Iceland-Land of Fire and Ice-Adventure-Reykjavik October 21, 2022

For our October Adventure this year we decided on ICELAND, the Land of Fire and Ice. It literally is the land of FIRE (Volcanoes-at least 57 of them) and ICE (at least 3 major glaciers). 

Unfortunately, we missed the effusive eruption of  Fagradalsfjall volcano by a month. It's labeled effusive because the lava does not burst from the earth's crust in an explosion of ash and fire like Eyjafjallajökull did in 2010. Rather, the lava emerges from the volcanic fissure forming molten rivers of lava.

This eruption was very near to Reykjavik allowing for easy viewing-locals and geologists labeled it a "tourist eruption". But, like I said this second eruption in 2022 had ended in September (dang!) before our tour began.

The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull (it literally means "the glacier of the island mountains") in 2010, put Iceland on the map when it's 71 day eruption caused the airports in Europe to cancel flights because the ash cloud was so big. Eyjafjallajökull is under a glacier so when it blew-it was an explosive eruption.

Well, not to worry. Still plenty of things to explore in this country. 

We drove to Boston and flew Iceland Air non-stop to Keflavik International Airport, the former World War II United States military base, overnight-arriving around 6 am local time.  

We were met at the airport by a car provided by our travel group, Nordic Visitor and were driven to our hotel in Reykjavik.

We are booked into the Centerhotels Laugavegur but our room isn't ready and check-in isn't until 2 p.m.. After breakfast at the Lóa Restaurant in the hotel, we decide to take a walk around the city.

We head down the street toward the harbor. The sunrise is just gorgeous.

It looks to me like we're on another planet, Planet Iceland.

On our way back up the hill we stop at Höfði house. It's the location for the 1986 Reykjavík Summit meeting of President Ronald Reagan of the United States and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union. 

This meeting was an important step towards ending of the Cold War.

Back at the hotel, our room still isn't ready for us so I head further up the hill to check out the famous church of Reykjavik. Hallgrímskirkja is one of the best known city landmarks and one of the most photographed. You can see the tower from pretty much anywhere in the city. It stands at 74.5 metres (244 ft) tall and was completed in 1986

The church is very impressive and the sky was so blue. 

As I walk around the church I notice a statue-it's for Leif Erikson (see photo above). He's celebrated here in Iceland and in Duluth, Minnesota. It's believed that he arrived to North America at least 500 years BEFORE Christopher Columbus. 

The statue of Leif Erikson, by Alexander Stirling Calder, was a gift from the United States in honor of the 1930 Althing Millennial Festival, commemorating the 1000th anniversary of the convening of Iceland's parliament at Þingvellir in 930 AD.

Back at the hotel, our room is ready; we take a quick nap, then shower, then head to the bar to meet our guide for the week-John Paul and the other Iceland adventurers we'll be hanging with in our quest for Northern Lights.

We have a 9 a.m. lobby call for our first day-The Golden Circle.

More photos: CLICK HERE