Story

Prologue

The idea for this trip actually came from a movie that Nancy, a friend of mine, had sent me. It was a documentary about volcanism in Iceland including a descent into the crater pipe and the magma chamber of a volcano. This turned out to be the Thrihnugagigur volcano which is located about a half hour drive from Reykjavik.

Iceland was already a destination that was on my whishlist anyway, as a geologist, one should of course want to go there. So plans were made and finally, Nancy and I left on 18 June to Iceland for a trip along the South coast, over volcanoes and even a descent into a volcano.

After the arrival we explored the city and we visited a theatre show "How to be Icelandic in 60 minutes". This is a comedy show about Iceland and its inhabitants who are not averse to some self-mockery.

In the footsteps of Jule Verne

The next day was already a highlight (or actually a "lowlight") on the program. The descent into the Thrihnukagigur or three-mountain crater. A busservice took us to a ski station. Here, we met our guide who took us for hike over the lava field. We enjoyed the beautiful lava landscape and we crossed over some fissures, which are part of the mid-Antlantic fault system. The path was well marked and after about an hour we arrived at "base camp", from where the descent into the crater departs. At regular intervals, groups of 4 to 5 people left to the crater, after a safety briefing and geared up with a safety harness.

First, we made a short climb to the crater with beautiful views of the surrounding area. We were lowered into the crater with a workmen's elevator, an open box which was lowered with cables, usually used for window-cleaning on high-rise buildings. The crater pipe was narrow but after few minutes it widened to a gigantic space of 80 meters high. At a depth of 120 meters below the crater, we reached the bottum. The "cave" was amazing and the walls were brightly colored with almost all colors of the Rainbow that represented different minerals and elements, partly caused by weathering and partly under the influence of the magma of the 4000 year old space. Also there were dripstone formations, not caused by water but by liquid rock.

After 40 minutes, time was up unfortunately and we returned to the elevator which brought us back to the crater rim. After a cup of delicious hot Icelandic meal soup, we walked back to the ski station but not before visiting a lava tunnel.

Vestmannaeyjar

The next day we fetched our rented car and we drove towards Landyarshofn for the ferry crossing to Vestmannyaerjar. On the way we visited a thermal field and we did some shopping. After arrival in Heimaey, we dropped our stuff at the hostel and walked  into town. In 1973, Heimaey was struck by a gigantic volcanic eruption where the amount of lava spewed was incredible. It burried part of the town and almost threatened to block the harbour. Fortunately, by spraying seawater on the hot lava this could be prevented. The half-buried houses, however, still are the silent witnesses of this eruption and every year in July, the end of the eruption is celebrated.

The following days we used to explore the island, we did a 15 km hike around the island and we had a beautiful view on Surtsey from the west coast. Surtsey was created by volcanism as well. Of course, a climb of the Eldfell volcano, which formed during the 1973 eruption, should not to be missed. Beautiful colours characterised the crater and rock and the edge of the crater is still warm. In the crater the rock is so hot that one can bake a bread in there.

The next day Nancy climbed another hill, nicknamed the Amphitheater. In  the afternoon we took the ferry back to the mainland. After a stop at the Seljalandfoss waterfall,  we drove to Skogar for the night.

Hike onto a volcano

The next day, our trip on the Fimmvorduhals started, a famous but heavy track. This trekking can be done in 1 day (1100 meters climbing and 900 metres descending), however we chose to split the trekking and stay overnight in the Fimmvorduhals hut on the pass. The walk started with a climb along the famous Skogarfoss waterfall after which a path, gradually ascending, followed the Skogar River. We passed dozens of large and small waterfalls which, combined with the rugged and unearthly landscape, impressed a lot! From 600 metres on, as we crossed the river , we walked on a track through extensive ash and lava fields. The final piece turned out to be also the heaviest: first, we passed two large snow fields, which ended with a steep climb on the second one, finally a pretty steep climb to 1120 metres, to the hut. All this, however, was rewarded with a beautiful view over the Eyjafjallajokull and surrounding area in which the reddish colours of the setting sun added an extra dimension.

