Before we came to Iceland, everyone would ask us, “Has the volcano caused your trip to be canceled?” “No, we would answer, the volcano is far away from where we’ll be going so there’s no worry. We may not be able to visit the Blue Lagoon, but that’s the only potential problem.”
Today, on our way to the Blue Lagoon, we crossed over the smoldering lava fields from the current eruption. We passed a stone’s throw away from the town of Grindavik that’s been evacuated and three houses have burned. We saw the 15 and 20-foot high walls of dirt that have been erected in an attempt to divert the flow of lava from the town, the Blue Lagoon and the nearby geothermal power plant. We saw steam in the distance where fire crews were drenching molten lava with water to solidify it and create a barrier. We could smell the sulfur-laden odor from the volcano.
Eruptions have been going on on the Reykjanes Peninsula since March of 2021 and there have been five eruptions since last December. The most recent started on March 29 of this year and is ongoing, although it seems to be slowing. Before this sequence, the peninsula has been quiet for 800 years. We drove through fields of 800-year old lava and craters. But the fresh lava flows are overrunning the old flows.
The Blue Lagoon itself is a large swimming pool, maybe four feet deep and filled with warm (100 degree) blue salt water that has come up from the ground. There’s a wet bar and a place where you can get a mud, mineral or algae mask to apply to your face. A mask is supposed to make you radiant and to stop the aging process. Beats me while an old person would want to stop the aging process; all the damage has already been done. And I believe that something like that does you good only if you believe it will. I didn’t do a mask, even though it was included in my admission. Judy did, though.
The drive to the Blue Lagoon from the 360 Boutique Hotel took longer than planned because the direct costal route was closed due to the volcano. But that gave Thor more time for more stories. I’ll try to recount some here and to catch up on some I missed from earlier days.
Here are a few topics Thor talked about today and yesterday.
The Icelandic language is closely related to ancient Nordic spoken by the Vikings. Old English, and hence modern English, is derived from the same source. It’s a language difficult for foreigners to learn, however, since it is highly complex. There are three genders observed: masculine, feminine and neuter. There are four declinations for each noun. Adjectives must agree with the declinanted noun. Hence there can be as many as 24 versions of an adjective. And let’s not get started on verbs!
There is an app for Icelanders to use to determine their family tree relationship to other people. It’s a small place, and every Icelander is related somehow to every other Icelander. People with common grandparents can’t marry. Extended families, aunts, uncles, etc., operate as one big family.
Beer was outlawed in Iceland until 1987, following Denmark’s lead where drunkenness was a problem. Thor says that many Icelanders don’t drink during the week but on the weekends they drink to a state of altered reality – total blotto drunkenness.
Icelanders are quite liberal when it comes to relationships. A recent survey found that 70% of Icelanders think it’s OK to have sex on a first date.
The Icelandic coat of arms has an interesting story as related by Thor. The shield features four guardian spirits as defined by a legend. Back in the 10th century, the King of Norway and Denmark, Harald “Bluetooth” Gormason, decided to subjugate Iceland to be part of his empire. Observing that diplomacy had failed other kings, Harald opted to use armed force. But before doing so, he hired a shaman from Finland to scope the situation out. The shaman, taking the form of a whale (that’s what Scandinavian shamans do), swam to Iceland. He found that each side of the island was protected by a spirit: a bull, serpents, great birds and a dragon. Harald, receiving the shaman’s report, abandoned his plan to invade. So today, based on a 13th century retelling of the story, the Iceland’s coat of arms features these protective spirits.
Toward the end of our time together, Thor touched on the subject of Icelandic politics. One hot button topic is whether or not Iceland should join the European Union. They do have a trade agreement with the EU but the Krona is still the independent currency, rather than the Euro. One problem with that is the Krona fluctuates in value. But bank loans, say a house mortgage, is based on Euros or some other external currency. Icelandic loans can vary not only in interest rates as conditions change, but the principle amount of the loan can increase.
Some oppose joining the EU. Thor believes, I think, that those opposed have some personal interest that might be harmed, including politicians and those who hold fishing rights in Icelandic waters. Iceland is a wealthy country, based on its fishing industry especially, but that wealth doesn’t translate into wealth for the common citizen. It’s held by a small group of the super rich. Thor has lost confidence in the ability of the government to live up to its promises and provide for the welfare of the country’s citizens.
So our trip with Sage and Thor is over. Sage, Barrs and Holly had us over to their apartment for dinner tonight – spaghetti and salad. A perfect ending to a wonderful trip. Judy and I walked the mile or so over and back in a light drizzle. So now we’re back in our hotel room. Tomorrow we head for Snaefellsnes.
