18/08

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How do you say Eyjafjallajokull?

Out of everything we’ve been looking forward to visiting, Eyjafjallajokull was top of our list in Iceland. This is the volcano that erupted in March this year, causing complete chaos and disaster for Icelanders and Brits alike.

I’m not sure what we were expecting, but it wasn’t this:

The crater itself is hidden by clouds. We liked the way there was nothing to mark the significance of this location. No maps. No board walks. If it wasn’t for Serena’s excellent navigation skills we would have driven straight past.

Something we definitely weren’t expecting was this eerie swimming pool at the foothills of the crater, the water a foreboding black from the ash that is still all around.

At the moment, farmers are still struggling here – all around this area was ash – black and sodden under our feet. There was clearly a massive clean-up programme in progress with all nearby tractors, big and small enlisted to help:

Usually when you visit special places, you’re forbidden to take anything away. Here, a man gave us a plastic bag and positively encouraged us to take some ash away. So perhaps we did play a small part in the clear-up process!