Wednesday, May 26, 2010
RIP...
The volcano has stopped... at least for now. I say at least for now because during its last eruption it did stop for some time before starting again.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Let's call it Kevin...
... as Jon Stewart suggested it in the daily show. But Eyjafjallajökull is really not a difficult word to pronounce in Icelandic!
In the first minutes of this segments, Jon Stewart speaks about the polution created by the volcano. The website http://www.informationisbeautiful.net presents the following diagram, which is supposed to represent the quantity of CO2 emitted by the volcano versus quantity emitted by the normal air traffic in Europe. It speaks for itself!
The same issue about the pronounciation of Eyjafjallajökull is reported on french television.
| Volcanolypse 2010 |
In the first minutes of this segments, Jon Stewart speaks about the polution created by the volcano. The website http://www.informationisbeautiful.net presents the following diagram, which is supposed to represent the quantity of CO2 emitted by the volcano versus quantity emitted by the normal air traffic in Europe. It speaks for itself!
The same issue about the pronounciation of Eyjafjallajökull is reported on french television.
Weather outside: sunny, 0°C
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Clearing up...
... The eruption has entered a new stage. The ice, which was causing the ash on contact with the lava, has more or less stop melting. As a result, we can now see lava bombs the size of SUVs being projected up in the air.
The winds are also starting to change of direction, which should help the airlines in Europe to start some operations.
I guess as there has been a lot less flights landing in Keflavík, the customs have been more vigilant with travellers coming in and were able to catch the culprits. Well done!
Back to the volcano, a beautiful set of photos is available on the following link: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/more_from_eyjafjallajokull.html
Another good news for people travelling in the south of the country, "Vegagerðin" has re-opened the portion of the road n°1 that was closed south of the volcan. It is still advised to drive with the utmost care because of the ash and of the temporary repair on the road.
The winds are also starting to change of direction, which should help the airlines in Europe to start some operations.
 |  |
I guess as there has been a lot less flights landing in Keflavík, the customs have been more vigilant with travellers coming in and were able to catch the culprits. Well done!
Back to the volcano, a beautiful set of photos is available on the following link: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/more_from_eyjafjallajokull.html
Another good news for people travelling in the south of the country, "Vegagerðin" has re-opened the portion of the road n°1 that was closed south of the volcan. It is still advised to drive with the utmost care because of the ash and of the temporary repair on the road.
Weather outside: cloudy, 2°C
Monday, April 19, 2010
"Repaired"...
... is the status of road n°1.
The "vital" link to the south of the country has been mended but it is still closed to the public.
Only police and rescue teams are allowed to use the road.
The breaches have been filled with gravel but are missing their asphalt layer. I suppose that as long as the volcano is erupting and jökulhlaups are still an eventuality, the road will not be finished.
For constant update on the road status, check the website of the "Vegagerðin"
The "vital" link to the south of the country has been mended but it is still closed to the public.
Only police and rescue teams are allowed to use the road.
The breaches have been filled with gravel but are missing their asphalt layer. I suppose that as long as the volcano is erupting and jökulhlaups are still an eventuality, the road will not be finished.
For constant update on the road status, check the website of the "Vegagerðin"
Weather outside: Partly Sunny, 3°C
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Gosið... Taka II
The small eruptions in Fimmvörðuháls of March 21st and March 31st resulted from the lava coming out sideway and ending up in a zone without much ice.
The new eruption is considered to be 20 to 30 times more powerful than those of Fimmvörðuháls. This time the lava is coming up straight to reach the ice cap of Eyjafjallajökull. As a result, the regions North and South of the glacier/eruption suffered "hlaup" and "flóð": jökulhlaup and floods
The authorities have asked for the Þjóðvegur 1 (road n°1) to be cut in several locations over Markarfljót, a glacial river fed from the melting ices of the neighboring glaciers, in order to save the new bridge from destruction.
This little country of some 300.000 inhabitants is causing some major disruptions (and lost of money) to the rest of Europe.
The cloud of ashes moving west has caused the cancellation of all flights in the UK as well as the republic of Ireland and Norway.
