Friends’ School Iceland Geography Trip
During the February half term 2016, 26 excited pupils and 3 teachers travelled to Iceland on a Geography trip. The group met at Belfast International Airport on Monday 15th February for our afternoon flight to Keflavik. Fortunately we made the flight on time - despite one pupil initially going to the wrong airport!
When we arrived at our hotel in Reykjavik, we were glad to be greeted by a buffet style dinner after a long day travelling, although some pupils weren’t too impressed by the lack of meat! That night, we ventured out into the rain for a walk along the sea front, trying our best not to slip on the ice that covered most footpaths. Back at the hotel, we got dried off and went to bed, excited for what was to come in the week ahead.
The next morning, we met our tour guide, Birnda (who kept us entertained all week with her traditional Icelandic stories), and piled onto the coach to travel to the Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon is a man-made lagoon in the middle of a lava field, filled with geothermal water rich in silica and minerals, giving it a bright blue colour. This was a highly anticipated part of our trip and we spent a pleasant hour in the warm lagoon. It was a surreal experience to be in water at 37°C while all around, the land was covered in snow. We made full use of the facilities, putting on the face masks offered, before hurriedly getting changed and hopping back on the coach.
We travelled back to Reykjavik and had lunch before visiting a viewing platform from which you could see the whole city. We quickly snapped photos of the view with striking mountains in the background before hurrying inside out of the chilling wind. Next we visited ‘The Volcano House’ where we watched a documentary about the effects of volcanoes in Iceland. Afterwards, our guide took us around some of the main attractions in Reykjavik and then it was time for some souvenir shopping, before walking back to the hotel through the snow filled streets of the city.
On Wednesday, we left the hotel at 9am for the Golden Circle tour. From the coach, we were treated to spectacular views of a snowy landscape dotted with rocky mountains and the occasional Icelandic horse. We visited the breathtaking Gullfoss waterfall, with thousands of tons of icy water thundering down into a deep canyon. Another highlight of that day was the Stokkur geyser which erupts about every 5 minutes, shooting a gush of boiling water up into the sky. There were many sore arms afterwards as a result of trying to get a selfie as it erupted! Our last stop was Pingvellir National Park, where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates meet. We had a little longer than expected to explore the souvenir shop here when our bus broke down, but fortunately a replacement was sent quickly. That night we got our first (and unfortunately, only) glimpse of the Northern lights, with some in the group so excited that they ran out into the snow in their bare feet!
On our last full day, we headed to the south coast of Iceland. Our first stop was Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano which caused travel disruption due to ash throughout Europe in 2010. Next, we visited Reynisfjara beach, a black sand beach with basalt columns at one end. Here the waves were so huge that there were police on duty making sure no one went too close to the sea. The highlight of the trip for me was getting to see - and touch - a glacier. This large mass of ice next to a frozen lagoon was simply spectacular. On our last evening, a table quiz put together by Mr Lonsdale was also thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Tired and wishing we could stay in this beautiful country for longer, we began the journey home early on Friday morning. There was just enough time to spend our remaining Icelandic krona in the airport before boarding our flight. It is safe to say that this was a truly unforgettable trip, which everyone in the group enjoyed immensely. We returned home with many memories (and photos) that we will cherish for years to come. Many thanks go to Mr McKinley, Mrs Cregan and Mr Lonsdale for facilitating the trip.
Written by Riana Simpson
