Megan Whittaker Photography: Every ash cloud has a silver lining

On May 8th my Icelandic friends Harpa and Roland invited myself and my friend Sara on a day trip to see the erupting volcano causing havoc across Europe.

The latest volcano eruption, one pictured above and below, has been under Eyjafjallajökull an icecap covering about 100 km2 of Icelands’ 103,001 km2 land area. There are 4 known eruptions from this volcano in the past with the last in 1821. There has been concern that the larger more active volcano Katla may erupt as this has been the case in the past 3 out of 4 Eyjafjallajökull eruptions. The Icelandic president Ólafur Grímsson has said "the time for Katla to erupt is coming close...we have prepared...it is high time for European governments and airline authorities all over the world to start planning for the eventual Katla eruption”. This statement concerns tourism operators in Iceland, thinking it might scare people from visiting Iceland. However, what has been neglicted is that the Eyjafjallajökull 1821 eruption lasted for about two years and Katla only started erupting at the end of those two years in 1823. Katla is due to erupt but when is not sure, it could be soon but it could also be in a year or two. One thing I know for sure is that it is not scaring me out of Iceland!

Icelandic horses, pictured below, are quite small in size but long-lived and hardy. They are a pure breed (Viking Horse) which originated in the 19th century at the same time when the first settlers arrived from Scandinavia. They are the only species of horse in Iceland and because Icelandic law prevents horses being imported and if one is exported it cannot return means that they suffer from very few diseases. They were the only means of transport in Iceland for centuries. Nowadays they are used mainly for recreation as well as traditional farm work. The breed has developed mainly from natural selection as many died from exposure to climatic and volcanic elements. When the volcano Lakagígar erupted in 1783 it killed around 70% of the Icelandic horses from volcanic ash poisoning and starvation. The population slowly recovered and now draw in the interests of tourists all over that want to try out their five gaits.