Amazing Glorious Easter!

Herding Cats

Cat Herding

(if this clip does not load properly, you can also watch it on YouTube or on Metacafe!)

Last week, the Icelandic Prime Minister was quoted as saying that working with the Left Green Party was about as easy as herding cats. The Left Greens were not impressed but I did find this hilarious clip which illustrates the principle.

This of course has nothing to do with volcanos, I know. Our Icelandic volcano is still going strong and I read that some 25,000 people inundated our serene corner of the world last week end. N1 Hliðarendi, where Eman works, closes now at midnight!!! so they can accomodate the masses (read: make more money) Never in the history of Iceland has there ever been this many people out here. I hope I will not have to report any sad news of accidents as tourists, Icelandic or otherwise, take all sorts of risks to get as close as they can to the molten lava.

Check out this article from Iceland Review:

Master chefs from Hótel Holt in Reykjavík cooked a gourmet volcanic dinner for travelers near the crater on Fimmvörduháls in south Iceland yesterday. The menu was lobster soup and monkfish and lobster spears that were grilled on the glowing hot lava.



Photo by Páll Stefánsson.

The dinner was enjoyed outside in the chilling wind and transformed landscape on Fimmvörduháls. The volcanic restaurant will remain open in the coming days. Special guests at Hótel Holt will be invited to the meals served there as will a few lucky tourists, Fréttabladid reports.

Police and rescue services say people are far too foolhardy at the eruption site. A fence will be erected to keep travelers in a safe distance from the lava flow and prevent accidents that are waiting to happen.

Chairman of the Hella Air Ground Rescue Team, Svanur Saevar Lárusson, told Morgunbladid it is scary to observe how close people go to the flowing lava, especially photographers who seem to want to jump right in.

There are many hazards people must watch out for, Lárusson said. “The lava is flowing under the snow and then it collapses where people were just standing.” He also said it is dangerous to move too close to the edge of the Hrunagil canyon; snow banks can collapse any time.

People can now walk towards the eruption zone from the highland valley of Thórsmörk. Walkers have been asked not to go any further than to the Morinsheidi heath.

However, some people disregarded that request and went as far as Heljarkambur. On the way, walkers have to walk up a snowy slope which can crack and slide forwards. “People appear ready to risk their lives to get a little closer,” Lárusson said.

Rescue services assisted close to 20 cold and exhausted hikers on Fimmvörduháls yesterday. They seemed not to have realized how long and difficult the hike is.

It is assumed that a large number of people will travel to see the eruption during the upcoming Easter weekend.

The travel association Útivist will lead hikes from different locations in cooperation with Reykjavík Excursions, which brings travelers to the starting points. Both longer and shorter hikes will be on offer; two include spending a night at a cabin on Fimmvörduháls.

In Thórsmörk the Icelandic Touring Association will guide, advise and accommodate travelers. There will be scheduled hikes to three locations with a view of the eruption.

Additionally, sightseeing can be undertaken by helicopter (see nordurflug.is and helicopter.is), ski-doo (snow.is) and bus (re.is). Customized tours are also a possibility (nordicvisitor.com).

For prospective eruption travelers it is important to prepare, follow weather forecasts and news about the eruption closely. For further information visit icesar.com, vedur.is and almannavarnir.is.

According to visir.is, the eruption is just as powerful as it was yesterday.

Volcano Party last night!

