Halcyon Flocks to Iceland

This week, a group of students traveled to Iceland for a special geography trip, visiting rare archaeological sites, including exploring lava tunnels, hot springs, and whale-watching on the coast.
 
Halcyon Grade 10 student, Izzy, details the trip, below.

This week, Grades 9-11 were offered the opportunity to visit Iceland! Throughout the week, we experienced everything from caves to hot springs as we explored the wonders of Iceland.

On day one, we visited the bridge between the continents. We ran under it, despite feeling tired from the long flight. We also got the opportunity to see a film crew who were filming another season of Airbenders for Netflix! Next was the lava field, where many people picked up lava rocks as souvenirs for loved ones. Just before we arrived at the next stop, the bus broke down! Fortunately, we all had an amazing time exploring the mossy landscape and even made a character out of buoys. After the second bus arrived we were well on the way to the next stop which was a spooky yet beautiful cave with a big spider (man-made) that was hidden by the lava tunnel company for which made great Instagram photos and selfies. In the tunnels, there were holes in the ceiling that allowed light to spill into the lava tunnel to create a picturesque view. We also sat in the dark for a few minutes to see what it was like when the lava tunnel was first found, despite the pranks pulled in the dark, we all came out ok. To finish off the day, we went to a power plant to learn how Iceland makes all of their power and then had a much-needed trip to the Icelandic supermarket. We found a lot of American sweets, which naturally caused excitement and an amazing Icelandic chocolate milk called Kōkō Mjólk. 

On the second day, we headed to the secret lagoon. After the seemingly endless battle over seatbelts from teachers as well as informational commentary from Mr McKendry, we arrived! We enjoyed the warm water and even convinced Mr McKendry to submerge into the cold pool! After a relaxing swim we saw the phenomenal Gullfoss waterfall. It was breathtaking to see the water flow down into the deep cavern that sprayed onto the path. To our surprise we got to go and see some Icelandic horses and pet them, despite the fact that the teachers were adamant that we couldn’t see any! It was a nice surprise, everyone enjoyed meeting Princess and the other Icelandic ponies! After much rushing from the teachers, specifically Mr McKendry who could be the next Olympic speed walker, we made it to the geyser. The geyser exploded water high up into the air; everyone’s eyes were glued to the water while anticipating the next eruption. After most of the excitement died down, we got back on the coach and headed to a tomato farm where we learned how Iceland grows tomatoes! We saw bees that helped to pollinate the tomato plant and even got to try some delicious tomato soup with homemade bread! We then took a hike to see Thingvellir and saw amazing views before heading back to the hotel.

For day three, we took a virtual flight over Iceland! We saw many things we could only dream of seeing and learned about how trolls and elves were believed to be real, in some places you can’t build because it’s thought to be elf lands! We then headed into a cafe for a quick hot chocolate before heading to lunch where a lot of the grade 9- 10s tried whale while others opted out to go somewhere else. We then explored Reykjavik via shopping for gifts and souvenirs! You could see many grade nines running around with Icelandic flags and some stating that they were now real Icelanders, only for a member of the public to say that they, in fact, were not. After a quick stop back at the hotel, we then went to the national swimming pool of Iceland where we went down waterslides and chilled in the hot pools before stopping for a quick ice cream and then creating a music video to the song TiK ToK by KE$HA!

On day four, we were all tired and ready to head home, but not before going whale watching! We got very lucky and got to the whales very close to the boat! Unfortunately it was also cold out on the deck, but we luckily found a café where most of us ate waffles and got a hot drink! After this amazing experience, it was time to go home. We raided the airport for food and hopped on the plane. 

Iceland is a phenomenal place and I would highly recommend going to visit yourself!