Reykjavík Grapevine - 11.09.2015, Síða 23

FRI
before breaking into a
smile. “But, you know,
it’s more dangerous to
be on a highway than to
be sitting here.” His reas-
surances aside, it’s not
the first time during the
day that I’ve felt a tingle
of excited trepidation to
be so deep in this unpre-
dictable wilderness.
New ground
Chugging slowly back down through
Askja’s lavascape, we round Drekagil
once more to catch our first glimpse of
Holuhraun—an astounding horizon of
inky black rock, still steaming, like a city
on fire. My heart skips a beat as we enter
a region of the highlands I’ve previously
only pored over on maps.
Holuhraun was, until recently, off lim-
its; the eruption spewed out toxic gases
that sat over the area, and blew over dif-
ferent parts of Iceland. Only scientists
and members of the media were allowed
to enter, with the company of a profes-
sional guide. Sæmi was one such guide.
“I took some trips there,” he remembers.
“We had to bring gas masks, and have a
sensor to know when the level was get-
ting dangerous.”
But when the eruption was over,
rangers were surprised to find that a
river thought to have been swallowed by
the eruption had reappeared. Somewhat
incredibly—”like a gift from the land,” in
Sæmí’s words—the water was heated
during its journey through the lava to
Holuhraun’s eastern edge, emerging at
around 38-42 degrees, which also hap-
pens to be the bathing temperature of
Iceland’s geothermal hot pots. A pathway
was duly marked across
the brittle lava, avoiding
any air bubbles and un-
stable areas. We follow
the trail gingerly, the
featherweight pebbles
making a sound like
broken crockery as
they clatter over the
sharp, twisted rocks.
There are ten or
so people already at
the bathing spot when
we arrive—mostly Icelandic families
who’ve driven here for a day out, some
with young children. We get changed in
various nooks, hanging our clothes on the
rocks and sliding into the inviting water.
The river is shallow, with a steady current
and a pleasant temperature that fluctu-
ates according to the flow of various hot
and cold tributaries. Behind us, the bro-
ken lava juts up dramatically against the
sky; in front of us, the water flows away
across plains of steaming black sand. As
I take my hands and feet off the ground,
I’m swept gently downstream. It’s an ex-
perience that feels at once like temporar-
ily sliding out of day-to-day reality, and
being embraced, somehow, by the earth’s
natural warmth.
We linger there for hours, without
really noticing the time go by. When we
finally dry off and drift back towards the
car, the sun is already setting, and we’re
the last remaining bathers.
We pack the car in a quite dream-
like state. Somewhere on the long road
back to civilisation, Sæmi says he hopes
the river will still be hot when the winter
thaws.
Drifting into half-sleep, I murmur that
even if it doesn’t, I’m grateful to be one of
the lucky few to have experienced it.
23The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 14 — 2015 TRAVEL
Treading New
“The terrain
changes rapidly,
from an expanse
of boulder-strewn
orange dirt to a
vast tract of black
sand, studded with
countless gleaming
black pebbles, to
an undulating track
that winds steeply
through jagged,
sculptural lava for-
mations.”
B
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Distance from Reykjavík
Around 579km
Trip provided by Geo Travel: geotravel.is
Accommodation provided by Akureyri
Backpackers: akureyribackpackers.com
Flights to Akureyri
provided by Air Iceland: airiceland.is
4G provided by Vodafone: vodafone.is
Car provided by Hertz: hertz.is