I arrived in Iceland at 5:40 am after a 5.5-hour flight during which I managed 3 hours of sleep. As soon as I cleared customs, I rented a SUV and set out for the Fagradalsfjall volcano which has been active since March. Access to the best point from which to view the crater was a 6-mile round trip VERY strenuous hike. It did not help that I parked at the lot furthest from the trailhead or that I neglected to remove my laptop from an otherwise heavy backpack ladened with camera lenses and my drone. The volcano has recently become inactive and it was a little disappointing to have put in so much effort without seeing some lava. What is not apparent from the photo is that I am at the top of a mountain peak more than a mile away from the crater and 1000 feet above the lava bed (in other words, in a very safe position). People coming down as I was going up reported earlier activity so I decided to wait for a while. During the next three hours, I witnessed very brief appearances of molten lava lasting perhaps 15 seconds in total. Not quite as satisfying as a full-blown eruption but I was happy for the glimpse.

Naturally, I sent my drone out for a better look but did not want to fly directly over the crater opening for fear that the radiant heat would toast it.

The lava from this eruption stopped before reaching the ring highway that surrounds Iceland. Had it gone just a little further, the economic impact to the island would have been enormous.

After grabbing lunch, I travelled east to the Seljalandsfoss falls. There is a nice trail that goes behind the falls. Look at the people there to get a sense scale.