That oft-repeated headline still strikes me as odd. I mean, you'd assume something as dangerous as flowing lava would send tens of thousands fleeing. Not, apparently, in a country of 300,000 people.
If you followed my Clean Skies News series of stories on Iceland's unique means of converting its natural resources into clean energy, you may have inferred that I did indeed fall in love with the country. Well, not quite, but I will confess to a very strong case of Like.
With that in mind, I've been especially fascinated by the recent spate of volcanic activity in Iceland. In fact, today marked the second time in a month the Eyjafjallajokull glacier has erupted. And, for the second time in a month, hundreds of nearby Icelanders left the scene.
My point? Two, actually.
1) The same geothermal blessings that provide Iceland with about 25% of its electricity and most of its heat can also be seen as a curse, to some degree. But, just as they turned to rotted shark meat for sustenance during Arctic winters, Icelanders are remarkably resilient.
2) Iceland features some of the most talented photojournalists I know. The picture above comes courtesy of my friend Ingi Ingason. At the time he was circling the eruption in a Cessna (flown by his father-in-law). More proof of my claim? This is stunning video from Profilm, the Icelandic production team we used for my shoots there back in the Fall.
