01/05/2024
After I left the Malarrifsviti lighthouse and unsuccessfully tried to find dinner, I headed back to my Airbnb. I had some time before the aurora would be visible and I thankfully packed a couple of dehydrated meals.
Then, it happened, as I sit down to eat I see the news that the volcano has started erupting. My first thought is jump in the car and go! Open the door, snow storm. Ok, maybe gather some info first. The info was canāt get close to it, the roads were shut down, the storm outside was blowing and I was 3+ hours away from the volcano.
Once the storm calmed down, I figured Iād try driving somewhere close first, when I first got to Kirkjufell there were no signs of the northern lights. I stayed for a while, got properly cold and started to pack up. Out of nowhere and later than predicted the sky began to light up. This showing of the aurora was much brighter than two nights prior and I had the place to myself. What an amazing experience!
By the time I got done it was close to 3 or 4am, I didnāt have it in me to make the long drive and I thought to myself āthe last volcano erupted for several weeks, Iāll just grab a couple hours of sleep and then goā
Not completely the wrong decision, I did need some sleep for a long snowy drive but the eruption died down significantly overnight and by the time I got there/from the distance I was at there wasnāt much I could photograph. That being said, Iām glad that the eruption didnāt go the other way and become more of a major disaster. Someday Iāll get close to one.