Day 10-Hot Rivers, Mountain Tops, Waterfalls Oh My!

Words by Piper

Today we woke up early, groggy and tired from a long week and late last night in Reykjavik. We schlepped our bags into the vans, and headed to Vik (veek). We were all stoked on the sunny blue skies and ready to explore the outdoors. Caitlin knew of this natural gem in the mountains where a cold river meets a hot one. We climbed over mountains alongside bubbling geysirs and families of sheep until we reached the river.

A group of us trekked to the highest peak through dense mosses on off trail slopes to strip down and stand naked overlooking the valleys.

ProTip: The naked mountain experience is much better when howling and holldering is involved. “That man down there is just LOVING HIS LIFE RIGHT NOW… Oh my god, is that LEE?!” – yes, our only male professor saw us all completely naked. There’s just no room for shame of nudity in Iceland. We all ate lunch and lounged in the river which was as warm as any hot tub. Mosses and grass stretched over the edges, and babbling brooks flowed down over rocks. The bright sun made the whole river glisten as it flowed past us. The hike and hot river swim was the perfect end to an awesome academic week. Bonus Break Bonus is the mecca of cheap food, and has become a familiar haven for us. Going to Bonus is like a toy store for hungry university kids. Its almost like an adventure, scavenging for the cheapest deals, getting the untried Skyr* flavour, and deciphering Icelandic packaging is more satisfying than you’d think We loaded into the vans and trekked to Vik. Our quaint hostel was homey and boasted a gorgeous purple and pink sunset over the black sand beaches.

[photo] Skyr* super affordable, amazing thick yogurt which is so flavourful and full of protein- a group favourite.

 

Day 8 Geotherming and Blue Lagooning

Words to be by Kate

One day Kate will write me a blog post. For now, here are the web links of the Geothermal Plant we visited and the Blue Lagoon.

Svartsengi Power Station (Words currently by the lovely Wikipedia)

The Svartsengi Power Station (Svartsengi (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈsvar̥sˌɛi̯ɲcɪ]); “black meadow” in Icelandic) is a geothermal power station located about 4 km north of GrindavíkIceland, near the Keflavík International Airport on theReykjanes Peninsula. As of December 2007, it produces 76.5 MW of energy, and about 475 litres/second of 90 °C(194 °F) hot water (ca. 80 MWt). Surplus mineral rich water from the plant fills up the Blue Lagoon, a popular bathing resort.

Geothermal Wonder-Blue Lagoon

The Blue Lagoon geothermal seawater is a part of an ecocycle where nature and science work in harmony. The seawater originates 2000 meter/6562 ft beneath the ground where it is heated by earth’s natural forces. At this depth the temperature is 240°C/464°F and the pressure is 36 times the pressure on the earth’s surface. The geothermal seawater comes into contact with cooling magmatic intrusions and captures the earth’s minerals, resulting in this unique natural source known for its healing power and actives.

The composition of minerals in the water is very distinctive and has a high level of silica. Its environment is characterized by high temperature and salinity level of 2.5% which is 1/3 of the ocean’s salinity level.

The water’s temperature is 37-39°C / 98-102°F. The lagoon holds six million liters of geothermal seawater, which is renewed every 40 hours. Regular sampling shows that “common” bacteria do not thrive in this ecosystem, thus additional cleansers such as chlorine are not needed.

A visit to the Blue Lagoon Iceland geothermal spa is an important part of your stay in Iceland. Guests renew their relationship with nature, soak up the scenic beauty and enjoy breathing the clean, fresh air while relaxing in the warm geothermal seawater. It is no surprise that the readers of “Conde Nast Traveller” voted Blue Lagoon as the best medical spa worldwide. For five consecutive years Blue Lagoon has been awarded the Blue Flag environmental recognition granted to natural beaches and marinas.

