ESJ Adventures

 We saw a volcano! A real, honest, active and spewing lava volcano! Geldingadalir has been erupting in Iceland since mid-March 2021 in southern Iceland. On our first full weekend, we took the hour or so long drive down to the volcano, hoping to see real lava, as J put it. We had gotten her a pair of good hiking boots and were dressed in layers and with lots of water and some snacks, set out to see what we could. One thing about Iceland so far. It's windy. Very windy often. J does not like wind. So, we learned some new uses for face masks! Helped her tremendously on the first part of the hike. After a fairly short walk, we reach an earthen berm. A quick climb up, and there it was. A recently cooled river of lava, still steaming in the middle. It was magnificent. A quick test by E and S guaranteed the edge was cool and J was able to stand on a river of lava! She loved it. She studied a piece of the lava rock closely and we watched the steam and smoke coming from the crater nearby. We...

 We are trying to see as much as we can while we are here in Iceland, while not being crazy about it. We are taking the morning and afternoon and visiting museums and other sites of interest around Reykjavik as a family. Our first museum visit was to the Settlement Exhibition. A little place with some great stuff for children, and based around the actual site of an excavated settlement from around 1,000 years ago. Our second visit was to Perlan, a big dome that overlooks Reykjavik that houses a museum and other activities inside. Another big win. There was a video on volcanic and seismic activity that J loved and she has decided that arctic foxes are her new favorite animals. They also have an ice cave. As excited as J was to be Elsa, the reality was a little too cold for her liking though she really enjoyed the glacier exhibit that it led to. Fascinating, and scary information there. There was also a great Aurora movie. We ended up having lunch at the top. It slowly moves in a cir...