Iceland October '08

Following last year’s greatly successful trip to Namibia the geography department had decided to take a much larger group to Iceland, during the October half term.  Our group of thirty-two students and five teachers met at school on the morning of Thursday 16th October with luggage in hand and eagerly anticipating what Iceland had to give us. 

After a short three hour flight we arrived in Keflavik airport, we were greeted by our tour guide for the duration of the holiday and having got on our coach we set off for one of the highlights of the trip the Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa. There we spent a few hours relaxing in the hot geothermally heated lagoon. This was a very enjoyable and amusing experience for the majority, and I can safely say that we all had a good time. After our down time at the spa we headed to our hotel for the next three nights. On the way we crossed the famous white river and saw the famous Westmann Islands. We arrived at the Hellisholar Farm in time for dinner after which we turned in a good night’s rest.  

On the next day after an early wake up we set off to explore the south coast of the island. We saw and walked behind the magnificent Seljalandfoss waterfall, and then after lunch at a town called Vík we went to the coast at Reynishverfi where we saw a vast black sand beach and the basalt lave formations and caves.  On our way back to the farm we went to the Sólheimajökull glacier and walked onto the foot of the ice this was a great experience even for those who were not geographers. Of course it wouldn’t have been a CLS trip if at least one student didn’t make fool of himself and of course someone managed to get their leg in a freezing cold river having broken into the surface of the ice. After an eventful day we returned to the farm for dinner after which a group of tired boys went to bed. 

On Saturday we set off for Bakki airfield on the south coast where we would take a six minute flight to the Westmann Islands. When there we walked around the still active Eldfell volcano which last erupted in 1973, and after having reached the top we had lunch there. Some of us were lucky to find hot spots on the top of the volcano and thus used to our advantage on a bitterly cold and windy day. We then took the flight back to the mainland and went back to the farm for dinner. Saturday offered us the chance to have a go at karaoke, all of us got involved and surprisingly Mr Close and Mr Davies won the competition. Our last night at Hellisholar was a fun packed one which everyone enjoyed. 

The next morning saw our earliest wake up as we left Hellisholar for Iceland’s famous ‘Golden Circle’. We firstly went on to Geysír which was an area of many geysers and of high geothermal activity. After which we drove to Pingvellir and walk through the Almannagja rift which marks the position of the mid-Atlantic ridge. We then set off for Selfoss the most famous waterfall in Iceland; here we climbed to the top of the waterfall and experienced the breathtaking views around us. After this we continued on towards Reykjavík but firstly towards the Hellisheidi geothermal power plant. We stayed there for two hours and we learned how they produce energy using naturally superheated water beneath them and they reuse that water again and again. After which we continued to Reykjavík and to our hotel.

In the evening we went out for dinner at a restaurant at the restaurant we met an Old Citizen of the school who now lives in Iceland. After dinner we went bowling which we all enjoyed thoroughly, ad we just got back to the hotel in time for match of the day, which we all avidly watched.  

The next day saw us wake early and take a very short guided tour of Reykjavík in the freezing cold after which we had free time in Reykjavík to do as we wish, some of us did the sane thing, and went and sat in a café for two hours and had many cups of warm hot chocolate. Our tour of Reykjavík was then continued on to the huge church in Reykjavík which was under repair however the views we experiences from the top were incredible.

After a quick goodbye to our Old Citizen we headed to the airport and to England. We landed and eight in the evening and were greeted by our parents.  

Thanks must go to Mr Marshall, Mr Close, Mr Davies, and Mr and Mrs Pike for making the trip thoroughly enjoyable and a great success.   

Shyam Patel, J6CHB