On a visit that takes within the steaming remnants of volcanic eruptions, highly effective geysers and a craggy, ever-shifting continental rift, author Deborah sees firsthand how Icelanders face nature’s volatility with grit and good humour. In a land cast by hearth and ice, resilience isn’t simply survival – it’s a lifestyle.
On the strategy into Keflavik airport, I’m thrilled to see a line of smoke rising from the scrubby plateau beneath. Geology is what drew me to Iceland. I hadn’t given the tradition or historical past a lot thought.
I spot the steaming vents that I had noticed from the air once more quickly after, on the taxi journey from the airport to Reykjavik. My driver, Árni, explains that they mark the sting of the lava movement from the 2023 volcanic eruption. That wave of seismic exercise led to the whole evacuation of Grindavik, a city on the Reykjanes Peninsula.
Calmly, as if speaking about shopping for milk, Árni tells me that he had lived in Grindavik. He was one of many evacuees. I gasp in shock, however he doesn’t appear upset. ‘It’s important to transfer on and reside every day,’ he says, dismissing my sympathy with a shrug.
I’m wondering – what should it do to the private and nationwide psyche when you possibly can’t belief the bottom beneath your toes? My journey has all of a sudden turn out to be in regards to the folks and their historical past as a lot as geology. I commit myself to discovering solutions on my Northern Lights Escape with Intrepid.
A land cleft in two
I lay eyes on the supply of Grindavik’s woes in Thingvellir Nationwide Park. Iceland’s geologic instability is because of its place on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the place the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are pulling aside at a price of two.5 cm per yr. Thingvellir is the one place on earth the place this ridge is uncovered and the Silfra fissure that marks the spot is the primary cease on our journey. Right here, our chief Stefan Andresson factors out the cliffs marking the plate boundaries, between which stretches a watery valley of fractures and wounds.
Later, we linger at Strokkur geyser and watch as a turquoise pool of water domes upwards till it will possibly accomplish that no extra, earlier than spurting water 30 metres into the air. After, we scamper down a gorge for spectacular views of the Gullfoss waterfalls, the place fast-moving water from the Hvitá river plunges over the cliff prime in sheets. There’s an vitality within the air because the relentless crash and increase of water echoes from the valley beneath. As I watch, the snow on my face mixes with the mist that rises off the water – it’s freezing, however I don’t care. It’s day one and I’m already blown away. Again within the minibus, I realise that what’s spectacular for me is the norm for Icelanders, who develop up accepting the ability of nature as a matter of truth.
Going up in smoke
The specter of volcanic exercise is ever current in Iceland. Most of us can bear in mind the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull as a result of the volcanic ash it ejected disrupted European airspace for weeks. Regardless of the irritation that respiratory the ash-laden air prompted, in stoic Icelandic trend, almost half of these dwelling near the eruption opted to not depart their houses and animals. It paid off. Inside months, the farmers replanted their fields, discovering that the ash-fertilised soil improved crop yields.
We cease to {photograph} Eyjafjallajökull and browse the data boards charting the eruption’s progress. The backdrop is an idyllic view of the snow-capped volcano shimmering innocently within the sunshine.
A stoic sort of democracy
Thingvellir was additionally the location of Iceland’s annual ‘Althing’ (parliament), established in 930 to agree upon legal guidelines and settle disputes among the many newly established settlers. That is why Iceland claims to be the world’s oldest democracy. These had been transient occasions that left no bodily traces. It’s difficult to envision a summer season gathering of Vikings and their tents as I take on this wintery vista, however I attempt to think about them buying and selling animals and meals, forming friendships and telling tales over candy, yeasty ale.
These ‘parliaments’, Stefan explains, are credited with stabilising society as they ensured that regardless of how distant a settlement may be, nobody felt unsupported in instances of hardship. Iceland’s authorities purchased Árni’s home in Grindavik as they deemed the city unsafe for habitation, so the precept, just like the parliament, is constant to at the present time.
No marvel they want the elves
As we drive across the Golden Circle, tales about Iceland and its folks movement from Stefan like superheated lava. He shares the dates of varied eruptions, factors out damaged bridges and their replacements, speaks of adjusting river programs, an evacuated island and glaciers shrinking resulting from local weather change. The listing of catastrophes is seemingly limitless. However he additionally talks about elves.
Till not too long ago, Iceland’s remoteness meant that few folks migrated to the nation for the reason that unique Viking settlement. Stefan explains that in consequence, the Icelandic language hasn’t modified as a lot as different languages have during the last 800 years, which signifies that the written sagas and histories of the unique settlers, in addition to their elvish folklore, reside on.
On a stretch of open street, Stefan attracts our consideration to a tiny, squat, turf-roofed home that sits alongside a contemporary farmhouse and launches into one among his tales: ‘The evening earlier than the farmer moved into his new house, he had a dream. In it, the king of the elves informed him that the elves wouldn’t be transferring with him, but when he maintained the outdated home for them, the elves would be sure that nobody would ever be harm on the farm.’ Apparently, the farmer didn’t consider in elves, however the turf home is maintained nonetheless.
In response to a 2022 examine, 31 per cent of Icelandic folks consider in elves, whereas most others are ambivalent. In Iceland, the place your house may disappear instantly and nothing might be taken without any consideration, folks don’t take possibilities.
Homeward certain
Whereas Iceland has left me awestruck, I’m not stunned by the magnificence of its landscapes, which have been formed by a few of nature’s most unbelievable forces: earthquakes, volcanoes, shifting tectonic plates and creaking glaciers, mixed with an Arctic local weather.
Nonetheless, I depart with a better appreciation for a way those self same forces have formed the island’s folks, historical past and folklore. I’ve solely seen the tip of the iceberg of a tradition that I hope to discover additional.
On my return journey to the airport with Árni, the nice and cozy morning sunshine is all of a sudden obliterated by a snowstorm. Turning on the wipers, he remarks, ‘That’s how it’s right here.’ Sure, I believe. I’m starting to grasp. That is Iceland – you are taking what comes, adapt and get on along with your journey.
Deborah travelled to Iceland with Intrepid on the Northern Lights Escape journey.