This is just to give you a glimpse of what was happening yesterday!  This is taken from the south side, the Skogarfoss side of the volcano where you can see much more that you can from our side!  I think is was minus 18C yesterday with the wind chill factor so it was cold up there! But if you have the right vehicle you can do this...I think ours would pass.  So.....maybe we will do this trip one of these days.  Meantime, we had literally thousands  of people come out from Reykjavik and pass right by the house....where was my coffee and waffles and cream set up for these people????   I went out there last night, the northside of the volcano, with Finnur, Bjartur, Matthew, ET, Victor, Lisa, and Kalli.  It took 3 hours to get there and back in our Musso (which is a jeep) and did just fine but I let Finnur drive since I still find it really scary to ford rivers in a car!   There were kms and kms of cars going in! Some regular cars who should not have been trying to cross the river did so and had engine trouble afterwards!  Crazy! But it was fun.  We borrowed the super binoculars from Matthew and could see the lava very well, spouting up over the mountain.  This was at the very same place that Lena and I helped with a sheep round up last fall and we got a bit stuck in the mud since I didn't have a clue how to put the car into 4 wheel drive and do some stuff to the tires.....but the farmers chasing sheep helped us out.  Why didn't my husband teach me how to so this, hey? Ok it's not really his fault.  But cars are his domain, since I already do all the handy man stuff around the house, do I have to learn about cars as well????  Ok if we do the Fimmvöduháls trip I will learn how to drive the jeep properly.....but only if there are no guys with us!

Taking reservations for private volcano tours at the Valgardsson Family Bed and Breakfast.........who will be first?
p.s I did not take the above photo!  I have not yet gone that close!

Spennandi! (exciting!)

This is one of the best videos I have seen, taken yesterday, March 24, 2010. There does not appear to be any imminent danger of the volcano spreading into Eyafjallajökull and thereby causing massive flooding. We are on the hills above the floodplain so it is unlikely that our house would be swept away in a flood. However, we would be evaucated right away if there was even a chance of flooding and would not be watching it from our windows!

Our house stands about 15 miles from the eruption and so we are not in any danger whatsoever from the lava flow. There is in fact no one living in the immediate area of the volcano,but there are a few farms within a certain radius of it and they are the ones who were not able to return home until Monday.

I would like to underscore the fact that the FOX news reports on the volcano with their interview with a volcanologist was entirely misleading and not to be trusted. BBC and Reuters have, by contrast, been very accurate and free of hype. OK, well one BBC report did quote a certain teacher who lives near us as saying that there was so much ash that they couldn't open their car door, and I hope to be able to get to the bottom of that one.

They estimate that there are 30 million cubic metres of magma under Eyafjallajðkull which is what is feeding the Fimmvörðuháls eruption. If the fissure widens into the glacier then that is where is could start getting dangerous, so everyone is keeping a close eye on it.

Here is a link to mila.is http://mila.is/um-milu/vefmyndavelar/eyjafjallajokull-fra-thorolfsfelli/ which has set up a live webcam of the eruption, at a very safe distance. It should be very beautiful to watch this coming Saturday as the weather should be sunny and clear. If you tune in around 8:30 PM Iceland time, as the sun sets it could be quite a beautiful view of the eruption around that time.

A tourist volcano?

When I arrived home tonight after being out and about all day I went straight to the east windows to check on the volcano.  There are now 2 places where we can see the lava spouting into the air, on either side of the peak. The billowing steam resulting from the lava hitting the snow rose high above and is illuminated with a red glow.  I had hoped to drive over closer to the site, but was waiting for Eman to arrive back from town.  The town had organised a meeting with the police, health officials, Red Cross and everybody who was anybody in connection with the volcano.  But he was so tired he just went to bed and I never got to hear what happened at the meeting....so that will have to wait.

I saw a very hyped up Fox news program tonight from YouTube  and now I can tell you how totally hyped up out of proportion the media really is!!!!!  Do not believe anything you hear on the news outside of Iceland because I am telling you it is the "Chinese Telephone" playing out right before your very eyes.

Toxic Deadly Volcanic Eruption?

www.youtube.com

Scientists says situation unfolding in Iceland could pose danger for entire planet

 You can watch it on YouTube if you really must.
How is it then that volcanologists in Iceland have such a different take on the subject?  Consider today's article in the Iceland Review..
"Haraldur Sigurdsson, one of Iceland’s most acclaimed volcanologists, visited the scene yesterday. He believes that the lava currently spurting from the crater on Fimmvörduháls is related to the lava flow of the 1973 volcanic eruption in theWestman Islands.

