Dribbling 20 kilometers from hell

Nacho Heras he is used to changes. He went through the quarries of Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid and Espanyol and even played in Hungary, but his place is now in Iceland. Last season he achieved promotion to the First Division with the Keflavík and renewed his contract for the next three seasons. What I have never experienced is the eruption of a volcano. After 800 years of inactivity, the Krysuvik volcanic system, which does not have a main crater and is located south of the mountain Fagradalsfjall, spits lava relentlessly. “We went to dinner after a game and they told us to go home because the volcano had erupted and they were going to block the roads,” recalls Heras, who felt the almost 50,000 earthquakes prior to the explosion.

“Most are small earthquakes that you don't even know about, but we have been noticing practically a tremor every day for the last two weeks. And some strong ones. I'm not used to it. You are at home and everything shakes“, details Nacho Heras, who reassures his family by explaining that,” within the spectacular, there has been no danger at any time. “The Spanish defender resides in Keflavík, where he awaits the start of his fifth season in Iceland while combining training and preseason tournaments with the coach course. That is why, despite having it just 20 kilometers away, he has not yet come close to seeing the lava that emanates from the Fagradalsfjall mountain: “There are videos in which you can see to the people next door, but if a little solid lava comes off they have to run. In addition, there are toxic gases. I know of colleagues who are going, but I prefer to see it from the mobile“.

“If I tell the family that I am going to approach the volcano, they will get tachycardia,” jokes Nacho Heras, aware that, according to the Icelandic authorities themselves, approaching the south of the Fagradalsfjall mountain is totally safe. In fact, there are those who have cooked dinner on the lava that is still hot. The Spanish will not visit the volcano, but that does not mean that they do not know the consequent wonders of Iceland being situated on a hot spot. “It is a country full of volcanic activity. I have verified it in the great geysir, which spits boiling water, or the blue lagoon, with hot springs due to the filtration of lava “, explains the Madrid footballer a month after Keflavík's return to First Division:” The last time, which was in 2018, they only scored four points in 22 days. They are very aware of it and are putting together a project so that it doesn't happen again. “With Nacho 'Herasson' touring the band, everything will be much easier.