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2010 Eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland
2010 Eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland

A series of major volcanic events that occurred at Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland.

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Symphony of my mind

  • Apr 18, 2010
Exclusive to the Lunch Network
Rating:
+1
Iceland has certainly been on the headlines in recent 1 1/2 years more than it had been in the last 2 decades! Under normal circumstance, most of the world will not even give a thought to this island north of UK. Most have not heard of it even!

Iceland is fascinating for me. Since my visit to the country almost a decade ago, I've a lot more distinctive and real impressions of this "little unknown" island. It is a beautiful island with a small population but with a varied landscapes from waterfall to glaciers. Read my Iceland review for a touristic perspective.



Now, I'm not just into traveling and shopping. I'm also very fascinated with earthquakes and volcanoes. Perhaps it was my fascination with disaster movies to start with or perhaps it's something else. I've no idea. I'm however very tune in to these events which happened rampantly across the world causing major destructions and disruptions. Hence, it is not surprising that this come to mind when I was on a flight early yesterday from Singapore to Hong Kong. I was taking the budget airline Tiger Airways (cheap and reasonably good for short flights) and bought myself a copy of the Straits Times on board to kill boredom. The reason why these budget airlines are cheap is because there is practically no entertainment on board! 

There on the front page of the newspaper is Iceland's volcanic eruption causing major distress in air travel in Europe!!! Blink, blink... AIR TRAVEL! That's my arena! I'm on a plane, OMG! Of course, I'm alerted during the entire flight! Images from Independence Day (the movie) & 2012 even came to my mind.



It's a bit harsh to think Iceland is causing the world miseries. They are afterall victims. First, financial meltdown, then earth meltdown. Poor people! Yes, they are also getting poor in the process. Once the country with the highest GDP in the world, Icelanders have had their world turned upside down within a span of 18 months!

Now, back to travel plans. So, all hotels are reported to have 100% occupancy rate. Not bad! A plus for the hotel industry! People are spending more money outside and most importantly, may be they might be more inclined to treasure life when something like this happens! It gives a person something to think about, other than disruptions, that is. That, the world can end in no time or that life is meant to be enjoyed every moment of them, not at the end of days!

If you asked me, it is during these times that human beings are at their best. They are more willing to cooperate with one another and humanitarian efforts are at its best. I've been to a few of the dormant volcanoes in Iceland (you can't escape them, I think may be the entire island is volcanic!) and they are truly pretty when dormant. But for me, if I were in Iceland now, I'd love to go and watch the earth comes alive. This is probably the most spectacular moment the island could possibly be! Imagine hot raging lava... it's like a live symphony reaching its crescendo! 



What a climax! And it's like Iceland saying something to the world... 
The way I see it? Do not overlook a country that's small and inconsequential. That is not the case at all!

While this event has caused major disruption and some unforgettable experiences for many travelers (plenty were stuck in airport who were transiting within Europe but without a visa to enter Europe), I'd think that I'm lucky that I'm not traveling within Europe right now. In addition, more than 30 airports have been closed and some could not go home from Asia too. The morale of it all is that be prepared for these kind of events when you travel. A travel insurance is handy. We are lucky that other than major disruptions, no one has died. Unfortunately, for the airline industry, the lost is US$200 million a day! The main loser in this event! This event has now caused the largest air traffic shutdown in the world since World War II! That's even more serious than the airport shutdown during the 9-11 event! Amazing, isn't it?

This is one of those rare occasions where the planet is telling the world a significant message... We don't realised how interconnected we all are, until we are all affected by one single event. Think about the consequences of no air travel for major part of the world for weeks. Think about people stranded out of their own residential countries. Think about medications and organs not being able to be flown to where they are needed. Think about no fruits or vegetables from their country of origins... now, you get the drift? 

(A Lunch Featured Review)
Symphony of my mind Symphony of my mind Symphony of my mind Symphony of my mind

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April 24, 2010
Excellent review and now, that is a great touch with the photos...
April 25, 2010
Thanks!
 
April 20, 2010
I went to see the first and smaller eruption (I posted one photo of it) my Mom lives in Hvolsvöllur which is close to the volcano and she can see the eruption from her home thankfully the vind blows in another direction so no ash has so far gone to Hvolsvöllur. you can see a live web cam from Hvolsvöllur here and when the view is good it´s often spectacular ( http://eldgos.mila.is/eyjafjallajokull-fra-thorolfsfelli/ ) but the eruption seems to be slownig down now thankfully.
April 20, 2010
HI Orn! I've been meaning to write you although I did read about the wind blowing in Europe's direction so I do know that you're all ok in Iceland! Yes, I thought this is such a great opportunity for those who'd love to see a live "symphony" of the eruption! Wish I could be there to witness this!
 
