From Iceland — The Volcano: A Memoir – Part Two


Photo by
Art Bicnick

On the 19th of March 2021, a new eruption started in the Southeast corner of Iceland, on the Reykjanes peninsula. Although there were signs and signals that this volcanic activity could be anticipated, nobody truly expected what happened next: something that changed the landscape and the culture of Iceland forever.

The volcano happened at a time when the world needed a distraction; when a pandemic was raging and tourism in Iceland was low. It became something that thousands of people visited, both tourists from all over the world and of course Icelanders themselves – a huge proportion of the Icelandic population visited the eruption.

For those of us who were lucky enough to see it in person we’ll never forget that experience – and yet now exactly a year on from the eruption starting we’re left with as many questions as we have answers. In this series we visit The Lava Centre to review some of the experiences that others had at the volcano, as well as to looking back at the footage we recorded over the period of time that the eruption took place.

In the second episode of this series on the Geldingadalir volcano, we look at the night the eruption actually took place, and how people reacted to the breaking news.

If you love learning about Icelandic news and culture, consider supporting Reykjavík Grapevine by becoming a Youtube Member. Our Members help us create content such as this video, and also get access to great perks as a reward for their patronage. WINE+ members get access to all of our non-news videos ahead of general release, including receiving each new episode of Supernatural Iceland a month ahead of the rest! Find out more here.

The volcano newscast is sponsored by Lava Centre. Examine the various volcanoes and eruptions, geographic faults and glacial floods that make Iceland a showcase of volcanism. Featuring new material about the Geldingadalir eruption!

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