“The source of the magma underneath this area is similar. It is located at a significant depth and is then carried up to the crust,” Sigurdsson said. “This magma has risen to a depth of ten kilometers in the past weeks and remained there and then a small leak has spurted to the surface.”

Sigurdsson does not believe that the eruption will grow in volume or that other fissures will open up. “I believe what we see now is the way it’s going to be, little lava, which will flow for a few weeks, maybe months, and then it will be over. But, who knows? We just have to keep following it.”

“It is fortunate that it is in an area where there is little danger so it will probably just be a tourist eruption,” Sigurdsson added."


It is now 1:50 am and I was going to add the credits to the photo above but am way too tired.  I will do that tommorrow!  Stay well!

The Latest on the volcano.....

This photo was taken a 2am this morning, March 22nd, probably 15 kms from our house.   As of this evening at 9 pm the news reports that have come out are saying that the eruption is steadily growing stronger, the fissure had lengthened and the intensity is growing slowly but surely.  The fissure is located between Eyfjallajökull and Myrdalsjökull, at Fimmvöruduháls pass, so now it is being referred to as the Fimmvörduháls eruption, in case you were wondering.  If the fissure widens there is a danger that it could spread to underneith Eyafjallajökull, thereby causing a massive geysir as the tons and tons of water in the glacier erupt and flood the area.  Our home is not in the path of the flood plain or the lava flow but there is a danger of ash fallout and gases...either way, we would be evacuated again, no doubt about that.

Right now we are having gale force winds, so no planes will be flying over the fissure until the wind dies down some time tommorrow night.  So we ask for your prayers for protection for us and all the inhabitants and livestock in the area.  Thank you!

Unusual Sunset for Iceland in February no less

It may be happening folks.....we are on amber alert!

This is where Lena and I crossed the glacial river, Markafjlótt, basically just down the road from our farm.  I did not take this photo, so no credit to me, but this is the view we have everyday.   Love the lenticular cloud!  But that was last year.....

For over a week now, we have had our eyes glued to the Icelandic National Weather Service earthquake page, Iceland's equivalent to NOAA.  There have been so many mini earthquakes under Eyfjallajökull, which is the glacier we see out our east windows, that I have lost count....We don't feel any of them, but something serious is going on underfoot!  Usually there might be the lone one, two or three mini-quakes per month in this glacier.


 So. I phoned the Weather Service this morning and they told me that they will be holding a meeting with government officials  to discuss the matter, so this is happening as I write this!  They will post the outcome of this on their site later today.....Meantime Eman and I decided that each family member will pack one small suitcase with enough clothes and essentials for one week, which we will keep in the car ready to go on moments notice. One danger, which I already experienced last summer is the possibility of natural gas escaping from the glacier, not to mention that we are within 20 kms of this glacier so any major earthquake or volcanic action we need to be prepared for.  


The guy I spoke to from the Weather Service, said there was no imminent danger, then  added "but you never know".   When I told him which farm we are on, he said, oh yes, I went school with Sigrun from Lambalaekur (no idea who she is)  ....and my parents live on another farm very close to you.  Ahhhhh Iceland!

Ok Brandy.....what did you do now?

I just had to post this incredible photo of a boxer who looks exactly like our Brandy in Zimbabwe.  She was my all around best buddy and confidante and my most loyal friend during  difficult times.  She was definitely the Alpha Female as she was the one who ruled the roost.  Her brother, Brindle, played 2nd fiddle to her.

Funny isn't it how we fall in love with certain breeds?  I would love to have another Boxer but not everyone in the family agrees. Maybe someday. Note to L,M,E and Em......please feel free to relate your best memory of Brandy and Brindle.  Those were the days!

Blueberry pie with whipped cream