Tourists get information about the eruption on Reddit

A steady stream of foreign tourists made their way to the eruption at the Sundhnúkagígar crater row yesterday, while Icelanders were a rare sight in the area.

Tourists interviewed by mbl.is said they had all been following the news about the eruption and the associated dangers before heading out. However, several mentioned that the discussion forum Reddit was their primary source of information.

The Icelandic Tourist Board has advised against visiting the eruption sites, but tourists at Sundhnúkagígar—many of them poorly equipped—did not always appear to be aware of that.

Just watched The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Swati Bindra and Jyotaditya Singh from New Jersey in the United States stood on a hill with a good view of the eruption when the reporter arrived.

“This is amazing. We were just saying how this wasn’t even on our bucket list because it felt so far from anything we thought we’d ever get to experience,” said Bindra. Singh added:
“We just watched The Secret Life of Walter Mitty , and there’s a volcanic eruption in that movie.”

They had been in Norway when the eruption began last week and decided to seize the opportunity to come to Iceland.

Learned a new word for volcanic steam

Asked whether they were aware that Icelandic tourism authorities had advised against visiting the eruption site, they said they were trying to behave like other tourists in the area and keep a safe distance.

“We are aware of the poisonous gases, but hopefully we’ll live to tell the tale,” said Bindra.

Asked where they had mainly gathered information about the eruption, they said they had read a lot on Reddit threads as well as in media outlets such as The New York Times .

They also said they had learned a new English word for the steam emitted by the volcano: “vog,” a shortening of “volcanic fog.”

Closely followed Reddit threads

Their fellow Americans, Erin Shammah and Sean Hilbert from New York City, who were also observing the eruption from the same vantage point, shared a similar story about where they got their information.

“I followed Reddit threads—many people are posting about the eruption there because everyone is really interested in it,” said Shammah.

They said they were aware that authorities had warned against visiting the eruption site.

“We know we’re not supposed to get too close, but we just wanted to get close enough to see it.”

And what was the experience like?

“It’s so beautiful,” said Shammah, and Hilbert added, “It’s way more powerful than I expected. Much more majestic!”

Checking vedur.is

Several people were seen in the eruption area with their children, including some with infants in strollers.

The reporter spoke with a Danish couple, Line and Marin Kølner-Augustson, who were on their way to the eruption site with their three children. They said they had gathered information about the eruption and conditions in the area from more reliable websites than Reddit—namely the Icelandic Meteorological Office’s site, vedur.is , and visitreykjanes.is .

The family had been traveling around Iceland for nearly two weeks. Asked whether they were determined to see the eruption after it began last week, Line said:

“We followed the developments closely and wanted to go if it became possible, but we weren’t set on it.”

Asked if the children were excited to see the eruption, she said yes. “If the parents are excited, the kids get excited too.”

The eruption sounded like the ocean

German tourist Isabel Siegert, who was leaving the eruption site with her 10-year-old daughter, described the experience as surreal and said her daughter had especially enjoyed it.

“The eruption sounded like the ocean, and that really surprised us,” said Siegert.

Asked if she was aware that tourism authorities had advised against visiting the eruption, she said she hadn’t known that.

“But of course we knew it could be dangerous and kept a close eye on websites to check whether visiting would be possible.”