Seeing a volcano erupt is a true once in a lifetime opportunity. Actually seeing it, on the cloudy and often rainy south coast of Iceland, proved to be a whole other challenge. We kept an eye on seismic activity charts and the weather forecast and tried driving up to Fagradalsfjall twice. During our first attempt we could only smell the volcano, the fog was too dense to see anything. The second attempt aligned with a perfect window of high eruptive activity and clear skies.

Seeing a volcano erupt and lava flow through the landscape is incredibly helpful in understanding the landscape. You may learn about volcanic activity, lava flow and landscape formation in a school, but it just doesn’t compare to seeing it happen in front of you. I broke off a piece of freshly solidified, cooled down lava to take home. The youngest rock or piece of the Earth’s crust I had ever touched. I was surprised how painful it was to hold the piece of rock. It had all kinds of sharp and spiky edges as it had never experienced any kind of erosion.