Iceland. Fagradalsfjall Volcano Hike

  The eruption of the volcano began in March 2021, and our trip was in mid-August, which was the fifth month after the eruption. The volcano was our first destination after arriving in Iceland... Upon landing at Keflavik Airport late in the evening, we hitchhiked to a campsite in Grindavík, located close to the volcano. It’s worth noting that hitchhiking in Iceland is very cool. It took us only 10 minutes to get a ride from a Lithuanian who has been living and working in Iceland for four years and was picking up his friends from the airport. Learning that we were from Lithuania, he drove us all the way to the campsite...

After spending the night at the campsite, the next morning we hitchhiked with two Englishmen to the start of the trail leading to the volcano...    

  When we reached the so-called "lava field" formed over five months due to the eruption, we saw two paths. One led to the ridge to the main viewing area, and the other went in the opposite direction along the lava field, connecting with Route A, which had been closed for several months. Route A offered a closer view of the volcano from a different side...  

  Since we had plenty of time to explore, we first went towards the closed Route A. The hidden things are always the most interesting. As we passed by the lava field, we could strongly smell sulfur dioxide rising with the steam...  

   The hardened lava and steaming ground already created an impression of something extraordinary...  

 Climbing the hill and seeing the volcano in eruption amidst the Martian-like landscape, we were momentarily frozen in awe. The smell of sulfur dioxide was very strong here, which was a bit concerning as we didn't want to get poisoned on the first day. But the fact that we were alone facing an erupting volcano was much stronger than any anxiety about poisoning. The lava, bubbling in the crater, made a noise similar to ocean waves, drawing our eyes to it. The visibility that day wasn’t ideal, so we needed to be patient to wait for the haze to clear and see the volcano in all its glory. We had everything necessary for this – warm clothes and hot tea in a thermos...   

  After spending about an hour alone with the volcano, we descended from Route A and crossed the lava field to the classic route... 

   The lava field stretches very close to the ocean...

Climbing up the classic route, we were no longer alone...

  From this side, the volcano was a bit farther away, but still impressive...   

  In the afternoon, the volcano's activity increased... 

   Circling the volcano, we got closer to the flowing lava stream... 

   Around five in the evening, we finished the routes around the volcano and started hitchhiking on the main road... 

  Again, it took only 15 minutes to get a ride from an Israeli guy living in California and traveling solo in Iceland. When he asked where we were heading, he drove us right to our planned destination, even though it was out of his way, adding an extra 15 kilometers to his journey. We reached the Krýsuvík hot springs, experiencing boiling mud pools for the first time...

   The hot spring area isn’t large, but there’s a circular route through the mountain ridge. We just climbed to the top to admire the Icelandic nature...

   A solitary farm, a lake, dwarf mountains, the ocean – all in one view...

 Descending from the ridge, we hitchhiked to Reykjavik, driven by a young couple from Germany. They took us to the Hallgrímskirkja, the tallest building on the island and a landmark of the capital...

 City sightseeing was planned for the next day, so we headed straight to the campsite. We already had more than enough impressions for one day and needed time to process everything...