The airspace of Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Belgium and Netherlands are parcially closed but will be totally closed as the cloud moves west.
For people who are incredulous about the cloud of ashes being a problem, I suggest watching the video taken by a friend during our watch on the eruption site on April 1st.
One can see the ashes "stream" coming out from the volcano at 02:54 and then the ashes coming down on the bonnet of the car at 03:20... And this was a tiny eruption, the new one being 20-30 times bigger.
As a reminder, the last eruption of Eyjafjallajökull dates back from 1821 and lasted 2 years... If it is to last for such a long period of time, this could have bad effects on the economic of the euro zone.
The new eruption is considered to be 20 to 30 times more powerful than those of Fimmvörðuháls. This time the lava is coming up straight to reach the ice cap of Eyjafjallajökull. As a result, the regions North and South of the glacier/eruption suffered "hlaup" and "flóð": jökulhlaup and floods
The authorities have asked for the Þjóðvegur 1 (road n°1) to be cut in several locations over Markarfljót, a glacial river fed from the melting ices of the neighboring glaciers, in order to save the new bridge from destruction.
This little country of some 300.000 inhabitants is causing some major disruptions (and lost of money) to the rest of Europe.The cloud of ashes moving west has caused the cancellation of all flights in the UK as well as the republic of Ireland and Norway.
The airspace of Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Belgium and Netherlands are parcially closed but will be totally closed as the cloud moves west.
For people who are incredulous about the cloud of ashes being a problem, I suggest watching the video taken by a friend during our watch on the eruption site on April 1st.
One can see the ashes "stream" coming out from the volcano at 02:54 and then the ashes coming down on the bonnet of the car at 03:20... And this was a tiny eruption, the new one being 20-30 times bigger.
As a reminder, the last eruption of Eyjafjallajökull dates back from 1821 and lasted 2 years... If it is to last for such a long period of time, this could have bad effects on the economic of the euro zone.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Gosið...
A "small" video of a trip to the volcano on March 27th.
The baby volcano is 6 days old.
And a panorama of the area. One can see the markers of the hiking trail on the bottom left hand side of the picture. There rest of them is under the "fresh" lava field.
The baby volcano is 6 days old.
And a panorama of the area. One can see the markers of the hiking trail on the bottom left hand side of the picture. There rest of them is under the "fresh" lava field.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
2010...
... should be an "active" year. The volcano Hekla has been erupting regularly over the last decades (every 10 years since 1970). Volcanologists have reported that the pressure in the magma chamber is near the pressure measured in previous eruptions. The Icelandic Meteorological Office also pointed at the presence of snow-free spot new the volcano's summit.
Hekla is not the only volcano expected to blow. The volcano Katla is also been monitored closely. Magma intrusions are measured by the uplifting of the terrain.
This is all accentuated by the sismic activity and recently it has been quite active. In the last 48 hours, 245 tremors and earthquakes were recorded on the Reykjanes ridge (out of the 320 for the entire country). 25 of them are over a magnitude of 3 on the Richter scale: 2 of them were over 4 (10 times stronger than 3 on the Richter scale). The map available on veður.is is like a really christmas tree...
Hekla is not the only volcano expected to blow. The volcano Katla is also been monitored closely. Magma intrusions are measured by the uplifting of the terrain.
This is all accentuated by the sismic activity and recently it has been quite active. In the last 48 hours, 245 tremors and earthquakes were recorded on the Reykjanes ridge (out of the 320 for the entire country). 25 of them are over a magnitude of 3 on the Richter scale: 2 of them were over 4 (10 times stronger than 3 on the Richter scale). The map available on veður.is is like a really christmas tree...
Thursday, January 21, 2010
ICE-SAR...
... Icelandic Search And Rescue team is on its way back to Iceland after having spent one week in Haiti.
from Icenews.com "The ICE SAR team decided to leave some of its equipment behind in Port au Prince worth some ISK 10 million (USD 80,000). Iceland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs has promised to reimburse half that amount. The organisation hopes the rest will be covered by donations made through the www.icesar.com website."
