Iceland Part II ~ Scratch Below the Surface

Our second day of Icelandic adventures was an early morning walk to the Leiðarendi lava cave also known as a lava tube.   We walked in darkness to the cave's mouth and one by one went below the earth's surface.  These caves or tubes were formed by two separate eruptions, one two thousand years ago and the other one thousand years ago.  The Earth above was barren and flat covered in lava rock and soft green moss with the mountains in the distance shrouded by fog.  Inside the cave was a kaleidoscope of reds, yellows and greens from the minerals that had flowed through all those years before.  One of our guides, Johann, shared stories of playing in these caves with his brother as youngsters.

There were also stories of trolls...

 The light from our head lamps offered a glimpse into this underground world.  It was wet and it was dark.  We all sat in a circle and got comfortable - our guide Oliver had us turn off all of our head lamps one by one.

darkness - total darkness
just the sound of the rain dripping through the cracks
below the surface

It was an eerie feeling but at the same time a comfortable feeling.  We knew we were safe.  We knew we were all together and we knew we could turn our light back on.  Take away those elements and fear and darkness would have prevailed.

 As the group began to approach the exit they could see the light of early dawn.  I could see their headlamps as they gathered together before squeezing through the final cracks.

 Oliver led the charge with Bill and the rest of the crew following single file.

 It was a fun experience to be sure and we all enjoyed the visit

...but I think it would be safe to say 

nice place to visit but wouldn't want to live there.

We shall leave that to the trolls...

enjoy,

k