August 26 - Landmannalaugar

While nearby Eyjafjallajökull is certainly the most famous Icelandic volcano of recent years, the more imminent threat comes from neighboring Hekla. It normally erupts every ten to fifteen years and last went off in the year 2000 so is well overdue. We therefore kept a watchful eye as we looped three sides of it (and back) on our way inland to the interior highlands of Landmannalaugar.

This day we were on a small group tour consisting of a convoy of two large 4x4 trucks that works its way up through a barren moonscape of lava fields and dry glacial washes.

After a few hours this gave way to the verdant Landmannalaugar region, alternating between "moldy" lava flows (covered in moss) and rolling hills dotted with "free range" sheep; The ranchers just let all their sheep roam free in Iceland's interior for the summer before they are all rounded up, sorted, fleeced and/or slaughtered. (The sheep, that is.)

For lunch we stopped at Laugavegur, kicking off point for the four-day Laugavegur Trail hike. With the cold, wind, and rain at this altitude, the small tent city looked like one of the most miserable places on Earth and we were well glad that hiking and camping are not activities we pretend to want to do anymore.

Instead, our group had a short 90-minute walk across a lava field and up a geothermally active volcano.

Before heading back, we had the chance to swim in a geothermal pool to warm up. However, while the water itself looked nice and warm, we figured the odds of us not getting cold and wet on the way back to the truck made it not worth the effort, so we decided to give it a pass.