L'equipe d'ICE-SAR est maintenant sur le chemin du retour.
Elle a laisse sur place une majeure partie du camp; tentes, materiel de purification d'eau, etc.
La valeur de l'equipement laisse sur place est evaluee a 10 millions de couronnes.
Le ministere des affaires etrangeres a promis de rembourser la moitie: 5 millions de couronnes.
Landsbjörg (ICE-SAR) compte sur les donations pour le complement et ainsi racheter l'equipement laisse sur place.
Donations sur le site de Landsbjörg: http://www.icesar.com/Styrkja.aspx?catID=295
Monday, August 24, 2009
Art....
This Saturday was the annual menningarnótt (culture night).
The day is traditionally started by the marathon. This year was the 26th edition of the race. To give you an idea of the event here are some figures for this year 2009
During the day, throughout town, you can go to museum for free, you have free concerts, you have street artists. One person needs to be mentioned but is remaining anonymous, is the person who painted the Hummer of Björgólfs Thors Björgólfsson (one of many Icelandic crooks). I suppose the title of such an art piece would be "people taking justice into their own hands". Some previous mural works were also done on the houses of Björgólfur Guðmundsson and Hannes Smárason, the former heads of Landsbanki and FL Group.
The day is closed by a firework paid by Orkuveita Reykjavíkur. The company spend the same amount of money on the firework display this year than last year but as the króna went down this only makes half the quantity of fireworks...
The day is traditionally started by the marathon. This year was the 26th edition of the race. To give you an idea of the event here are some figures for this year 2009
- 4008 kids ran the Lazy Town race.
- 1723 persons were registered for the Fun race (3kms)
- 3527 persons were registered for the 10kms
- 1559 persons were registered for the half marathon
- 670 persons were registered for the marathon
- 450 persons took part in the logistic, safety of the various events.
During the day, throughout town, you can go to museum for free, you have free concerts, you have street artists. One person needs to be mentioned but is remaining anonymous, is the person who painted the Hummer of Björgólfs Thors Björgólfsson (one of many Icelandic crooks). I suppose the title of such an art piece would be "people taking justice into their own hands". Some previous mural works were also done on the houses of Björgólfur Guðmundsson and Hannes Smárason, the former heads of Landsbanki and FL Group.The day is closed by a firework paid by Orkuveita Reykjavíkur. The company spend the same amount of money on the firework display this year than last year but as the króna went down this only makes half the quantity of fireworks...
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Sumarferð...
... small video of some of the places visited this summer with other members of Hjálparsveit Skáta í Reykjavík.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Laugavegurinn...
... is the most famous hike in Iceland. Its 55 kms strech from Landamannalaugar in the highlands to the green valley of Þórsmörk.This hike gives a very good overall view of the different types of landscape one can find in iceland:
mountains declined in almost every colour of the rainbow, glaciers, roaring hot springs, icy rivers, canyons, lakes, desert of volcanic ash, moss covered lava, etc...
The hike is generally done over 4 days in very short hikes of about 4-5 hours daily (from www.fi.is webpage):
Day One: Landmannalaugar - Hrafntinnusker
12 km, 4 - 5 hours
Elevation increase: 470 mStarting point is the hut in Landmannalaugar (75 beds, GPS N63°59.600 - W19°03.660). From there it’s an easy hike through the lava field of Laugahraun towards the colourful mountain Brennisteinsalda. There the gradual climb starts through dissected hills with views offering an incredible spectrum of colours. After 3 - 4 hours you arrive at Stórihver, a geothermal area with hot spring (unfortunately too hot to bath in).
About 2/3 of the way are very likely to be covered with snow until late summer. At an elevation of around 1000m fog can show up suddenly and without warning. The trail is clearly marked but hikers must be careful.
Hrafntinnusker hut (Höskuldsskáli) can accommodate 52 persons (GPS N63°55.840 - W19°09.700) and will show up suddenly and unexpected about 2 km after the memorial of an Israeli who died of hypothermia close to the track.Evening walks: 20 minutes walk to Mt. Söðull (beautiful views) or 40 minutes walk to ice caves (collapsed in 2008). Ask hut warden for more information.
