Day 10 Hellisander to Keflavik

Today we explored Snaefellsnes area, which houses the active volcano Snaefellsjökull which towered above us (although there hasn’t been an eruption since around 200 AD, but geologically speaking since there has been an eruption in the last 10,000 years, it is considered active). Interestingly, a glacier also sits atop this volcano, making it an even more unique site. In August 2012, the volcano was actually glacier-free for the first time in recorded history, which doesn’t sound like a particularly positive thing regarding climate change but a fun fact nevertheless.

Our first stop today was a Saxholl crater, accessible by a flight of metal steps. At the top, there was a nice view of the surrounding area, however the crater, as one trip advisor review put so delicately just “seems like a pile of brown rocks”, which isn’t entirely unfair, as the crater itself is pretty much a pit with some rubble in it, now carpeted in grass.

Our next stop was the National Park of Snaefellsjökull, where we walked the couple hundred metres to the black sanded beach with accompanying lighthouse and spent most our time watching a family of artic foxes about their daily life. They were tiny creatures, maybe the size of some cats (a lot smaller than the typical London foxes, and a lot calmer too!), and brown in colour since they’re coastal artic foxes (whereas the famous white coated artic foxes live more inland where there is more snow to be found). These foxes were so tame, apparently they even visit the visitor centre or enter houses from time to time.

At around lunchtime, we ventured on a short coastal walk around Arnastapi, featuring a large stone bust of Bardur Snaefellsa (that reminded me slightly of the Iron Giant, or of the BFG in mum’s case) a few view points of the fierce waters down below, the picturesque stone arch Gatklettur, and lastly the famous stone bridge, which was sheltering hundreds of sea birds (Artic terns I think?) from the strong winds. We returned to Wendy for some well needed lunch, before heading off again.

Our last visit for today was Pingvellir (also known as Thingvellir) National park, which is known for the Atlantic Ocean ridge and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park lies on a rift valley marking the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. Amazingly, continental drift is even visible through the cracks or faults traversing the area, the biggest even being a canyon. The inner geography student in me was very happy seeing things I’d learned in textbooks before my in real life, and Pingvellir is definitely one of the more exciting case studies! Interestingly, according to Wikipedia, Pingvellirs UNESCO World Heritage status was actually achieved for cultural reasons, however it could possible also reach geological criteria in the future.

We followed the park’s route to Silfra, a fissure between the two tectonic plates and also is the only site in the world where you are able to dive and snorkel in the crack between the two tectonic plates! The fissure opened up from an earthquake back in 1789, and is so filtered from passing through porous underground lava it is thought to be the clearest water in the world (according to Icelander’s so there is potential bias!) with underwater visibility of over 100m impressively, making it a diving hotspot. We even got to see some snorkeling in action as a group of 6 waddled in with varying confidence, eventually swimming off, flippers propelling them on, their dry suits puffing up with air.

After a long day of adventuring, we retired to the van and enjoyed some delicious pasta, followed by some much needed sleep!Read more