Ash on the ice on Vatnajökull after the Grímsvötn eruption in Iceland in 2011
The latest Editorial Alpina 1:25,000 map of La Palma features the extent of the lava �low , shaded to show the amount of land and property that was destroyed . € 1 from the sale of every copy will go towards recovery funds on the island ( visit www . editorialalpina . com )
Moving forward to March 2021 the Fagradals�jall volcano erupted in Iceland , and it was immediately classed as a ‘ tourist ’ volcano . That ’ s the Icelander ’ s way of saying it ’ s accessible , interesting , and unlikely to inconvenience anyone . I suppose the newsreaders of the world should be thankful that local folk didn ’ t choose to call it Þráinsskjaldarhraun , which was apparently an option at the start of the eruption !
Was it going to affect any of my walks ? Well , I watched video footage day by day as the lava �illed a hollow in the hills , then it spilled through gaps and raced downhill . It came very close to one of my walks then stopped short . The main change is that a quiet dirt road I described in my book became the main access road for countless thousands of volcano watchers . I loved seeing pictures of people cooking sausages on the lava , but I didn ’ t get a chance to visit and the eruption ceased in September 2021 . However , not all volcanic eruptions are so entertaining .
When I wrote my guidebook to La Palma in 2010 , I described the ‘ Ruta de los Volcanes ’ and mentioned in passing that volcanoes had belched lava along the crest of the Cumbre Vieja in 1480 , 1585 , 1646 , 1677 , 1712 , 1949 and 1971 . I should have realised that I might not have to wait too long for another one , so there I was in September 2021 , watching the news day after day as lava spilled across one of my
I watched video footage day by day as the lava filled a hollow in the hills … walking routes , severed roads , demolished houses , wiped out businesses and ruined livelihoods . Mounds of ash covered more of my walking routes , effectively obliterating them . See the map ( supplied by kind permission of Editorial Alpina ) showing the area covered by the lava and the loss of almost 3,000 buildings and agricultural land .
An extensive exclusion zone effectively rendered half of the routes in my guidebook un-walkable . In fact , I ’ d also included the ‘ Ruta de los Volcanes ’ in another guidebook , as it ’ s an integral part of the GR131 trekking route that runs through all seven of the Canary Islands . Anyone hoping to do that trek at the moment will have to accept that one of the best parts is currently off-limits , even though the eruption ceased in the middle of December 2021 . I guess I ’ d got off lightly with volcanic eruptions until this last one on La Palma . There ’ s nothing I can do with the routes in my guidebook until the islanders spend a long time doing some very expensive repairs and reconstruction . I have no idea what happens to the property rights of anyone whose land , houses or businesses have been buried beneath lava , but there has been some talk of the eruption zone being declared a nature reserve and equipped with informative trails . Time will tell , and eventually I ’ ll make my way there , check my routes and update my guidebook .
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outdoor focus / spring 2022 9