Keflavik

On Monday, 2023-07-10 it was time to leave Iceland, and to head to the Faroe Islands. Excitement that morning consisted of an earthquake warning, followed almost immediately by a few earth-shaking moments that appeared to do no damage. We were up and showered before breakfast at 8:00, with a departure at 8:30, in order to return our rental car before the 10:30 deadline. The only problem was that our flight’s departure was delayed by four hours. So we had lots of time to explore the town of Keflavik.

A minor volcanic eruption had already begun as we drove across the Reykjanes Peninsula. We were told that no volcanic ash has been emitted, but noticed an unusual mist as we approached Keflavik Airport. Later, we learned there was a 200-meter long fissure on the slopes of the Litli Hrútur mountain, from which lava emerged as a series of lava fountains.

Unlike the day when we first rented our car, there were more staff than customers at the Budget/ Avis airport office. Alasdair reported the broken windshield, and paid the deductible for the damages. His travel insurance later refunded this amount.

We spent much of our time in Keflavik visiting a municipal park. Photos on our way there are shown below. There were many children in the park, and their activity of choice seemed to be standing in front of robotic lawn mowers, waiting for them to stop, then turn to avoid the human obstruction.

Later, we also walked into the business district, where we found a store that sold flags large enough for our flagpole, a typical souvenir for us. We were surprised to find that it was cheaper to buy an Icelandic flag in Norway, than in Iceland.