Iceland had been on James’ bucket list for a long time

This was going to be a rapid two night stopover en route to Europe

He carefully researched the best things to cram into such a short visit

The northern lights was his greatest wish but their appearance is always at the mercy of the weather

Friends told him he must try a soak in a warm lagoon.

Heated by natural springs these have become popular tourist attractions with adjoining bars and restaurants

He reserved a slot later on the day of his arrival

Hoping he could stay awake long enough to enjoy

For his second day he opted for a guided tour of the island with brief stops at many natural wonders

He wanted to see some volcano action

Not a huge eruption but a good dose of hot flowing lava and billowing steam

He boarded the plane to Iceland and quickly dozed off after dinner

Dreaming about floating in a warm lagoon

Surrounded by drunken tourists going back and forth for repeated vodka shots at the swim up bar

They were all like overcooked drunk prunes

Marveling at the spectacular scenery while desperately trying to keep their cell phones above the water line

He could smell the acrid sulphur from the natural spring water

Suddenly the volcano erupted in the distance

Tourists cheered and stayed in the lagoon to take volcano backdrop selfies

The bar started selling volcano cocktails

It was one big smelly party

People we stumbling and dropping phones into the water

An alarm sounded signaling the need to evacuate from the volcano ash rain

The tourists reluctantly dragged their prune bodies out of the water

Some were still doing shots in the changing room

The first ash rain fell from the sky

Pelting the structure with hot smoking rocks like mortar shells

It was not safe to go outside

They huddled in the building and prayed the bombardment would soon end

More rocks smashed into the roof and it started to collapse

James was convinced he was facing certain death then there was a big bang

His whole body shook and he woke up expecting to be injured only to discover his plane had just touched down on the runway

Thankfully that was just a dream he reassured himself

He switched on his phone as the plane taxied to the terminal at Keflavik airport

Iceland volcano erupting was the news headline….