Waking up early again (are we becoming morning people after all?), we set off to explore The Lava Tunnels. We weren’t sure what to expect – a spooky cave? A hot, stuffy tunnel? Turns out, it was like walking into the Earth’s own secret cathedral, carved by fire and frozen in time. We had a bit of war with the GPS and arrived in the strike of time just 2 minutes late. And we were in such a good time that we went for a detour to see the sea church. Well we made it ! (It was Henrik’s idea to check out the church)

Wearing helmets and crampons, we followed our guide deeper and deeper underground. The colors inside were unreal – red, orange, even purple lava rock sculpted into strange shapes by a volcanic eruption over 5,000 years ago. And yes, we may have tried echo-yelling just to hear the sound bounce off the walls. Spoiler: it didn’t.

Here are 4 fun (and slightly freaky) facts we learned underground:

Ancient Lava Highway: The tunnel was formed in just a few days during a volcanic eruption over 5,200 years ago. That’s fast for something so massive! Total Darkness Is No Joke: If you stay in complete darkness long enough, like inside this tunnel, you can actually go blind. Your eyes literally give up. No Echo Here: Unlike regular caves, lava tunnels don’t echo – the porous rock just absorbs the sound. So no spooky cave calls here! Bat-Free Zone: Despite the darkness, you won’t find a single bat. Iceland is simply too cold and wild for them – even the bats are like “nah, we’re good.”

Coming back into the daylight felt like stepping out of a dream. Or a sci-fi film. Iceland, you weird and wonderful beauty – you’ve done it again.

#goldpackers #liveyouredream