Tuesday, April 9th:
We got up early, checked the weather, ate breakfast, and headed to the Reykjavík airport. While we were driving Josh got a call from the helicopter pilot. He said there was some bad weather moving in, but if we could get there early then they will fly. Luckily, we left the cottage early and didn't have any issues on the road, so we arrived at the airport at 8:30 AM.
There was no wind, but the clouds were moving in, so there was still a chance that our flight would get canceled. Luckily, they were able to get the helicopter out of the hanger and fueled up early. We arrived and waited outside the gate for the pilot to come get us. I was so excited! Finally they opened the gate, lead us in, gave us a safety briefing, and loaded us into the helicopter.
I sat in the front with the pilot who just happened to be from Los Angeles! What a small world!
[Preflight checks]
[My second helicopter ride and Josh's first!]
[Here we go!]
We took off and headed southwest from Reykjavík towards the town of Grindavik. The small town of Grindavik (population 3000) was evacuated back in late 2023 after a series of earthquakes. A series of fissures opened up and spewed lava over the area over the next few months. The residents were able to go home a couple times, but the town was completely evacuated in March 2024 and remains empty as of this writing (April 2024). A few buildings have been destroyed by lava and due to the toxic fumes from the volcano and the chance of another fissure opening up, it is unlikely people will be able to return home for the next few years.
[Flying over the Sky Lagoon - you can see the lagoon right next to the ocean]
[Bessastaðir - The Prime Ministers private residence]
[Rio Tinto ISAL aluminum smelter]
We left the city pretty quickly and continued our journey over the Reykjanes Peninsula (Southern Peninsula). This area is covered with old and new lava fields and is pretty empty except for the town of Grindavik and the Blue Lagoon (and the geothermal plant right next to it).
The clouds were coming in, but we had our opening and we took it!
[The large grey area is an old lava field]
We turned around a mountain and all of a sudden saw this BLACK mass with smoke rising from it. We found the newest Icelandic volcano: Fagradalsfjall! As we approached I could faintly see what looked like a flashing orange light right next to the rising smoke. I pointed out the orange flashing light to the pilot and he said, "Oh yeah! That's lava from the eruption!" I knew that the fissures were closed, but I didn't realize that a cone had formed!
The closer we got the more excited I got! We were going to see flowing lava!
The cone was open and the volcano was angry!
[Fagradalsfjall volcano in the foreground with the Blue Lagoon (look for the steam) in the background]
[Fagradalsfjall volcano in the foreground with the town of Grindavik in the background]
The pilot circled the volcano a few times so we could get a good view.
[Flowing lava!]
We saw a couple large eruptions that cause the lava to spill over the cone.
After we got our pictures we headed to see the cone from a volcano, Litli-Hrútur, which had erupted in 2023.
The lava field was huge and still very dark and steaming.
[The cone is the dark red rock in the center of the picture]
[Close up of Litli-Hrútur cone - there are still vents that are open around the rim]
[Litli-Hrútur in the foreground with the Fagradalsfjall volcano and the Blue Lagoon in the background]
[Another close up of the cone]
We then flew over to the Meradalir eruption that happened in 2022. This cone is harder to see since it collapsed in on itself. But from above it looks like the eye of a dragon or the Eye of Sauron!
[See the eye?]
[How about now? 😊]
[Lava fields]
[The beautiful Keilir mountain - such a perfect triangle]
[Close up]
We said goodbye to the lava fields and headed back to airport in Reykjavík. The weather was coming in and we had to book it!
[The beautiful Reykjavík harbor]
[Hallgrímskirkja]
[Back on the ground]
Wow! What an amazing experience! Our pilot was awesome, the flight was smooth, and we got to see an erupting volcano!
After we landed the pilot told us that if we hadn't arrived early at the airport this morning we wouldn't have been able to fly. It literally started snowing the minute we landed! Phew!
We thanked the pilot, got a few more pictures, and then our pilot escorted us back through the airport gate.
Seriously, That flight was expensive and short, but it was 100% worth it!
We had some time to kill before lunch, so we headed to the Perlan.
The Perlan is a natural history museum with a gift shop, a Northern Lights show, an ice cave, an interactive glacier exhibit, a Lava Show, a water exhibition, a virtual fish tank, Forces of Nature Exhibit, Iceland's geological story timeline, a 360° observation deck, an ice cream parlour, and a Restaurant and Café.
We didn't have time to explore the entire museum, so we just went to the café which is located in the big dome. We got hot chocolates and enjoyed the 360° view of the city.
