Meradalir

August 2022 – The eruption at Meradalir, close to Reykjavik and even closer to Keflavik, started on August 3rd, and I happened to have a return ticket to Iceland very early morning on August 4th. I landed in Keflavik half past eight in the morning, got on the bus to Reykjavik where a rental car waited for me. Fantastic weather with pure sunshine from a blue sky and plenty of time to explorer the volcano, what not to like. TF-KAF, the old Cessna 170 owned by Thytur, the flying club in Iceland I am a proud member of, was available, so first attempt of the day on the volcano was from the air. I had to wait some ten minutes south of BIR2, the restricted airspace where Meradalir is located, before a research plane left and I and five tour helicopters was let in by Keflavik Tower. After returning from the flight, I drove to the parking lot south of the volcano, east of Grindavik. The parking lot was a big chaos with way to many cars, but I was lucky to get a spot. The hike into the volcano went over lava and with stunning views of the central crater from the 2021 eruption at Fagradalsfjall. After two hours and seven kilometers of hiking, the new volcano showed up between three hills, and what a sight, lava fountains in the middle of a large lake of lava. And with easy access to the very front of the new lava flows. Just wow!

After two weeks I had the chance to visit Iceland again, my visit to the volcano turned out to be the very last night of activity. The eruption lasted 17 days.

And a final picture from last night of activity.