Sunday 4 March 2012

Vík

Village church of Vík, the southernmost village in Iceland. Vík has a population of 291.

Despite its size, Vík must be an exciting place to live – perhaps too exciting. The village huddles against Katla, one of the most powerful volcanoes in Iceland. Katla last erupted in 1918, and its next eruption is statistically overdue. Furthermore, all known eruptions of the nearby Eyjafjallajökull have triggered subsequent Katla eruptions. Eyjafjallajökull, of course, last erupted in 2010. When Katla erupts, Vík will be obliterated. Earlier this week someone in northern Iceland told us, “When you’re in southern Iceland, sleep with your boots on.”

When we visited Vík yesterday, the Icelandic flags were flying at half-mast. They told us it was because a farmer who lived on the other side of the hill had passed away in the night. He was 102.

Vík also has a black sand beach with spectacular basalt formations.

The waves of the North Atlantic lash the cliffs with vicious force. There is no landmass between here and Antarctica.

2 comments:

Rara Avis said...

I remember how I thought in class V that it must be so easy to wade to the Antarctic with long sticks, longer than the depth of the sea. And wondered why nobody ever thought of it. Then Barnamala popped my dream by telling me about icebergs.

I feel a little scared and deeply awed at the last scene, even though it's just a picture I'm looking at. I cannot imagine what it would be like to actually stand there.

I no longer believe what Steve Jobs says about how we should never try to live someone else's life. Everyone should try to live your life. Period.

pangolin said...

''There is no landmass between here and Antarctica.'' Wow. *cross eyed*