Day 1: We are here!

Before I enlist the help of the pupils to write up today's blog, I thought I would put you all out of your misery by letting you know that we all arrived safely in Reykjavik.

Once we were on the coach and the sat nav had been programmed to find Terminal 1 and not Tokyo (!) we were on our way with no less than 23 people and 23 passports... The rain stopped on the A66 and the sun started to shine.

At the check in desk, you will be pleased to hear that despite a few concerns about baggage allowance, Mr Dalton blew everybody out of the water with his luggage weighing in at 25kg!

The only problems at security were Miss Jackson setting off the alarm and Matthew Stirke being stopped with a six pack of Coke in his rucksack. He did ask security if anybody would benefit from his unopened drinks, but much to his chagrin, the response was no, they would just be thrown in the bin.

Before boarding the plane Dan Brown took a last opportunity to have a McDonald's meal, whilst others stocked up on sweets.

The flight passed without incident and as we came down to land, the first glimpses of Iceland produced a few 'wows' and 'ahhhs' and that was just from Mr Alderson.  The steam coming from the Blue Lagoon could be seen in the distance and the excitement was palpable.

Everybody picked up their luggage and then yes, Miss Jackson collected ALL the passports in again.  Whilst standing at the luggage carousel, a lady from the flight stopped Mr Alderson to compliment the group.  She said she was very impressed by them all and their demeanour on the flight.  We then met our guide and driver, Dave.  Dave was actually our glacier guide from two years ago and he originally hails from Hertford, but is married to an Icelandic lady and has lived here for many years.

Packing 23 suitcases onto the bus was the first challenge in Iceland and the first time we really noticed that the temperature outside was quite brisk.  Driving off, we went to our first view point at Perlman, which is a thermal energy plant with a restaurant and viewing platform at the top.  The views of the mountain back drop were stunning but the horizontal rain put paid to any decent photos.

We then arrived at our first hotel, Hotel Baron.  A very nice hotel with an apartment feel to it.  With just 30 minutes to spare, the group got changed and then we went out to dinner at a chicken restaurant.  Following this, we stopped at Harpa, a very funky concert hall in downtown Reykjavik.

Oops I've just realised I've just been bleating on just as I promised not to.  Please see reports of today from Charlotte Ferguson and Matthew Stirke.

AGJ