Little Grindavik braced for tremor tourists after quakes

Huge crater becomes a 'selfie spot' in Icelandic fishing town

- BARNEY DAVIS

From the spectacular Northern Lights to the stunning waters of Blue Lagoon, Iceland is certainly not short of tourist attractions.

But the country may have found another spot for tourists to take selfies in front of, after the small harbour town of Grindavik was hit by thousands of earthquakes.

As fears of an imminent volcanic eruption subside, the town is looking at how best to recover after streets were torn up and residents fled for safety. The crater left behind in the wake of the chaos spreads from a Lutheran church and nursery all the way through a children’s playground and underneath the fabled Grindavik basketball team’s plush new stadium with the season about to start. At different sections, you can simply skip from the Eurasian to the North American tectonic plate, but at its deepest points you will struggle to see the bottom of the dark abyss.

The Independent observed rescue workers taking a break from inspecting crumbling houses and helping residents drag out their washing machines to pose for photos by the crack. On Thursday morning, the residents were finally given unrestricted access to return and collect jetskis, cuddly toys and other valuables.

But despite the government’s announcement that it would be open until sunset, only a couple of hundred returned. Others stayed well clear, possibly still nervous about a potential eruption. With a “mere’’ 200 earthquakes overnight, harbour life showed signs of getting back to normal.