Off to Iceland: Fri 1 July

At Heathrow and waiting patiently. Could be another 3-4 hours before boarding but better to be early. Had an easy trip to airport on Tube after directions from Kate. Looking forward to Iceland.

What to do? Perhaps practice 'selfies' because the skills are not really good and it's becoming a necessity.

Oops! Mary on the phone. Better do that again!

That's better. I'll sit here and practise.

Now just a reminder, in case you've forgotten what you read earlier.... Iceland is essentially the only spot on the earth's crust where a spreading ridge, tectonic plate margin is above sea-level. This is where the Eurasian plate is separating from the North American plate, all the way down the mid-Atlantic ridge; but in Iceland there is the added complication of a hotspot or 'mantle plume' under the spreading ridge. These hotspots are not very common. There are two big ones - under Iceland and under Hawaii, plus other small ones around the world. As a general rule, these produce volcanoes which are like those of Hawaii - they can pump out a lot of material - magma (molten rock) and ash with variable gases - but usually they are not hugely destructive with big earthquakes. The 'spreading ridge' aspect of Iceland would normally NOT generate explosive volcanoes etc because the area is in tension or pulling apart. But the mantle plume (or hotspot) of a channel of molten rock and gases under pressure coming up from great depth does complicate things as happened with Eyjafjallajokull. This volcano erupted a few years ago in 2010 and the ash cloud shut down European air travel for a time. Hotspots are rather unpredictable. There is no real understanding why these hotspots occur but they are a bit like a big pot of boiling porridge - the bubbles can erupt anywhere. (By the way, Hawaii is nowhere near a plate margin, so is the result of a hotspot alone.) There are another few volcanoes in Iceland, including Hekla and Katla, which are swelling and showing signs of imminent eruption, so could be exciting!

Sorry for the 'Volcanology 101' but couldn't resist. Probably need a few diagrams to go with it, but Dr Google can supply them if needed. By the way, there is a smaller hotspot under Australia which has produced volcanoes down the east of Australia from Hillsborough in N Qld about 25 mill years ago down through the Tweed area, Warrumbungles, Mt Gambier etc. The hotspot is currently somewhere off the NW coast of Tasmania. Generally this hotspot has not been powerful or active enough to penetrate through the crust - with the few known exceptions including those listed above.

All waiting comes to an end! Landed in Keflavik airport, some 50 km from Reykjavik and just got settled in our room. Standard room about 3.5 to 4 star in Aus. Very brisk outside, about 11*C with a breeze which cuts straight through. The room is very warm fortunately.

Rather plain, unattractive terminal while waiting for a bus, but it looks better in the distance. I guess functionality is more important.

The 50 km into Reykjavik was through flat, featureless country with very thin, poor soil with much bare rock. Hills in the distance promise much.

The housing is often 'vertical' as common with cold countries where heat maintenance is a priority.