Well, I didn’t realise that so many things could be fit into just one day. It was an early start today, (even earlier for some….) and once on the bus, we could see that fresh snow fall was covering the mountains opposite Reykjavik.
As we drove to our first location, the snow started to fall again and the weather closed in on us. Thankfully, as we arrived at Pingvellir, the weather miraculously lifted and we were treated to a wonderful view across the Rift Valley. It is still mind boggling that on either side of a huge lake are two huge land masses that connect North America to Europe.
From Pingvellir, we set off again as the snow flurries started settling on the road. Mr Dalton opened up his bag of lemon sherbet sweets and half the bus broke into an acapella version of Mama Mia Abba songs. Sam Farquhar harmonised perfectly to every song.
We then arrived seemingly in the middle of nowhere to meet our lava tubing guide, Petur. As we trotted through the driving snow to a hole in the in the ground, it was a pleasant relief to be in the relative warmth that the cave provided. The sounds of all twenty pupils shrieking as they clambered over fallen chunks of lava was slightly disconcerting, but nowhere near as bizarre as when we all turned our lights off and sat in silence. All of our other senses came alive and the drip drip of the water from the ceiling became very loud.
From our caving extravaganza we travelled onto lunch. This consisted of sandwiches eaten in a wooden hut in the middle of a forest. As soon as the group had finished their lunch, they all ran into the forest and ran around like wild animals for twenty minutes, throwing snow balls and shrieking again.
The strong smell of rotten eggs in the air was a clear indicator that we were near to the geysers. Many pupils so excited about the shooting water, managed to miss the eruptions at least four times. Fingers were very cold by the time some photos had been taken!
A quick walk through the tourist shop was a good reminder of the incredible expense in Iceland; a quick example was a map of Iceland as a piece of wrapping paper for £15.
If you think we stopped our adventures there, you would be wrong. We got back on the bus and travelled another half an hour to Gulfoss. It is one of those places that photos never seem to do justice to. However, watching the pupils gaze at the sheer magnitude of the gorge and asking so many questions about how it was formed and why the water was so blue was reward enough for us teachers.
At five pm, the sun was starting to set and the view of an ice cap, contained by a line of volcanoes in the distance was the perfect way to finish. For many of the pupils, they were unable to take photos of this, as their batteries had died from so much use earlier in the day. Tired, but with rosy cheeks and a day of new experiences behind us, we arrived at Hotel Gulfoss, ready for rest. However, just so you know, there is a clear sky tonight and apparently a good chance of Northern Lights….. Watch this space!
AGJ
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