activity.
The Blue lagoon here in Iceland is on the to do list for many. Based near the town of Grindavik the scene of recent volcanic activity, this is a geo thermal spa where the water is pumped from the local power station. The area has been subject to emergency closures and is still under such an order due to the unpredictability of the seismic activity in the area. We’ve visited before so this year we have decided to try another lagoon closer to the city centre. We have found one just 15min drive out side of Reykjavik called the Sky Lagoon.
Sky Laggon Reykjavik (Picture Skylagoon)
Only opened in recent years this is a custom built lagoon / Spa where the order of the day is to take in the Skjól bathing ritual a seven stage experience that relaxes and invigorates you inside and out. I was sceptical but I must admit it’s a worthwhile experience although the cold sessions were quite horrendous seeing the outside temperature was -6. As I said it was a worthwhile experience.
Lovely hot water.
Sauna view
Various locations around the lagoon
The day finished with us all feeling refreshed, we then headed back to the city where we convened at a bar for some dinner. One of our party is a football fan whose team were playing and fortunately they won so the day came to a pleasant happy ending.
Twister cocktail
The Twister cocktail was a nice way to finish the evening, I believe it consisted of Rum. Peach schnapps and other bits. Oh, and an ice lolly on the top. Good stuff!
This is our third visit to Iceland and today has been a long one due to us travelling for the most part of it. However I’d like to share these little snippets with you.
Last night was special we witnessed the Aurora Borealis right over our heads in the centre of the city. Quite a spectacular show. Aurora Borealis – Northern lights, Iceland
We also did a few touristy things and here is some of what we saw and did.
A bicycle for four
Some fantastic paintings
The old parliament buildings looking out towards the mountains. Looks so different without the snow that normally adorns the area
We popped in a local bar to watch a game of football and to grab something to eat and drink. The beer – local IPA was nice, the brand name was questionable though 😂
And I don’t mean Carlsberg 😂
And did you know what the third most popular tourist attraction in Reykjavik is? it’s probably not what you think but it is, the Icelandic Phallological Museum otherwise known as the museum of the Penis. Stay with me now…it’s quite an experience.
The museum is a collection of “Penis’s” from animals around the globe and every mammal on the island is represented. It all stems from the curators fascination with the form from an early age and this collection was formed as a result. That said there are also “representative” examples of creatures from folklore such as “Trolls”. Just have a look at the link I posted above to find out more yourself.
However the cafeteria and bar area is quite something itself with tee shirts, gifts and food a plenty all in keeping with the subject of the museum.
Phallic shaped wafflesPhallic shaped wine decantersEntry sign into the museumThe Big Cock ale was a nice pint….believe me.
The food and drink is of a very good standard, the surprising fact is that a massive 60% of all visitors are female. That is the very hing that strikes you as you walk in, just how many women work there and are also there as visitors. You do hear an awful lot of laughing and it is all mostly tongue in cheek fun. A day out. It’s worth popping your head in the door and having a visit though. I’ll save pictures of the exhibits for another day, as waking up to a barrage of penis pictures doesn’t feature high on everyone’s daily agenda.
Day one in Iceland has been full on since we’ve arrived, we had a superb flight, good transport to the city centre, and have had a jam packed day since just doing everything the tourist does. Including booking a number of tours off of the beaten track rather than the usual ones we have done in the past.
The Aurora above Reykjavik
We’ve had some dinner this evening and retired to the bar and everyone is very tired now. I doubt there is no one in our small group who hasn’t been up now for at least 19 hrs and we are all starting to flag. However, i have looked at the Aurora forecast map and it’s going to be a lovely clear night with at least a 40% chance of seeing the Aurora Borealis.
Just Bloody StunningWowNature put on a show for us tonight
Though most are wanting to hit the sack, I convince them to give me 20 minutes more just to take a walk down to the harbour. It’s blowing a hooley. The wind is biting and it’s almost -8 in temperature. It’s not a pleasant evening.
But, boy were we treated to a beautiful light show in the heavens tonight. Lots of people pay good money to go out on these Northern light hunting trips, when for nothing, tonight a show took place above the city as it usually does, when the conditions are right, for free.
What a fantastic sight, and whilst walking back to our hotel it was lovely to hear people say. “We are glad we followed your advice tonight Dave, and went out for that little walk.” The thing is that time in situations like this is precious and you have to make the most of your time. We could have missed this spectacular scene for the sake of being controlled by tiredness.
We’ve seen them in the past at a very low level, but tonight surpassed our expectations. It’s not often that nature puts on a show for free, but when she does, she does it in a spectacular fashion.
What was the last thing you searched for online? Why were you looking for it?
Well, you asked so I have answered. I’m currently working a nightshift and it’s slowed down a tad so I’m just checking up on what was going on in one of my favourite places on earth. I usually check in and read the news and this is what I found.
Volcano still active
The volcano is still erupting around the fault line, it comes and goes quite regularly but this last one was quite spectacular.
An ice cave collapsed killing one person i believe, however all others have been rescued and are safe.
A 16 yo is in custody after stabbing some people at a concert, it seems the world’s cancer has now reached this beautiful place.
I kind of wish I hadn’t made that search.
Hey ho, that is quite depressing.
Stay safe everyone, who knows one day Peace might be infectious.
Foxes Den 
You must be logged in to post a comment.