Day 3: Visit to Heimaey Island and Selijandafoss Waterfall

Oh how the weather can change in Iceland!!

Today was an even earlier start than yesterday, but with a day's practice under their belts, all pupils were packed and ready to leave the hotel by 0830.

39 out of 41 made it to breakfast on time today......the two that didn't make it down had an extra hour of sleep, but very little time to pack up!

Our first stop was at a man-made harbour so we could catch a ferry to Heimaey Island. The half hour journey took us through a very narrow harbour with huge imposing cliffs. The weather over the island was quite miserable but a couple of times it broke to give fantastic views of the lava fields. Heimaey suffered from a volcanic explosion that threatened the existence of the population in 1973. There was clear evidence of where the lava had completely wiped out many houses.

As we walked to the top of the crater, the weather closed in again. As we walked back down, we passed through an area known as "Pompei of the North". This is an area that the Icelandic authorities have decided to excavate. It was something else seeing half buried houses that had been under ash and cinder for almost forty years.

We caught a ferry back to the mainland at three pm and drove twenty minutes to a spectacular waterfall, Seljalandsfoss which is 65m. It made High Force seem quite little in comparison!! We were able to walk behind the waterfall and see how the power of the water has worn away the back wall. It is always refreshing to hear pupils recalling what we have done in classes to explain geographical features in real life.

Once back in the coach, we travelled past the volcano that erupted last year, Eyjafjallajokull.  In the valley bottom is a family farm.  They helpfully produced an interesting twenty minute film and have now built a mini cinema on the roadside to cater for passing tourists!

A hour later and we arrived at our current hotel, Hotel Laki.  We will be staying here tomorrow, which has come as a blessed relief for those that struggle to pack up their belongings after just one night. 

As yet there is no sign of the Northern Lights, but fingers crossed for tomorrow night!

Day 2:Þingvellir National Park, Lava Caving, Geysir and Gulfoss Waterfall

Good evening,

Day two in Iceland was looking like another boring day.....

After a good night´s rest at Hotel Baron, 38 of the pupils made it down to breakfast in good time.  A few nerves had been running through the camp about what an Icelandic breakfast would be like; most were hoping for a continental style and dreading the thought of lots of raw fish!  I think it is safe to say that we were all pleasantly surprised by the wide variety of different foods on offer, including the opportunity to make your own waffles.

If you are wondering about the other three pupils that didn´t quite make it to breakfast on time, they slept through numerous wake up calls and ate their breakfast in five minutes flat before boarding the bus!

Once packed and on the bus, we set off for our first stop of the day, Þingvellir National Park (pronounced THingvellir).  Lots of the pupils have been studying this very piece of Geography in their lessons on plate tectonics.  In a nutshell it is where the Eurasian Plate meets the North American Plate and the gap between the two plates is increasing at approximately 2cm per year.  An outstanding view point allowed us to see out across the largest lake in Iceland, Þingvallavatn, whilst taking in the breathtaking views of nature essentially pulling apart two continents. 

Travelling on from here, we went to our next activity, lava caving.  When the coach pulled up in the middle of a lava field with no sign of a cave and just two men in a car, it was hard to imagine where we were being taken.  After a quick introduction we were given hard hats, torches and bright red overalls.  As I'm sure you will agree from the photos, we all looked rather fetching in our outfits. 

We were told the cave was just 400m long.  This wouldn´t take much time under normal circumstances, but once in the cave, we were crawling over huge chunks of rock that had fallen from the sides of the cave and the roof.  In all, it took just under two hours to complete this activity and it was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

After this strenuous event, we travelled on to view the Geysirs.  These hot water jets erupt approximately every seven minutes and it is impossible not to be impressed with how they work.  Although it was tempting to go and dip a finger into the water, it is usually over 100 degrees celsius, so not advised! Despite the lovely hot water, the smell of sulphur (rotten eggs) pervades through all of these areas.

Our final view point of the day was the awesome Gulfoss waterfall.  Moving from boiling hot water to icy glacial water, this incredible feature is fed from the longest glacier in Iceland and crashes down over two layers of waterfall, totalling 30m in height.  It then travels down a gorge 2.4km long.  Being able to get so close to waterfalls, although jaw dropping for us teachers, it allowed the pupils to see close up the power of the water and also take some fantastic photos. 

As we boarded the bus to the next hotel, the sun was setting and in front of us and we had a clear view of the volcano that caused so much disruption across Europe last year, EyjasfjallajÖkull.  There was just one whisp of steam that we could see, gently rising from the still ice covered crater.  Other than that, it looked very peaceful and not the ash cloud monster from last April.

Hotel number two is very close to a local outdoor pool, which is where most pupils have gone to relax for this evening.

Photos used for today´s post were taken by Finlay Tait and Sam Leeming.

Day 2 for Fran Pollock

My favourite bit about today was going through the lava tubes. I was a bit worried about going in there but I eventually warmed up to it. It was hard to see with nothing but torch light. However I found my way quite easily in the end.

The next best bit was the geysirs that shoot up into the air like a rocket. You had to wait a while sometimes for them to go up, but it was totally worth the wait!

Fran Pollock

Day 2 for Lizzie Clouston

As we were travelling on the bus this morning, we drove past some stunning views. There were many mountains and volcanoes covered with snow and ice, as if it was icing sugar on a cupcake.  Our first major stop was at the lava tube, we had to put on bright red overalls, a helmet and a torch. It was quite scary before we went in but once we were travelling underneath with the water dripping from the rocks, it was quite exciting.
We also went to see the geysirs which were breathtaking.
Overall an amazing day!

Lizzie Clouston

Day 2 for Jenny Walgate

Today we went to the lava tube. At first, when we where getting ready, putting on overalls and helmets, I was quite scared, but once I had found my feet it was very fun. In the tube we were told to turn off our head lamps, this made it pitch black but when we were all quiet we could hear the water dripping down from the roof of the cave.

After the lava tube we went to the geysirs, they were so cool!  It was so strange and exciting waiting for the geysirs to blow.

Finally we went to the Gullfoss glacial waterfall. The fantastic views of the waterfall were breathtaking.

Jenny Walgate

Day 2 for Becca Cliffe

Today we went to a lava tube. We started by putting on overalls to keep us clean and dry, we also had to wear helmets for safety and head lamps on the helmets to light a path through the cave. At first I was confident and excited. However a slip descending into the tube knocked my confidence a little, but I quickly regained my stride and I was the third person out of the tube at the other end.
After a lunch stop we visited the geysirs, this was an experience to last a life time because I recorded it on my camera!
Finally we visited a glacial waterfall called Gullfoss. It is one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen, I truely stood in awe. However I wouldn´t go too close to the egde because i´m slightly afraid of heights.
Overall it has been a phenomenal day and I got some great photo´s to take home.

Becca Cliffe

First day in Iceland and the Blue Lagoon

Good evening to you all

After a smooth transition from Barnard Castle to Manchester, we took off from the tarmac to Iceland ten minutes early.  On arrival in Keflavik Airport we met our tour guide and coach driver for the week and we were then taken straight to the Blue Lagoon.

We spent two hours in the Spa and it flew by.  The boys enjoyed smothering themselves in silica face masks, whilst the teachers spent time moving around the pool to find the hot spots!  The girls took time moving from steam to sauna room, whilst also trying to put more silica face mask cream on than the boys.

After eating whale steaks for the first time at Cafe Paris, we have been spending time settling into our hotel in down town Reykjavik, getting ready for the Golden Circle Tour tomorrow.

Winner of today´s competition was Chris Harrison.  Other challenges set for the trip are best photo and scrap books. 

AGJ