We then walked out to the observation platform. It was snowing lightly, but there was no wind which was very pleasant!
[Page from a children's book in the gift shop]
As we were leaving the Perlan we saw this black bunny! It looked so out of place and of course there's no way this guy is native. We suspected it was someones lost pet. A lady with the Environmental agency pulled up in her company truck as we were taking pictures. I'm sure she is going to catch it and try to find the owners.
Joyce drove us to the into the Reykjavík city center where we parked and walked over to the Reykjavík City Hall.
[Tjörnin - Lake next to City Hall]
[Tjörnin and City Hall]
[Swans]
[City Hall fountains - I don't know why they were turned on when the water was just freezing]
We went inside and Joyce showed us this HUGE map of Iceland. It was so cool to see the topography! She showed us some of the locations that she takes her clients when they do the northern part of the island in the summer. She also showed us where she was going in a few months: the western fjords. It all looks amazing!
We headed back outside and walked to Íslenski Barinn to have lunch.
We told Joyce we wanted to try some authentic Icelandic food. She suggested we try the fermented shark, puffin, and fin whale.
[Fin whale on Icelandic crumpet]
[Whale meat]
[Puffin on Icelandic crumpet]
We first tried the whale and the puffin. The puffin was very good and tasted like chicken. The whale was surprisingly delicious and tasted like a very lean, rare steak. The waiter then brought out the fermented shark and told us all about it.
Hákarl (fermented shark) is the national dish of Iceland. It it made from the meat of a Greenland shark that has been pressed, fermented for months, and then dried. The meat of Greenland sharks is poisonous when it is fresh, but once it goes through the lengthy fermentation process it is safe to eat. But it is not good. The waiter told us to use our toothpicks, take a piece of meat, chew it well, and then swallow. He said that once you start chewing you will be hit with an ammonia odor that will sting your nose. He said most people don't like it and find the whole experience unpleasant. Great.
[Cubed fermented shark, dried cod, and butter]
Joyce really wanted to document us eating the shark and I'm actually glad she did.
[Cheers to an adventure!]
I swallowed the cube right when the first wave of ammonia hit my nose. I already have a sensitive gag reflex, so I had to try very hard not to dry heave.
Yes, it was that bad 😭
Josh ended up eating two pieces even though he admits it was awful! Once the taste left me I tried the dried cod. It was like eating a t-shirt that smelled like fish. It was bad too, but the locals eat dried cod a lot as a snack. You can find it at all the gas stations. No thanks!
After lunch we left Reykjavík and headed back towards Selfoss. Along the way we stopped at the The Geothermal Exhibition at the Hellisheiði ON Power plant.
We downloaded an app, put on our headphones, and walked through the exhibition. We learned about geothermal energy and how awesome it is. I still can't explain to you exactly how it all works, but it's very impressive.
[All the Geothermal activity right along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge]
On our way back to Selfoss we stoped in Hveragerði to check out a new hip hotel:
Gróðurhúsið. This hotel has food court with a food truck feel, a bar, a cafe, a store, and an upstairs lounge. It is very cozy and feels very modern. Joyce said rooms are $400 a night right now and will be insanely expensive during the summer.
We then swung by our cottage in Selfoss to grab our swimsuits and towels. We drove out to Flúðir where we went to the Secret Lagoon. This is the second of the three lagoons that we will visit during this trip. This is the most authentic of the lagoons. The lagoon was made in 1891 and it is fed directly by three geysers that are RIGHT next to the lagoon. The water temperature fluctuates a lot more than the other lagoons and the closer you get to the geyser the hotter the water is (makes sense).
The locker rooms are more basic than the Sky Lagoon. There are separate men's and women's locker rooms, but they do not provide towels. There are also no private showers. You have to shower naked before and after using the lagoon. It's very important to the health of the lagoon. Americans are prudes and showering in front of other women is not something we do here, BUT I gotta follow the rules! At the Sky Lagoon you exit the locker room and enter the lagoon in an inside area before you go outside. At the Secret Lagoon there is a 15 step gap between the locker room door and the lagoon. Those 15 steps were VERY cold! But the lagoon was hot, so it was fine 🙂
[Lagoon with an active geyser (in the back left corner)]
The pool is so natural that the ground is mud and there is algae floating in it. Its crazy how relaxing it can be to float in hot water that is being fed by an active geyser!
After relaxing in the lagoon we went to dinner in town before heading back to our cottage in Selfoss.
Map of our day:
The weather today was cloudy with a little bit of snow. It was a nice break from the high winds that we've had over the last three days!