Everyone knows that the eruption in Eyjafjallajökull closed down the airspace in the North Atlantic and much of Europe for a few days. In recent days the ash has been much reduced so international flights are now normal again and even domestic flights in Iceland have been undisturbed. One of the problems with eruptions is that they are unpredictable. Most people never get the chance to see one.
Eyjafjallajökull on April 4, before the eruption. Photo: Benedikt Jóhannesson/Icelland Review
Now Iceland has had two eruptions in a short time and different ones at that. The first one in Fimmvörduháls began and stopped without much notice. The second one is now clearly smaller than it was in the beginning but still quite visible. So this may be the last chance for many to see an eruption in their lifetime. Sure Iceland has an eruption every fifth year on the average. Few are as visible as this one in the middle of a glacier only an hour and a half from Reykjavík.
Eyjafjallajökull on April 18. Photo: Benedikt Jóhannesson/Icelland Review
It is probably not a good idea to climb the glacier just now (a news item said that a group from 60 minutes just did), but watching from afar is safe and sound. So if the eruption ends in a couple of weeks don’t say that we did not warn you! Even if it lasts during the summer, and you want to go at that time, you should still book soon, since the volcano is in the middle of the most popular tourist spot in Iceland.
In summer you will of course have the chance to take the popular wilderness hike over Fimmvörduháls which takes you to the new lava (pictured below). If you enlarge the picture you can see a bit of smoke coming up from the crater in the middle. The beautiful lava falls can be seen at the side.
The Fimmvörduháls lava (the dark area) which came up from March 20 to April 15. Photo: Jóhannes BenediktssonIcelland Review
