Category: Suðurland

Volcanoes are formed when the Earth’s crust cracks open so that magma and gas rise up from the Earth’s interior. From ancient times there has been speculations as to whether volcanoes were the way into hell or to the interior of the earth (ref Jules Verne and Snæfellsjökull).

The word volcano comes from the Roman god of fire; Vulcanus. 25 km north of Sicily is a volcanic island with the same name (Vulcano). The ancient Romans thought this was the chimney of the God of Fire’s forge. When Volcano Island erupted (increased), it was because Vulcanus cleared the forge of various slag and ash. Earthquakes were explained in the same way; they happened because Vulcanus hit his anvil while making weapons for the God of War: Mars.

Counting volcanoes in Iceland quickly becomes a problem of definition. Where is the border between the one and the other volcano? Some people argue that Iceland has around 130 volcanoes. But scientists usually list only 30 volcanic systems.

The shape of the volcano is determined by what comes out of it (thin, viscous, crammed or ash), and how fast it happens. In general, the volcanic eruptions become somewhat less explosive and more fluid in the spreading zones, i.e. where the continental plates move away from each other, such as in Iceland.

We had made a couple of attempts to Icelandic volcano baths, but it was not easy. First of all, water is needed for bathing, and most craters do not have volcanic lakes. When the volcano is built up of smaller rock particles, tuff and tephra, the water will drain away and the crater will remain dry. The second problem is access, the crater edges are often steep. But finally we found a good candidate – Kerið, which lies in the fissure zone between Reykjanes and Langjökull.

Kerið is a caldera crater, formed approximately 6,000 years ago. A caldera is a kind of a sinkhole that forms when the ‘roof’ of the magma chamber collapses after the magma chamber has been emptied. The water depth in Kerið varies between 7 and 14 metres, depending on the groundwater level in the surroundings. Nice place!

At Kerið, the landowners have made stairs down to the sea (there is a small fee to visit Kerið, but that’s absolutely ok in relation to the effort they have actually put in to facilitate the visit). There is a path along the crater rim, and a path down by the water, too. They have even installed a lifebuoy. So then it’s just a matter of getting started – right? The only small ‘but’ would have to be that at Kerið you can’t expect to be alone. But for us that was not a problem, so then we just jumped in. A splendid vulcano bath!

A volcano bath in Kerið is absolutely right.

South of the peninsula Reykjarnes there are not many good harbors. There are no fjords here, and the coast is heavily exposed by the ocean. There are some skerries, though, and you can see the waves over the reefs. Occasionally there are calm waters and something resembling lagoons.

By Strandakirkja there is such a small lagoon where we have bathed several times – once together with seals!

Strandakirkja has been a church site for a long time, the first church here is said to have been built by order of king Olav Tryggvasson, before the year 1000. The place is mentioned in the church register made by the bishop at Skálholt, Pál Jónsson, around the year 1200.

There are many stories connected to Strandakirkja. For instance, there was a young farmer who found himself in terrible weather on the way back after buying timber in Norway. In desperation, he decided to donate the timber to the construction of a church – if he survived. Suddenly he saw a luminous angel, who showed him the way to the port. A memorial – a woman holding a shiny cross, was erected outside the church in 1950. The statue was made by sculptor Gunnfríður Jónsdóttir.

Strandakirkja is therefore considered to be all seamens church and is one of the richest churches in Iceland, because it still receives donations from sailors.

At Strandakirkja lagoon time is always right for a bath!

At Þingvellir it is easy see to that the North American and the European continental plates are drifting away from each other, because there are ravines and gills everywhere. Some of them are filled with water.

The most beautiful of them all is Silfrugjá (the Silver Gill), also called Silfra.

This is a narrow gill, filled with unbelievably clear water. If possible – do book a free diving tour here, it’s fabulous! You can choose between scuba diving, snorkeling and free diving. We chose the latter, as there is nothing you do in Silfra by scuba diving that you can’t do free diving. And the sense of freedom is higher with a wetsuit than a drysuit and without air tanks. We even let the tour guide do most of the photographing, so we could just concentrate on enjoying. The swim takes about half an hour, and goes through 3 different zones: The brown, the blue and the green. The brown zone is the narrowest, hence the color (because of the least light flux).

