Into the Belly of a Beast

Have you ever contemplated a piece of lava, the gentle folds and the soft curls? Like really held it, moved it around in your hands, studied all the angles and movement, noted the fluidity? If you haven’t, you should.

I arrived in Iceland bright and early this morning via Iceland Air. Fine since it was just a 6 hour flight but I can see why their flights are so cheap. My upgraded seat (which I had paid for) turned out to be a regular one and their service was, well, there was none. I left Chicago at 8pm CT after a delay and was to arrive in Iceland by 7am Iceland time. So I needed to sleep every minute of that 6 hour flight to get any sleep that night. For 2 hours I maybe rested me eyes half-dozing off but never actually out and the rest I was awake. So no sleep. Getting through customs in Iceland was a breeze, about a 20 minute wait to get the passport cleared and stamped and then you just get to collect your bags and walk right out if you have nothing to declare. Easy as could be. I grabbed my bag, headed to the Hertz counter to get my car AND PURCHASED ALL THE INSURANCE, and by 8am was walking out into the fresh, chilly, Iceland air.

I had 4 hours to kill before my date with a volcano and I needed food and rest. I asked the guy at the Hertz counter for a breakfast recommendation. He said the only thing open near by was Viking World, just down the street. That was bad enough but when he added that they also have a museum you can buy a ticket to I knew there was no way. But I was hungry. I loaded up into my red Nissan SUV, started my GPS, and off I went. Just to see I swung by Viking World and no no no no no. I decided to eat a fruit bar that I had with me and head the half hour into Reykjavik. The town is adorable and I stumbled upon quite a fascinating piece of public art entitled “The Unknown Bureaucrat”. I don’t any further commentary on the piece is needed…

A quick google search of best breakfast spots took me to Bergson Mathus. The tea was blech but the breakfast was delicious. A European style breakfast plate with bread, an egg, prosciutto, cheese, fruit, cucumber, and a yogurt parfait. So good, just what I needed. After breakfast I decided to try to nap in my car. Didn’t work, I was just going to have to go this day on no sleep. I checked out a shoe store, KronKron, I had learned of through a friend’s visit earlier this year and then went to the Bonus to stock up on a few staples; mainly water. And then it was time to drive off to the volcano.

Now it finally felt real, now that I was getting out of the city and on the road the excitement and adrenaline kicked in. I am on an adventure!!! As I turned down the road to my volcano it really hit me and I had to pull off the side of the road and jump out in a tank top, in 42* weather, to start capturing my first images of this cold country. I made my way to the car park, crawled into the back seat to change from my yoga pants to hiking gear and layers, repacked my day pack and was ready to go. I had booked my most exciting adventure for day 1, just hours after landing.

Today I would be descending into the belly, the magma chamber, of the Thrihnukagigur volcano!!! I met my guide and a small group and we started the 3km trek across the lava fields to this volcano. Now, from the outside, this volcano was not nearly as lovely as my dear Mount Ngauruhoe in New Zealand but she had something else to offer me. We strapped on harnesses and helmets and were led the rest of the way up to the mouth of the volcano. One-by-one, each person was harnessed to a 10′ long bridge from the lip of the crater onto a cable platform, they were then harnessed to the platform and the next person could start across the bridge. This was happening. They loaded 6 of us and our guide onto a 8’x2′ platform and down we went. This was it, I was being lowered on a cable lift, seriously like a window washer lift, 400′ feet, yes, FOUR HUNDRED FEET into the magma chamber of a volcano!!!!

The throat of this opening was so narrow at one point there were actually wheels fitted onto the side of the platform as it scraped against the edge on its way down! It was magnificent, stunning, there are no words that can properly describe it and do the sites justice. The lift took 6 minutes to lower us down to the floor of the chamber, our guide then provided a brief history lesson and released us to tour the chamber on our own. It was incredible. The temperature inside is a stable 40 degrees F with rain coming down year-round but with the moist air so still it didn’t feel nearly that cold. It was enchanting. I stood in awe and took it all in, studying the jewel toned colors mixed together on the chaotic walls of the chamber. Hearing and feeling the drops of rain dripping down overhead. It was everything I imagined it would be and then some. I was giddy. We had about 20 minutes in there and then up we went on the lift. The ride up provided yet another vantage point and new sense of awe. From the start of my time planning this trip, I had it in my mind that this would probably be the only time I’ll ever be in Iceland. But after being inside that beautiful volcano, I take that back. I would come to Iceland for just a weekend to have that experience again.

After the hike, the group was provided with lamb soup to warm up at base camp. I ate my ok soup and hit the trail to trek the 3km back to my car. I waved goodbye to my new friend Thrihnukagigur and hit the road to Selfoss, less than 40 minutes away, to check into my first AirBnb. My AirBnB tonight is adorable. Cute, comfortable, modern, and right on a river. It was after 5pm and I was exhausted but with so much light out, I had to keep going. I unloaded my car, organized a bit, checked my sites lists again, and took off to see some more.

I decided to start with a visit to the Kerid Crater, basically, just a crater with a lagoon in it. It wasn’t overwhelming perse, but it was beautiful. I did a short hike down into the crater and around the entire lagoon, stopping at different points to pick up pieces of lava to examine and ponder. There were some really really cool pieces of beautiful fluid rock.

As I was trekking back out of the crater there was a group of German guys all taking each other’s photo looking out into the lagoon. One of them noticed me laugh as I heard them give their photo subject direction and in very broken English confirmed it’s a good shot and I should take one like it too. If you say so German dudes. Once I turned from the Germans I again got caught laughing out loud as a pair of gentlemen were walking down together, looked like a father/son to me, and the younger was bestowing upon older the wisdom that the crater was formed 6,500 years ago, to which the elder replied, “Good thing there was someone there to record it.” And at that moment it was hilarious to me. Go figure. Anyways, I trekked back up the crater, hiked around the rim of it, and was off again. This time headed to Urridafoss Waterfall.

I had not remembered hearing about this waterfall before looking up areas falls again today so upon reading that it was the most voluminous waterfall in the country I figured I had to check it out. Another half hour in the car, with a stop for some beautiful scenery, and I arrived at the car park. Turns out the falls were right there, no hiking required. Normally I’d be disappointed but the exhaustion was starting to set in so I was cool. I walked down the little viewing trail and checked it out. It was beautiful, don’t get me wrong it was definitely beautiful, but I wouldn’t put them in the top 5 falls I’ve seen in this world. Pretty but short and boring.

I decided that I was too exhausted to do anything else and it was time to head back to my AirBnB. It was also close to 9pm already but you’d never know since it was still completely light out. On my way back I stopped at the Pylsuvagninn hot dog “stand” and grabbed a dog. Apparently hot dogs are a thing in Iceland and this was supposedly one of the best places. I ordered a hot dog with the Iceland fixings (none of which I can pronounce or know what exactly they were) and sure enough was handed a hot dog served in a grilled 3 sided bun and smothered in 3 different sauces. And damn was that hot dog good. I could eat another right now. And after a day in Chicago, a night on an airplane, and a full day of adventuring a shower was damn good too. And now, sleep is about to damn good so I can be up at it again tomorrow!