Lögberg-Heimskringla - 26.03.1999, Page 1

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113. Árgangur ‘The oldest ethnic periodical still publishing in Canada” Föstudagur 26. mars 1999 Númer 11
113th year Publications Mail registration no. 08000 Friday 26 March 1999 Number 11
eimskringla
The lcelandic Weekly
Lögberg Stofnaö 14. januar 1888
Heimskringla Stofnaö 9. september 1886
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The Land of Ice and Fire
The surreal landscape above
does not conjure up images of
Iceland which most of us are
familiar with. Keep in mind, however,
that it is the land of ice and fire, with a
cold and rough exterior but hot interior.
The country’s extensive lava fields give
us some indication of the forces buried
deep below the crust, with twenty-five
percent of the country covered by lava
or ice. Only a fifth of Iceland is consid-
ered inhabitable. To most foreign
tourists, landing at Keflavík airport and
driving through the lava field en route to
Reykjavík is a startling discovery of
this fact. Not surprisingly it was consid-
ered the most ideal place to train astro-,
nauts before landing on the moon.
Not far from the Keflavík Airport,
the Svartsengi power station rises out of
the black lava-field, spewing runoff
water onto a baseball-field-size area,
from the ferociously hot water brought
up from the earth’s innards, forming a
clear blue lagoon, temperature forty
degrees Celsius. This “Fantasy Land”
lagoon, its lava bottom covered by
white deposits of silica and salt, has
become popular for swimming and
bathing. It is also sought after as a back-
drop for filming perfonnances of bands
and other odd happenings. Changing
facilities are located by the lagoon
where visitors can rent towels and buy
health products made from the lagoon’s
deposits and considered very beneficial
for sufferers of psoriasis and other skin
diseases.
Welcome to the Lögberg-
Heimskringla 1999 Travel Issue.
As in previous years this issue focuses
mainly on travel in Iceland.
After the Travel Issue we will take
a one week break and the next issue will
come out on April 9. We would like to
thank our supporters who submitted
material for publication and our adver-
tisers. Special thanks to those who
responded to the questions on “the best,
worst, and most surprising experience”
of their visits to Iceland, which I ran on
the INL-chat list of the Intemet. Have a
happy Easter.