Tuesday 20 April 2010

No I haven't changed my mind!

With all the news about Iceland many have asked me if I have changed my mind in wanting to live there. Well the answer is no....it hasn't entered my mind to not go...I am captivated by the place and can't wait until I can return. I tend not to worry about those sorts of things...I could be killed in a car accident tomorrow...who knows what is in store and I don't think it matters where you live if something bad is going to happen to you, it will happen where ever you are! Iceland bewitches me, the landscape is incredible and reminds me exactly where we fit as humans in the scheme of things....I am drawn to the place and want to get to know it more intimately.
This picture is of a summer house in Reykir where my son and daughter-inlaw Ross and Olga held their wedding reception last year (remember it was about 22hrs daylight), most of the night we were outside
and this image on that night, with the summer house in the foreground, taken by my sister Kerry, probably best describes the feeling I get from the place.

The photographs that are around at the moment of the eruption still show that Iceland is stunning...there is something about that place and I urge you all wholeheartedly if you ever get the chance to visit...go, go, go!

Here are a few more breathtaking images of the eruption...can't have a blog post without lots of pictures.

Thick drifts of volcanic ash blanketed parts of rural Iceland on Friday as a vast, invisible plume of grit drifted over Europe, emptying the skies of planes and sending hundreds of thousands in search of hotel rooms, train tickets or rental cars. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gauti) #

Long lens view of farm near the Eyjafjallajokull volcano as it continues to billow smoke and ash during an eruption late on April 17, 2010. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images) #

Whilst most Icelanders go about their day to day activity as before and are relatively unscathed by the events of the last few days, spare a thought for the farmers in the vicinity of the volcano who have had to deal with the worst of the eruption. Fortunately Icelandic farmers have large barns where they keep their animals over the winter and have been able to round them up and get most out of immediate danger but the long term effect on agriculture is at this stage unknown.

Farmer Thorarinn Olafsson tries to lure his horse back to the stable as a cloud of black ash looms overhead in Drangshlid at Eyjafjoll on April 17, 2010. (REUTERS/Ingolfur Juliusson) #
Farmers team up to rescue cattle from exposure to the toxic volcanic ash at a farm in Nupur, Iceland, as the volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier sends ash into the air Saturday, April 17, 2010. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gauti) #

This aerial image shows the crater spewing ash and plumes of grit at the summit of the volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier Saturday April 17, 2010. (AP Photo/Arnar Thorisson/Helicopter.is) #


The first of 3 photos by Olivier Vandeginste, taken 10 km east of Hvolsvollur at a distance 25 km from the Eyjafjallajokull craters on April 18th, 2010. Lightning and motion-blurred ash appear in this 15-second exposure. (© Olivier Vandeginste) #

More of these spectacular images can be found at Boston.com

And if you want to know more about volcanoes and their eruptions listen to David Attenborough in Iceland talking about this very subject...some amazing footage on lava flow, Basaltic rock formations and underwater eruptions.

2 comments:

  1. You actually came up in conversation at work yesterday when one of my colleagues said - "who in their right mind would want to move here?!" I quoted you! If only there were more people like you around and that more Icelanders knew people like you - they might then start to appreciate what they have! But together we will start re-educating them! Keep up the good work with the blog... Love it!

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  2. Vicki - I am so glad you have become public on my site and that you are entering my give-away.

    Iceland - yes a magical place. In fact I am passing on your blog to my husband. He is equally drawn to Iceland and swears he has a past life connection to this place.

    My family is in Sweden and with our frequent visits to the lovely North, Iceland is a nearby stop for us. Definitely on our list too!

    Good luck on the give away and Happy Anzac Day!
    x Charlotta

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