Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.02.2019, Page 47

warmth and hospitality. Villi has
set up a tour of the Viðgelmir lava
tube, where we’re greeted by a
perky young guide named Hlynur.
We strap on helmets and head to
the yawning maw of the cave.
A wooden staircase leads down
into the darkness. Hlynur explains
how the cave was formed, showing
us features such as “lava candles,”
which formed like stalagmites
when molten rock dripped down
from the ceiling, and cave bacte-
ria that glitters silver under torch-
light. We end the tour sitting in
absolute darkness, listening to
“the symphony of the cave”: a
silence that turns out, with at-
tention, to hold the sounds of
countless trickles, droplets and
streams.
The final stop is the Krauma
geothermal spa, where we warm
up with long and lingering dip,
looking out over the steaming
Deildartunguhver hot spring.
Deep in the winter off-season,
there are few other visitors, and
after a long soak we have the re-
laxation lounge to ourselves. I
drift into daydreams in front of
the fire, struck by the thought that
the tourists queuing up for Gey-
sir and Gullfoss really don’t know
what they’re missing in the peace-
ful outback of Borgarfjörður.
The frozen vista of Hallmundarhraun
gpv.is/travel
Follow all our travels
“The sun-
lit ex-
panse of
Langjökull
appears,
and we
step out
into a
majestic
pink-hued
icescape.”
Into the darkness of Viðgelmir
Villi & Sigrún: unbelievably good hosts
Grandagarður 7, 101 Reykjavík