Day Two: Hrafntinnusker - Álftavatn
12 km, 4 - 5 hours.
Elevation decrease: 490 mThe first part of the trail takes us through a valley with some small ravines but be careful as they may be filled with snow. A short and steep incline leads to the highpoint of today’s walk. If the visibility is good, a side trip to the summit of mountain Háskerðingur (1281 m) will reward your with a breathtaking view. This is best done from its western slope, but care must be taken as a glacier is crossed. Ask the hut warden for further information.
If you stay on the main track, you’ll soon leave the colourful rhyolite mountains and enter an area with dark palagonite mountains and glaciers. You will also notice a considerable increase in vegetation. The trail down the Jökultungur is quite steep and care must be taken during the descent. The last few kilometers to the huts by the lake Álftavatn is on flat land. The two huts take up to 52 persons (GPS N63°51.470 - W19°13.640).Evening walks: a hike up Mt. Brattháls, which takes 1 - 2 hours return. Wet feet included as it’s necessary to wade the little stream coming from Lake Álftavatn. Another hike is up Mt. Torfatindur (818m), estimated walking time 1 - 2 hours.
Day Three: Álftavatn - Emstrur (Botnar)
15 km, 6 - 7 hours
Elevation decrease: 40 mThe trail takes us over the ridge Brattháls into Hvanngil ravine, wading across the small river Bratthálskvísl. In Hvanngil are two huts, one built for sheepherds in 1963 and one for tourists, built in 1995. As Álftavatn and Hvanngil are only 5 km apart, Hvanngil can be used as an alternate accommodation. The huts can accommodate xx people, provides toilet facilities, showers and a small camp side inside an old lava field.
Leaving Hvanngil, a bridge crosses the river Kaldaklofskvísl. On the eastern bank of Kaldaklofskvísl the trail splits, one branch leading eastwards to Mælifellssandur (Road F 210) but the other one southwards to Emstrur, and we choose the latter. Soon, another river has to be waded.
For a few kilometers, Laugavegurinn joins a road until it separates again, leading further south than the track. It is possible to simply follow the road until a sign shows the way to Emstrur-hut.
The powerfull glacial river Nyrðri Emstruá can be crossed on a bridge. Another few kilometers on flat land and we will suddenly be overlooking the huts in Emstrur (Botnar) which can take 40 persons and offers a nice and grass-grown camp site (GPS N63°45.980 - W19°22.480).Evening walk: small poles lead onto a panoramic walking trail to Markarfljótsgljúfur canyon. It’s an easy walk of 1 ½ hours if doing the circle or 40 minutes if going the same way back.
Day Four: Emstrur (Botnar) - Þórsmörk
15 km, 6 - 7 hours
Elevation decrease: 300 m45 minutes on the track, a steep path leads towards the canyon of Syðri-Emstruá which then can be crossed on a spectacular bridge. A rope helps to overcome the last meters of the steep descent, so be careful. Most of the track you’ll be walking through a hilly area known as Almenningar. At the very end, the river Þröngá has to be waded which uses to be the deepest river on the track. When wading it is good practice to go hand in hand and head downstream or to use hiking poles to keep balance. After crossing Þröngá, Landscape and vegetation change once more. A walk of 30 minutes brings trough a small forest to an intersection on a hillside. Signs will show directions to different huts in Þórsmörk. From there, Langidalur hut is only a few minutes away. It takes up to 75 people (GPS 63°40.960 - 19°30.890).
In 2004, I did the hike in 3 days. This time the hike will be done in 2 days: from Landmannalaugar to the hut Hvanngil and from Hvanngil to Langidalur in Þórsmörk.
The weather forecast seems to be excellent for these 2 days but this is Iceland and anything can happen.
Weather outside: mostly cloudy, 17°C
Friday, June 19, 2009
Bring it down...
... is what an Icelander decided to do to "his" house after receiving the final eviction notice.
This happened on June 17th in the Reykjavík suburb of Álftanes. The former owner of this pile of rubbish had taken a 35 millions króna loan in foreign currency. With the devaluation of the Icelandic currency, this loan is now over 60 millions.