 

Day 7 Grassing Prancing and Photo Glancing

Words by Tony B

Dear Respected Blog Readers,

Please consider making a donation after reading this.
Yeah, anyways we did a bunch of dope shit today so you better get fired up.
The morning was spent in an educational oasis as usual: The University of Iceland. Highly respected experts in Hydrogen Power, Hydrology and Sustainability Implementation were the featured speakers. Not only were these lecturers highly physically attractive, what they had to say was fascinating too. In fact, you might be interested to know that Germany is currently working towards storing vast amounts of energy in the form of pressurized Hydrogen gas (an environmentally friendly alternative to gasoline). This is great because the Hydrogen can easily be converted to electricity via fuel cells with a greater efficiency than that of a combustion engine. Of course the most exciting application for Hydrogen fuel is in cars, buses and even boats. The Hydrology lecture was also extremely informative. I bet you didn’t know that the average annual glacial run-off is equivalent to 1460mm of rainfall, did you!?
Now, if that doesn’t get your juices flowing, I don’t know what will, and I don’t know how to fix you.
Anyways, after school it was all grass prancing and photo glancing. We started our adventure at 2.30pm in the KEX Hostel common room with our personal guide to Iceland, Mama Caitlin (PhD Candidate). We rolled out gangsta-style: hoods up, boots tied, shades on. First we hit the statue of Ingolfur Arnason on a grassy knoll in downtown Reykjavik. He was a fashionable (scarf-wearing) Viking descendant that arrived in (and named) Reykjavik, Iceland in the year 874 AD. See picture below. Then we mosied our way west along the coastline toward the Seltjarnarnes Peninsula. It’s a prime destination because of a) the geothermally heated foot pool, and b) the lighthouse, which is just a delightful sight in general.
The coast we walked along is lined with an enormous wall of rocks in most places. Needless to say, we frolicked the shit out of those rocks and examined any flora and fauna we could find. Of interest were some birds hanging out near a small rock jutting out about 20m from the water’s edge and some stringy-looking algae growing in small tide pools. These organisms are shown in the photos below. The birds are Eider Ducks or Somateria mollissima if you are into latin names. These ducks are commonly found on coastlines throughout northern Europe, Siberia and North America. Their colouring and vocalizations are quite beautiful. I haven’t figured out what kind of algae we saw, but I’m working on it.
Anyways, after a dip in the “hot pot”, a peep at the lighthouse and an amazing construction of the word “Iceland” with our bodies (mad shout outs to Erica and Matthew for being the bendy letters) we crossed a field reminiscent of LOTR. To everyone’s delight, Alex has little self control and could not stop himself from bursting into song. We walked through a swanky residential part of town, passing by lots of epic-looking houses. We wondered what those kind of places would sell for, and later found out from Mama Caitlin that they go for around $1 million US –  doable. Next we arrived at the much-anticipated ultra-posh swimming pool. And let’s be serious, you should know by now that almost everything in Reykjavik is geothermally heated. After a quick lesson on the strict changing room protocol (must not EVER be wet in the locker area or angry old man yells at you) we were sitting in a 47 degree C hot pot, which was almost unbearable. There’s just no need to be that hot…. Among other things we slid down the slide, did flips and dives into the pool to impress the local children, swam lengths and discussed sustainability with English accents.
After a lovely stroll back to the hostel a few of us sampled Reykjavik’s ethnic cuisine at a quaint Pakistani restaurant downtown. The chef was overweight and clearly livin’ life to the fullest. He and a team of only three staff prepared food for six of us and several other tables in a very reasonable amount of time. The food was in the high B range, which we were very impressed by. We ate hard, and all had like nine glasses of water and stole like nine post-meal candies each. Now listen up, these candies were little strawberry chews with perfect texture and tantalizing flavours! Wrapped daintily in red and white wrappers with the scent of wild rice. But watch your back, one of our team mates is now ADDICTED to these candies to the point where she will eat them even if they have already been in someone else’s mouth.
Just when you think this day couldn’t get any better, IT DOES! We had lost track of time in the restaurant and were late for our group meetings! The next 10 minutes were a mad book to the hostel and a bloated scramble up to the 3rd floor kitchen where we found not one, but zero professors. All that running was for nothing. Only a keener named Kate was there sitting with arms crossed and a single tear glimmering on her cheek. “Where are the professors?” she demanded, whipping a glass across the room and shattering it to pieces against the wall. Turns out our professors were getting blackout with the local university faculty. No doubt they were discussing the awesomeness of each and every student in the program and playing Never Have I Ever. They stumbled in about half an hour later carrying the scent of stale whiskey and Icelandic hot dogs.
Only one group had their meeting that night. Everyone else went to bed and the meetings were repeatedly put off for a solid week and a half.
Oh Yeah: Kate did not cry or throw a glass, and the Profs weren’t quite blackout (more of 0.07).
Until Next Time!

Day-4 First Day of School + a Geothermal Beach

Words by Erica

So, there were limited photos from this day, but check out this pink footed goose that we spotted on the walk to class. 