Cross-section of the trek

The following day we started our descent towards Thorsmork. First, easy crossings of 4 snow fields. After this, we passed the base of the Fimmvorduhals volcano (which still steams after the eruption of 2010) and crossed some of its lava fields. The wind was now our biggest opponent. It was blowing so hard that we could hardly stand. After passing the volcano, the spectacular Thoprsmork landscape appeared in front of us, a spectacular view! Directly after this the path dropped steeply, the high winds and the loose debris made it almost impossible to remain standing. Fortunately we encountered an Icelandic guide who took us over a small glacier, thus avoiding the loose gravel field. Never knew that I would appreciate snow fields! After lunch on a sheltered place we continued our hike, first over a plateau, then descending to Throsmork where the spectacular views changed continuously but the landscape remained beautiful! Around five o'clock we reached the end of the pass. After a pause at the Basar hut, we walked to Volcanohuts, which was in the next valley. Therefore we needed to corss a river and a small pass. We eventually arrived around 7: 30.

Europe's largest glacier en going Eastward

After a short night sleep, we took the bus back to Skogar where our car was parked. We continued our ride to the East with numerous photo stops along the way. One of thhighlights was the Jukolsarlon glacier lake with numerous icebergs from the glacier. It gives the scenery an distinctive Arctic view. Via Hofn we drove into the fjords area in the East. This part is characterized by deep sea arms and a very high coastal mountains. Beautiful views, such as at Staffafell, brought us finally to Berunes where we stayed in a very cosy accommodation.

The following day we left fairly late in order to enjoy the surrounding area. We drove back to Vik, again with many long picture stops and a short stop at Skaftafell. Late in the evening we arrived at the Vik and we found accommodation in a beautiful gueshouse.

Scenic coastline

The next day we first explored the Hjorleifshofdi, a stand-alone lava rock in a large wasted lava landscape. Next, we drove to the West, first visited the beautiful Reynishfjara beach with a beautiful basalt cave and spectacular rock formations. After this, to Dyrholaey, also  a spectacular coast with a beautiful natural arch. Because it was already late in the afternoon, we didn't stay too long and moved on to Leirubakki. We stayed here to visit the beautiful Landmannalaugur area. Since the Landmannalaugur hut was booked, we stayed at Leirubakki. The hotel was equipped with a visitor centre on the nearby Hekla volcano but has also a hot water spring. Of coarse we took a bath there.

Colourfull landscape

The next day we drove to Landmannalaugur by bus . It was not possible to go there with a normal car. The road is only open for 4 x 4 vehicles. However, the busride was very nice and the landscape changed continuously, from grass-covered mountains to dead and barren lava Plains that were completely black. Around noon we arrived in Landmannalaugur. The beautiful, almost alien landscape is dominated by the bright colors of the Rhyolite mountains, with many hot springs and fumeroles or sulphatoles. We made a trekking of about 2.5 hours through the area which looked more like another planet than Earth. The hike went over a lava field, thermal area's with  fumeroles and back alongside a small river which eroded into a valley with very colourful rocks. Around 3:30 pm, we took the bus back to Leirubakki where we spent the evening using the hotspring and other facilities of this accommodation.

The next morning, unfortunately the last full day, we first drove to the Eyjafjallajokull Erups visitor centre, half way between Seljalandsfoss and Skogar. This centre has been founded by a farmer's couple who lived here and got the full force and the ash of the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull eruption over their property. This volcano also caused the airtraffic standstill in europe. A movie told their story in a very personal way. We also were able to talk with the couple itself, the most important thing for them was that they so much help from friends but also from the police to clean their property and rebuilt the farm. Impressive! And definitely worth a visit.

The oldest democracy in the world

Next, we drove towards Reykjavik, using the northern part of the Golden Circle where we briefly visited the spectacular Gulfoss waterfalls. Next, we visited the Geysil thermal park, where the Strokkur geyser erupts every 5-10 minutes upto 40 m high. The whole park was beautiful with colored Lakes (all old geysers) and strangely colored rock. By the evening we drove to Thingvallir. This place is not only famous for its beautiful landscape with it's gorges and fissures, it is also the place where, in the tenth century, the Icelandic democracy was founded. On the "law" mountain, meetings were held by tribal elders where they voted and decide on all kinds of issues.

Late in the evening, we arrived in Keflavik, unfortunately we had no more time to take a dip in the Blue lagoon. So we'll keep that for next time! The following morning, we needed to be at the airport at 4:30 AM for the flight back to Holland. It was abn early start but we returned home without any problems. This was also the end of this mervellous trip! 

Epilogue

Iceland is perhaps one of the most beautiful countries we visited and it will probably not be the last visit to Iceland, What an impressive beautiful landscapes!

Click to read more on our Fimmvorduhals trip Nancy's story on our trip over the Fimmvorduhals.

Click to read more on The Eldfell and Vestmannaeyar Nancy's story on our trip over the Fimmvorduhals.