I can understand the frustration of the guy but was tearing down the house the best solution? The bank, which now owns the "left-overs", has lost an asset that may have been sold and the money used to repay some of the national debt.
Hopefully, the man will not go unpunished so that this behaviour is not replicated.
And while we are on the repayment of the national debt. The government has decided to increase the VAT from 7% to 24.5% on some food items. This items include biscuits, sodas, sweets, juices... The VAT on food was brought down from 14% to 7% on March 1st 2007.
The so-called "sugar-tax" will be in place as of September 1st... Tough year for cavities!
Weather outside: Sunny, 10°C
Monday, June 15, 2009
Camping...
The cheapest "accomodation" when visiting Iceland is camping.
Fréttablaðið published, in its edition on June 11th, a small map of the country with examples of the price per person per night.
Fréttablaðið published, in its edition on June 11th, a small map of the country with examples of the price per person per night.
Weather outside: Partly Sunny, 13°C
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Is it true...
Iceland ended up second in this year ESC with Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir singing the song "Is it true?"
Norway won with 387 points, which is 169 points more than little Iceland (points 218).
2nd place is not 1st but it is the highest place Iceland could afford to get... Winning would have meant hosting the contest next year and surely this would not have been wise in the actual economical context.
Iceland does not have any location big enough for such a venue. Building something is out of the question! With what money???
So 2nd is very good. It's good enough as it puts Iceland on the map: something Icelanders crave for.
The "question of the day" published in yesterday Fréttablaðið was: did you wash Eurovision?... The result speaks for itself! Are we speaking lobotomy here or what!?!? ... or "Is it true?"
I was part of the 11% and enjoyed an almost empty movie theater room. Brilliant!!!
Norway won with 387 points, which is 169 points more than little Iceland (points 218).
2nd place is not 1st but it is the highest place Iceland could afford to get... Winning would have meant hosting the contest next year and surely this would not have been wise in the actual economical context.
Iceland does not have any location big enough for such a venue. Building something is out of the question! With what money???
So 2nd is very good. It's good enough as it puts Iceland on the map: something Icelanders crave for.
The "question of the day" published in yesterday Fréttablaðið was: did you wash Eurovision?... The result speaks for itself! Are we speaking lobotomy here or what!?!? ... or "Is it true?"
I was part of the 11% and enjoyed an almost empty movie theater room. Brilliant!!!
Weather outside: Partly sunny, 9°C
Friday, May 15, 2009
Júróvision...
The Eurovision song contest week is the most anticipated week in Iceland.
Tourists who will be waking in the city center on Saturday evening will feel like being in a "ghost town".
Icelanders are hosting "Eurovision Parties", watching the contest with friends and/or family with copious amount of drinks. I guess you need a lot of drink to watch this show.
Iceland has only been participating since 1986 but every year since the country is "heavily" behind their representative singer(s).
Let's roll back the years:
1986 ICY with the song "Gleðibankinn"
1987 Halla Margrét with the song "Hægt og hljótt"
1988 Beathoven with the song "Þú og þeir (Sókrates)"
1989 Daníel Ágúst with the song "Það sem enginn sér"
1990 Stjórnin with the song "Eitt lag enn"
1991 Stefán & Eyfi with the song "Draumur um Nínu"
1992 Heart 2 Heart with the song "Nei eða já"
1993 Inga with the song "Þá veistu svarið"
1994 Sigga with the song "Nætur"
1995 Bo Halldórsson with the song "Núna"
1996 Anna Mjöll with the song "Sjúbídú"
1997 Páll Óskar with the song "Minn hinsti dans"
1999 Selma with the song "All Out of Luck"
2000 August & Telma with the song "Tell Me!"
2001 Two Tricky with the song "Angel"
2003 Birgitta with the song "Open Your Heart"
2004 Jónsi with the song "Heaven"
2005 Selma with the song "If I Had Your Love"
2006 Silvia Night with the song "Congratulations" - Surely my favorite!!!
2007 Eiríkur Hauksson with the song "Valentine Lost"
2008 Euroband with the song "This Is My Life"
2009 Yohanna "with the song Is It True?"
Tourists who will be waking in the city center on Saturday evening will feel like being in a "ghost town".
