Iceland's volcanoes gained notoriety last year for their ash-spewing ability to ground airlines and make a mess. But they also pay their dues, drawing tourists eager to see the source of the chaos. “People are really interested. They want to stand in the crater of the volcano that made them lose their flight,” laughs Arsaell Hauksson, in his 30s. He runs a campground at the base of the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier that encompasses the notorious Eyjafjoell volcano, whose eruption in April 2010 stranded more than eight million travellers.
冰島火山去年爆發時噴發的煙灰，使航班無法順利起降，搞得航空公司雞飛狗跳惡名遠播。但幾經磨難後總算獲得回報，吸引渴望親眼看看亂源的觀光客到冰島一遊。30來歲的哈克森笑著說：「大家真的很感興趣，他們想站在害他們錯過航班的火山口。」哈克森在環繞著惡名昭彰的艾雅法拉火山冰川山腳下經營露營地。艾雅法拉火山去年4月噴發時，逾800萬遊客被困滯留。
The possibility of scrambling up an active volcano -- Iceland has around 130 of them -- has long been a tourist magnet for the North Atlantic island state. But last year's Eyjafjoell eruption offered unbeatable advertising. “We all know someone who was affected... This is the eruption people will be talking about for years to come,” said Hauksson. His own business is bustling despite an icy start to the summer.
冰島約130座活火山，攀登活火山的可能性，長期以來像磁鐵般吸引觀光客到北大西洋這個島國旅遊，去年艾雅法拉火山噴發，更提供了超級宣傳。哈克森說：「我們都知道那些曾受影響的人……火山噴發是他們未來幾年必聊的話題。」儘管夏天開始時他生意冷清，現在則是忙翻天。
Things weren't quite so rosy when the peak began erupting last year, spewing nine kilometers into the sky. By Icelandic standards, Eyjafjoell was puny -- the Grimsvoetn volcano which erupted this May spat out more ash in one day than Eyjafjoell did in 40. But strong winds pushed Eyjafjoell's output towards Europe and caused the biggest air space shutdown since World War II.
冰島火山去年開始爆發，噴出的火山灰騰空9公里，當時可沒這麼樂觀。依冰島標準，艾雅法拉火山根本是小巫見大巫，〔冰島最活躍的〕格理姆火山今年5月爆發時1天噴發的火山灰比艾雅法拉火山40天噴發量還多。但強風把艾雅法拉火山灰往歐洲吹，造成二戰以來最大規模的機場關閉事件。
The eruption dealt a harsh blow to Iceland's vital tourism industry. “I had my best booking ever for May last year ... and nobody showed because of the ash,” laments Unnar Gardarsson. The 49-year-old heads Ice Safari, which for the last five years has offered tours of Iceland's desolate highlands. Sixteen months later, his mood has changed as he stands gratefully at the edge of Eyjafjoell's still fuming crater: the eruption is paying off. “It has done a lot to let people know Iceland is on the map. And it has been really good for my business,” he says. “Eyjafjallajoekull was always very beautiful and now it's famous!”
這次火山爆發對冰島重要的旅遊業造成嚴重衝擊。「冰上狩獵遠征」49歲的負責人賈達森感嘆說，「去年5月跟我預訂的遊客達到最高峰……但由於火山灰，遊客霎時全消失了。」過去5年來，「冰上狩獵遠征」提供遊客探索冰島荒涼高地的導覽。16個月後，當他站在仍不斷噴灰的艾雅法拉火山口邊緣時心態完全改變，他內心充滿感激，這次噴發物超所值。他說：「它讓很多人從地圖上認識冰島，這對我的生意助益很大，艾雅法拉火山一向很美，現在名氣更是響亮！」
Gardarsson began offering trips up the glacier in May this year and has already taken some 50 tourists up to the crater, each dishing out a whopping 39,000 Icelandic kronur for the experience. To reach the top, Gardarsson leads small groups on quad bikes up the rugged landscape, which starts with spongy yellow-green moss broken by jagged black lava rock and bubbling streams.
賈達森今年5月開始提供攀登冰川導覽，目前已帶50名遊客登火山口，每人每次體驗收費高達3.9萬冰島克朗（約台幣1萬元）。到山頂後，賈達森帶小型旅行團坐沙灘車攀登崎嶇的景觀，一開始只見海綿狀黃綠色苔蘚，偶見鋸齒狀黑色火山岩石和泡沫飛濺的流水。
Once they hit the ice, the all-terrain vehicles are swapped for bright red belted quads that effortlessly climb the steep snowbanks, still sprinkled with last year's ash making the glacier look like a gigantic charcoal sketching. Along with helmets, the group wears padded, water-tight jumpsuits and boots that can withstand temperatures down to minus 90 degrees C, provided by Gardarsson.
他們一到冰原後，越野車就換為鮮紅色履帶帶動的沙灘車（見圖／法新社），可以毫不費力爬登上陡峭的雪堤，冰川上仍撒著去年的火山灰，使冰川看起來有如一幅巨大的木炭素描。賈達森說，除了頭盔，遊客還要穿連身鋪棉防水雪衣和雪靴，才能承受低達攝氏零下90度的低溫。
“It's pretty incredible,” exclaims Nancy King, a 36-year-old advertising executive from New York standing at the edge of the steaming, black crater. A steep, rocky riverbed created by last year's massive meltwater flood stretches down below. “I've never seen anything this enormous before,” she says, gazing at the breathtaking view of mountain ranges, massive rivers and the island-specked Atlantic in the distance. “In New York, I spend most of my time sitting in front of a computer ...This is definitely a different day.”
「實在很難想像。」紐約36歲的廣告公司主管南西．金恩說，她正站在熱氣騰騰的黑色火山口邊緣。去年大量冰水融化沖刷形成陡峭多岩的河床在下面伸展開來。她凝視著令人屏息的山脈、巨河及遠方布滿島嶼的大西洋美景說：「我從沒見過這麼浩瀚的景觀，在紐約，我多半時間都趴在電腦前……這絕對是不一樣的一天。」
Despite volcanoes' tourist draw, experts warn they are not without risks. “It's problematic, because volcanoes are exciting and people want to see them and get close to them. But it's not good to have many people in the wrong place when an eruption happens,” cautions Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland.
但專家警告，儘管火山吸引遊客，其中並非毫無風險。冰島大學地球物理學家古蒙德森說：「問題很大，因為火山是活動的，人們希望能近距離親眼目睹，但當火山爆發時，這麼多人在不該去的地方並非好事。」
But Gardarsson, who has a tourist lodge at the foot of Hekla and also offers quad tours up that volcano, isn't worried. "I'm not that unlucky," he insists, conceding he always checks online volcanic activity measurements before heading up. And seeing what the Eyjafjoell eruption is doing for his business, Gardarsson wouldn't mind if Hekla blows too.
但在海克拉火山腳下開遊客民宿的賈達森並不擔心，他還提供沙灘車去攀登火山。他堅稱：「我不會那麼倒霉。」但他也承認，上山前，他會先上線查火山活動指數。眼看艾雅法拉火山噴發給生意帶來的商機，賈達森並不介意海克拉火山哪天也爆發。