Here you can touch both continents at the same time. It’s fascinating! The blue zone is where Silfra is deepest, with a stunning beauty. The depth goes down to 63 meters.

The green zone is the shallow one, but beautiful as well. The water is pretty cold, only about 2 degrees C, but that will be soon forgotten. Free diving in Silfra is absolutely fantastic!

If you have the opportunity – spend one full day at Þingvellir! Preferably a nice day, but that is hard to achieve because of the predictably unpredictable Icelandic weather (as was written on a T-shirt: ‘Welcome to Iceland! If you don’t like the weather – just wait 15 minutes!’. Þingvellir is a grandiose place where you find a splendid geology and it is of invaluable importance to the Icelanders.

Alþingi (the Icelandic parliament) was founded in the year 930 AD, due to the liberation from Norway and the Norwegian king. All free men could meet at Alþingi every spring. It is the oldest parliament in the world still running, and the meetings were held at Þingvellir every year until 1798, thereafter to be held in Reykjavík.

The Norwegian law ‘Gulatingsloven’ was the foundation of the Icelandic laws. There were one ‘Þing’ in every region, and Alþingi for the country as a whole. The Icelanders spent a lot of resources on the ‘Þing business’, as most of the time during spring and early summer were used for the long trip to and from as well as the Þing itself. One of the first decisions at Alþingi was not to have a king.

Alþingi did not have executive power, and that might be the underlying cause for centuries of clan wars and vendettas. After years of civil war state, Iceland lost its independence and came under the Norwegian king in 1262. It was at Þingvellir Iceland declared independence from Denmark 17^th of June 1944.

Þingvellir is a national park, lying in between the North American and the European continental plates. This is clearly visible as you are walking around; there are ravines and gills everywhere. Where the parliament meetings were held, there are nice hiking trails today.

The ‘þing men’ built cabins where they could meet and sleep. Remains from 50 of these places are excavated by archaeologists, and many objects have been found. A little further down, by Þingvalla lake, you can find several ravines ‘between continents’ filled with water.

The most famous of these is Silfra, but to swim there you have to book a guided tour (see next bath). We have done that, and finished the free diving tour with a short swim without the wet suits. Yes, it’s quite cold (around 2 degrees C), but lovely!

By the way, this is a good place to drink the bathing water, there is no better drinking water anywhere!

If you have some time in Iceland, we would recommend you to spend more than one day at ‘The Golden Circle’. Þingvellir including (free) diving in Silfra should be a separate trip. The first day it is great to visit Gullfoss and Geysir Area. The waterfall Gullfoss is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Iceland, it is unbelievably beautiful in its power. Gullfoss has a large water flow and 32 meters height, divided into two falls. The waterfall was protected after a public action started by Sigríður Tómasdóttir, and a statue of her has been erected at the waterfall.

At Gullfoss you will find a big shop with a large selection of souvenirs and Icelandic clothes. And, strangely enough (since it looks like a typical tourist trap), also a very good lamb soup (kjötsúpa).

After some blowouts from Strokkur in Geysir Area, it’s a good time for a bath – but not in Strokkur, and not in Gullfoss!

We recommend going to Laugarvatn (Lake Laugar). There you have to visit Fontana spa. It is gorgeous, but be aware that this is a natural spa, including a distinct smell of sulfur. Especially the saunas require some overcoming, but what can you expect when you are ‘sitting on top of a Geysir’?

The pools are made of ordinary pool tiles, which is a fine contrast to the rough stones and drift timber that frames them.

What lifts the Fontana experience the most, is the possibility to switch between hot and cold baths. From a luxury ‘heitur pottir’ (hot pot) you can take a fresh swim in Laugarvatn. NB! Don’t even consider diving in! Laugarvatn is extremely shallow. The maximum depth is only 2 meters – even though the area is 2 km², and you actually risk to get abrasions on your knees when swimming!

But that feeling… To cool down in Laugarvatn before reentering a beautiful 42 degree pool from where you can contemplate the volcano Hekla far far away! If you swim along the shore to the right, though, the water in the lake itself is warm, there is warm water coming up from the lake bottom everywhere!

Then we say like the Icelanders: Allt fint (everything’s fine)!