Our third day was spent on a half day private tour exploring and learning about volcanic systems and geothermal springs. I didn't realize it was going to be just the two of us and our guide, Finn, from Reykjavik Erupts, but it was a nice surprise. Certainly a change of pace from a packed coach. We started off the morning at 8:30 waiting to enter the Volcano House, a small exhibition space on volcanic activity in Iceland that also shows two documentaries on significant volcanic events, one was the major eruption in 1973 on the Westman Islands and then, more recently in 2010, the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull. It was so early, it was just my friend and I, and the employee, Dario, is a graduate geology student and spent some time with us. The strangest thing was it was 8:30 in the morning and still pitch dark, and as we were walking around, it seemed deserted. After the films, Finn was waiting for us and we took off in his Land Rover, just 30-40 minutes outside of Reykjavik. He pointed out the lava fields that make up the city and the 'new' lava that was maybe a couple of hundred years old and 'old' lava which perhaps closer to a thousand. To be clear, we didn't climb up or drive over what most of us consider to be a volcano, mainly the big conical structure we're familiar with, but we did drive and hike through a volcanic system. The scenery and atmosphere was absolutely unbelievable, like being on another planet (or so I would imagine). The sunlight was perfect, the weather was remarkably mild (although I'm sure my wind resistant pants helped protect me), and words cannot describe what it was like. I drank from a lake because it was that clear and clean. We walked through Seltun geothermal springs, not through them, but over and around, really. Finn took us to a hidden cove over somewhat slippery rocks and served us hot chocolate and a traditional Iceland donut called kleinur.
Our third day was spent on a half day private tour exploring and learning about volcanic systems and geothermal springs. I didn't realize it was going to be just the two of us and our guide, Finn, from Reykjavik Erupts, but it was a nice surprise. Certainly a change of pace from a packed coach. We started off the morning at 8:30 waiting to enter the Volcano House, a small exhibition space on volcanic activity in Iceland that also shows two documentaries on significant volcanic events, one was the major eruption in 1973 on the Westman Islands and then, more recently in 2010, the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull. It was so early, it was just my friend and I, and the employee, Dario, is a graduate geology student and spent some time with us. The strangest thing was it was 8:30 in the morning and still pitch dark, and as we were walking around, it seemed deserted. After the films, Finn was waiting for us and we took off in his Land Rover, just 30-40 minutes outside of Reykjavik. He pointed out the lava fields that make up the city and the 'new' lava that was maybe a couple of hundred years old and 'old' lava which perhaps closer to a thousand. To be clear, we didn't climb up or drive over what most of us consider to be a volcano, mainly the big conical structure we're familiar with, but we did drive and hike through a volcanic system. The scenery and atmosphere was absolutely unbelievable, like being on another planet (or so I would imagine). The sunlight was perfect, the weather was remarkably mild (although I'm sure my wind resistant pants helped protect me), and words cannot describe what it was like. I drank from a lake because it was that clear and clean. We walked through Seltun geothermal springs, not through them, but over and around, really. Finn took us to a hidden cove over somewhat slippery rocks and served us hot chocolate and a traditional Iceland donut called kleinur.
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