A tourist watched on metres away from a volcanic eruption on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula on Monday, 18 December. "I’m very excited to be here in this place, in this time, just being able to see this natural phenomenon... It’s just something from a movie," said Robert Donald Forrester III. The eruption began a few kilometres from Grindavík, whose nearly 4,000 inhabitants were evacuated last month. Authorities also closed the nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa. Reykjavik's nearby Keflavik International Airport remained open, albeit with numerous delays at both arrivals and departures.