Short trip to the volcano eruption
This month's image was taken during a super spontaneous and super short trip to Iceland in late July 2023. It's been a while since I have been wanting to see (and feel) the lava up close.
The volcano Fagradalsfjall at Reykjanes erupted for the very first time in March 2021, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. But it was still active in mid-June 2021, so we were able to visit it. But somehow we were not really impressed. By then, the lava had flooded most of the access trails, and the new official viewpoints were all located far away from the fresh lava flow. We could neither hear the volcano roaring nor feel the scalding heat nor detect any smell. And even worse: We could hardly see the red glow. That's why we did not consider heading there again during the second eruption that took place in August 2022. Besides that, it was a really short one and lasted only 19 days.
Nevertheless I couldn't get the volcano out of my head. The spouting lava looked absolutely fascinating on the all the images and videos!
So the moment the third eruption began at 4:40 PM on 10th of July 2023, I was also "on fire". First, I had a really hard time trying to convince Steffen that we HAD to go there... But after a while I succeeded. Checking in right after booking a flight was completely new to us. It was a bit crazy considering the price, but there we were: Heading to Iceland one more time. :-)
It's only a 3-hour-flight from Berlin. But we had to leave home early to arrive on time at the airport. The alarm clock rang at 6:30 AM and we arrived in Iceland at 2 PM. After picking up the rental car and after heading to the grocery story, the weather looked better than the forecast. Way better, in fact! And if there is one thing that you learn quickly in Iceland: Never miss a good opportunity, since Mother Nature is notoriously unpredictable on this island.
Well... We drove to the official parking lot, rested a little bit and at 6 PM we started the (loooong...) walk. By then, there were quite a few people returning to the parking lot already. But we were not the only ones heading out there for sunset. The hike consisted of a lot of ups and downs and steeper climbs over sometimes really rough terrain. But all the effort was well worth it! From top of a small hill called Litli-Hrútur, 312 m (1024 feet) above ground, we had an amazing bird's-eye view of the caldera. And we could finally feel the tremendous heat! And yes, there was also quite a smell in the air!
And although it still isn't very dark during the night in late July, the atmosphere was really spooky. As you can see on this month's image taken at midnight the fields of moss caught fire and our hill was surrounded by low, creeping fog. And some visitors had issues finding their way back to the car that night, due to some thicker patches of fog.
Back at the parking lot in the early morning hours we had walked 40.000 steps (~31 km / ~19 miles). And we weren't done yet, since our accomodation (the only reasonably priced) was located in Eyrarbakki, far away from the volcano. By the time we finally jumped into bed (well, it was more a "falling" into it... ;-) ...), it was 6 AM... Almost exactly 24 hours after the alarm clock rang while we were still at home. And 6 hours later we had to check out of the hotel again.
So during the next day we were still exhausted. Exhausted but happy! ;-)
Just five days later, we were back at the airport and on our way to Berlin. What a crazy trip!
Steffen loved the midnight sun at Brúarfoss and our hikes in the incredible Fjallabak even more than the volcano.
But for me, the old saying is definitely true: Third time (at the volcano) is a charm! ;-)
Image data: 1/6 s at f/14, ISO 3200; Canon 24-105 mm 1:4 L IS USM at 14 mm; Canon EOS R5
Related Links: Our images from Iceland