Icelanders are hosting "Eurovision Parties", watching the contest with friends and/or family with copious amount of drinks. I guess you need a lot of drink to watch this show.
Iceland has only been participating since 1986 but every year since the country is "heavily" behind their representative singer(s).
Let's roll back the years:
1986 ICY with the song "Gleðibankinn"
1987 Halla Margrét with the song "Hægt og hljótt"
1988 Beathoven with the song "Þú og þeir (Sókrates)"
1989 Daníel Ágúst with the song "Það sem enginn sér"
1990 Stjórnin with the song "Eitt lag enn"
1991 Stefán & Eyfi with the song "Draumur um Nínu"
1992 Heart 2 Heart with the song "Nei eða já"
1993 Inga with the song "Þá veistu svarið"
1994 Sigga with the song "Nætur"
1995 Bo Halldórsson with the song "Núna"
1996 Anna Mjöll with the song "Sjúbídú"
1997 Páll Óskar with the song "Minn hinsti dans"
1999 Selma with the song "All Out of Luck"
2000 August & Telma with the song "Tell Me!"
2001 Two Tricky with the song "Angel"
2003 Birgitta with the song "Open Your Heart"
2004 Jónsi with the song "Heaven"
2005 Selma with the song "If I Had Your Love"
2006 Silvia Night with the song "Congratulations" - Surely my favorite!!!
2007 Eiríkur Hauksson with the song "Valentine Lost"
2008 Euroband with the song "This Is My Life"
2009 Yohanna "with the song Is It True?"
Weather outside: Partly sunny, 9°C
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Reykjadalur...
Here is a little video shot in Reykjadalur where we spent last weekend with other members of Hjálparsveit Skáta í Reykjavík.
We spent the evening in Dalasel's cabin and barbecued with winds between 15-20m/s.
We ended the weekend in the swimming pool of Hveragerði.
We spent the evening in Dalasel's cabin and barbecued with winds between 15-20m/s.
We ended the weekend in the swimming pool of Hveragerði.
Weather outside: Partly sunny, 10°C
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Friday, November 14, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Unemployment...
The direct result to the financial crisis that has hit most countries and most severely Iceland is the rise of the unemployment figures.
This was not obvious yet as September was only the beginning of the crisis and with most people getting 3 months notice the unemployment figures are not yet relevant.
Everyday brings its lot of bad news about compagnies firing some of their workforce: all staff of the free TV channel Skjár 1 were let go, the electronic stores BT have closed their doors, the financial newspaper Viðskiptablaðið is not published anymore, etc... Even Stöð 2, a paying channel, has stopped presenting the news at lunch time... which is good actually!!! I was getting sick of hearing the same thing over and over and over again.
Yesterday, the Directorate of labour published the figures for the unemployment for October 2008. The unemployment is now at 1.9%, up from 1.3% last month. This is not much but when you look at the overall picture of the unemployment for the past 2 years, this is a big jump.
And the future is bleak as they are predicting the unemployment figure to be between 3.3%-3.8% and December won't be better...
This was not obvious yet as September was only the beginning of the crisis and with most people getting 3 months notice the unemployment figures are not yet relevant.
Everyday brings its lot of bad news about compagnies firing some of their workforce: all staff of the free TV channel Skjár 1 were let go, the electronic stores BT have closed their doors, the financial newspaper Viðskiptablaðið is not published anymore, etc... Even Stöð 2, a paying channel, has stopped presenting the news at lunch time... which is good actually!!! I was getting sick of hearing the same thing over and over and over again.
Yesterday, the Directorate of labour published the figures for the unemployment for October 2008. The unemployment is now at 1.9%, up from 1.3% last month. This is not much but when you look at the overall picture of the unemployment for the past 2 years, this is a big jump.
And the future is bleak as they are predicting the unemployment figure to be between 3.3%-3.8% and December won't be better...Weather outside: Rain, 3°C
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