April 19, 2010
Wow, this is a great review. These photos are stunning!
April 20, 2010
Thanks! Those were links from the web. Cool eh? :-)
April 20, 2010
They're really amazing. I particularly love this one.
April 20, 2010
I can imagine the photographer's excitement when taking a pix as such! Wish I could be there to see it for myself!
 
April 19, 2010
Great in-depth review, Sharrie! I really enjoyed reading it. Iceland is a place I've wanted to visit since I was in 7th grade. Maybe someday... :)
April 19, 2010
Thanks, Adriana! Actually, I personally think this is the best time to visit Iceland. It's gotten real cheap since the 2008 financial melt down. Iceland can be had at quite a bargain if you stay at the hostels and drive. There is flight from the East Coast and if you take Icelandair to Europe, you get a free stopover in Iceland! So, keep that in mind if you are planning any trip to Paris or London!
April 19, 2010
Nice! I will need to consider it, then. The only problem is that I promised my partner we would go to Ireland and Scotland first, lol! I'm waiting to finish school before we save and plan that trip. I get to pick the second international destination, though. :D
April 19, 2010
I'm quite sure you can get a free stopover in Iceland while on your way to Ireland! I love Ireland too but Iceland is truly special.
April 19, 2010
lol, yeah, I'm not really a fan of Ireland or Scotland. I'm interested in Spain, Portugal, and Iceland. :D
April 19, 2010
You know what, men in Ireland are truly charming! May be you could use that to persuade your partner to go elsewhere? ;-) In truth, to me, southern Europe is much more interesting than northern. People are a lot warmer :-) More varieties too. I love varieties :-)
April 19, 2010
LOL! I doubt that would deter him. He wants to go for the beer. ;)
April 19, 2010
Then he's making the right choice! I'm not a beer person per se but Guinness is heavenly in Ireland!
April 19, 2010
If you're planning on traveling a great deal in the future, you might be interested to join VirtualTourist.com. It was the site that jrjohnson sold off before setting up this one. That's a great site for travelers and you'd get a lot of help from there. Lunch doesn't have too many interested in traveling for now so you won't get much info from here.
April 19, 2010
Thanks for the link! I'm bookmarking this one for future use! :)
 
April 19, 2010
Interesting perspective on this event and it must've been super freaky to find out about it while on a plane! Thanks for sharing this, Sharrie. I really hope to visit Iceland someday. Just not during a volcanic eruption ;)
April 19, 2010
I figured the airline probably know what they are doing. Of course, there is still a minor element of what if! Anyway, it was a very early flight and I doze back to sleep almost as soon as I finished reading that article! ;-) Thanks for checking out my reviews, Debbie. For most part, I'm writing on a lot of stuff most people in your part of the world hasn't got any interest in. So, it helps to know at least someone on the site is reading.
April 19, 2010
Well, you're in Asia, too, right? Plenty far away! This Icelandic volcanic eruption is actually hot news in the States because a lot of Americans were affected by the air traffic stuff. The other stuff that you choose to write about though, is plenty interesting. To me, it's because it's usually stuff that I've never heard or thought about because I love learning about new things!
 
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More 2010 Eruptions of Eyjafjallajö... reviews
Quick Tip by . April 18, 2010
posted in UP UP & Away!
Major air traffic shutdown in Europe. Travelers stranded due to more than 30 airports closure. Airline industry losing $200m by the day!
Quick Tip by . April 16, 2010
Amazing pictures! Sucks for the people stuck in airports around the world though...
see all 2010 Eruptions of Eyjafjallajö... reviews (3)
About the reviewer
Sharrie ()
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I'm a traveler at heart & have been nicknamed Travel Queen by friends & colleagues alike. Traveling has been my life passion for the last decade or so. As we enter a new decade, I'm excited … more
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The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull were a series of major volcanic  events that occurred at Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland. Seismic activity started at the end of 2009, and led to a volcanic eruption on 20 March 2010. A later eruption from 14 April 2010 led to widespread disruption of air travel in Europe from 15 April, affecting the travel plans of millions of passengers.
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