Have you ever seen this meme? Okay, well, now, either way, you have. I also had this sentiment, but it was about lava. I thought I for sure would encounter lava at every turn of my life and come face-to-face with decisions on how to thwart this looming evil. If you’re like me, then this couldn’t be further from the truth. Aside from my baking soda volcanos, I have never seen lava in real life before, only on a screen. That is, until this past week!

I may or may not have booked a spur-of-the-moment trip to Iceland. By that, I mean I totally decided to (safely) travel to the first country that would accept my vaccinated self. Cue, Iceland.

Iceland has been a bucket list location for quite some time. I know that in recent years it has become an “it” country that every person wants to travel to, but my fascination with Iceland began back in elementary school. In the spirit of the holidays, our teacher assigned us to research a country and specifically how they celebrate Christmas. To my despair, I was given Iceland and not Egypt. I was obsessed with Egypt, mummies, pyramids, archaeology, etc., so this was a big heartbreak.

It turned out, I enjoyed learning about Iceland and how they would decorate their Christmas trees with candles back in the day and especially baking/eating the Icelandic almond cake for my class. Anyyyyyyyhow, I’m not trying to say I liked Iceland before it was “cool,” but…..

Back to volcanos and lava!

I’m starting from the end, but on our last day. in Iceland, we visited Fagradalsfjall aka the volcano that recently erupted in March in Iceland. I’ve read various accounts that say the volcano hasn’t erupted in over 800 years. Some also say 10,000 year, but either way, it’s a very long time.

The volcano is pretty close to the Reykjavik airport–about 30 minutes—and only 15 minutes from the Blue Lagoon, making it a great first or last stop in Iceland. Since most attractions are right off the road in Iceland, we underestimated how long it would take us to reach the volcano. After arriving, we realized that it was at least an hour hike up a rocky path to the caldera—or mouth—of the volcano. We began the trek up, and after 20 minutes, ran into some fellow American hikers descending. They informed us that we would not see lava, lava flow, or much of anything besides smoke if we proceeded with the route. It was their second time that week hiking the area, so they were pretty up-to-date with the volcanic activity. Thankfully, they also offered to lead us directly to the lava fields. I think the lesson here is always talk to strangers because they might have better insight than you.

We took another, shorter path that lead us here. This was only a 20 minute or so hike. Not strenuous at all, but a little bumpy. You could also continue up that ridge pictured above, but that would’ve added another hour and a half there and back to the trip, and unfortunately, we didn’t have the time. These fields were enough to make my younger self’s dreams come true. I was pretty mind blown, feeling the intense heat radiating from the ground. Even taking the picture below was slightly painful. The activity here is pretty quit. Areas will randomly start to crack, flow, and smoke, but not to the point of danger. Though I did see the ground tremble near these places beforehand.

If I had to do it again, I would do the following:

• Block off more time to hike the whole area. I’d say plan for at least half a day if you want to see everything
• Pack a bag with water, snacks, and so you can shed layers. The weather wasn’t the greatest. Plus, it was super hot by the lava and cold/windy away from it
• Look for alternative parking if possible. The lot they created there is pretty brutal, especially if you have a small car. Be wary of bottoming out, getting stuck in a rut, or skidding out
• Look at conditions ahead of time, so you know exactly what you want to see and which path to take. They have live streaming videos here with different angles and areas
• Bring marshmallows! I had the serious urge to roast marshmallows over the lava. Though it was uncomfortable to get too close, you can find or bring a long stick with you

If you are visiting Iceland, then you definitely won’t want to skip this.

Overall, it was a fantastic stop and I’m thrilled that I was able to see a pretty rare phenomena—at least for most people. I’m still working my way through the thousands of pictures and thoughts I have from the entire trip, but I’ll be sharing those later!