August 1 Reykjavik

We areback in Reykjavik at the end of our road trip and the place is a bit of a ‘hot spot’ right now. This city has been a starting and finishing place for us. Three years almost to the week we arrived in Reykjavik after almost a month in the Arctic and we left with dreams of returning to drive around the island - and we did! But on this journey, we arrived here 12 days ago to embark on our road trip around this amazing country and tomorrow we board a small ship to circumnavigate this island nation by sea and will return again in 11 days time to then head west for Greenland. I have to tell you that tomorrow can’t come fast enough for us because there continues to be a lot of earthquake activity in the region - and where are we? on the 33rd floor of the hotel feeling the shudders almost constantly!

Coloured dots and stars indicate seismic activity; blue circle is where we were less than 20Km away. 

The map shows the location of earthquakes today; Reykjavik is not far away from the focus of the activity. As I write this it’s been quiet but earlier there was lots of shaking going on. 

The quake activity is coming from Fagradalsfjall volcano on Reykjanes Peninsula just south of where we are and it seems that the volcanic-seismic ‘crisis’ is continuing to evolve; yesterday’s activity measured M5.4. Over 3000 earthquakes have been detected over the last couple of days, most measuring under M4. Reports say that magma continues to build under the surface similar to what occurred in December last year, but doesn't seem to be powerful enough to trigger an eruption yet. Nothing like a bit of unexpected excitement to spice up the trip. A tiny bit unsettling!

Very narrow streets had me with eyes glued to my map.

We ventured out early to get our Covid tests and returned our hire car and then it was a matter of waiting.  We were a wee bit anxious about the PCR tests and to add a little extra drama, Lindsay's results came back hours after mine even though we were tested at the same time. I can tell you there was a bit of nail-biting going on but eventually they came through and we could relax. Then it was a matter of a little final packing for the following day when we were to be picked up around noon. Travel always involves a lot of waiting around - this day was no exception but like Christmas morning, tomorrow would dawn and we would eventually board 'Greg Mortimer' and head out to sea - hooray!

Before I sign off and in light of the earthquake activity shaking the city I though I would finish this little chapter in our travels with a reminder of Iceland's origins. It formed when the widening boundary between the North American and Eurasian plates and a coincidental hotspot or upsurging mantle plume occurred. As the plates moved apart, excessive eruptions of lava constructed volcanoes and filled rift valleys - and so it grew. It is one of the most volcanically active places in the world as those two tectonic plates keep slowly moving apart. The diverging plate boundaries run SW to NE and earthquakes centres follow right along that margin (indicated by the red spots). Goes without saying that the volcanic systems of Iceland follow that rift.  Would I go back to Uni and study geology and/or vulcanology? you bet (if we weren't so busy travelling!). 

See you at sea.

The orange and red parts are volcanic systems with a volcanic centre. The oldest parts of Iceland are dark grey and you can understand why that is so by looking at the direction of tectonic plate movement.