Remember going to school for the first time back in elementary school? …Walking hand in hand with Mom or Dad; thoughts about who you’ll eat your lunch with; who your best friend will be. Today was our first day of school. Though we may have not shared exactly the same thoughts as a kindergartener, as third-, fourth-, and graduate students, our thoughts were centered more around the speakers presenting and topics surrounding sustainability and topics of Iceland. Today’s catch: Social aspects of energy and fuel use in 20th century Iceland, Geology of Iceland, Economics, and Draft policy on sustainability.

And after a hard day’s work, what better way to wind down than to relax in a geothermally-heated pool bordered by – *ahem* – sand imported from Morocco.  And the best part?…Maybe getting a slight brain-freeze from taking a dip in the ocean.

Enjoying the finer things in Icelandic life. 

 

Iceland is a magical place eh?

Day 3-The Golden Circle

“Golden Circle” tour day (Geology, hydrology, geothermal energy)

Today we embarked on the Golden Circle EXTREME tour adventure. After we strapped on our fanny packs, grabbed our cameras and zinced our noses we were officially ready for the ultimate Iceland tourist day. While I was fully prepared to slog through the countryside, boulder basalt columns, and scale the alpine peaks, I think several of my fellow classmates were happy to endure a bumpy bus ride after a night of wild Reykavik tavern exploring. Matt helped pass the time between stops by singing cheerful tunes in the back a capella style with Jason and Tony. It sure was a delight to hear!

Throughout the journey we encountered four incredible natural Icelandic wonders:

  1. Þingvellir (“Thingvellir”) – a rift valley at the crest of the mid-Atlantic ridge, and site of historical, geological and cultural importance
  2. Gullfoss – “Golden Falls,” a spectacular waterfall significant as the foucs of a major environmental debate in the late 20th century
  3. Geysir – the first geyser known to modern Europeans
  4. Kerið – volcanic crater

B. Þingvellir (Thingvellir)-a rift valley at the crest of the mid-Atlantic ridge, and site of historical, geological and cultural importance
C. Gullfoss-a spectacular waterfall significant as the foucs of a major environmental debate in the late 20th century
D. Geysir-the first geyser known to modern Europeans
E. Kerið (volcanic crater)
F. Reykjavik

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves…

While the Golden Circle didn’t involve any epic mountain climbs, or crazy river crossings it was a fantastic experience that will be engraved in our memories forever.

Day 2-Racing Around Reykjavik

Boomdeadda! Whohoo finally alive and ready to articulate! After a seven hour flight over Canada, the Atlantic Ocean and parts of Greenland we arrived in Reykjavik to find we had all transformed into zombies. However with a belly full of authentic Icelandic food and a good night’s rest most of us have returned to our “normal” state.

We started the day with a crash course on Icelandic language and culture. Caitlin (our Icelandic hostess) and Kristi (Icelandic Linguist) guided use through basic Icelandic survival necessities. We learned that all hot water in Reykjavik is heated by geothermal energy, but smells like eggs because of the sulfur additive, not the naturally occurring smell that you get at the “hot pots” (geothermal swimming pools”). Caitlin told us that beer didn’t become legal until 1989, which is why Icelanders are making up for lost times and rampage the city on the weekends. We were told to buy an Icelandic sweater so we could blend in better (see photo below)…

By the end of our Icelandic language lesson (taught by Kristi) we were all fluent and ready to take on the town. What better way to take on the town than an epic scavenger hunt to the death (Hunger Games Part II)? JOKES, but in reality this scavenger hunt was know laughing matter it was only a race for Trojan 6 packs, cheetah sprints, wolf howls and unwavering concentration.

The Start: KEX Hostel 1:00PM
The Finish: KEX Hostel 3:30PM
The Course: 13 “Hot Spots” around Reykjavik

Check out the photos shot during the HUNT:

Race Summary: 
3, 2, 1…and they’re off.  Immediately Team Purple Hair took the lead (Gary, Maddie and Piper) and started sprinting toward the renowned glass Opera House. While the other groups meandered around town eating hot dogs and swimming with the ducks Team Purple Hair sloshed through the rain (it was really raining), and managed to get all 13 photos! It was a tight race until the end and Team Purple Hair almost lost it to The Big Group of Girls, but managed to slide through the hostel doors just in time. WINNING.

Team Purple Hair hopes that everyone will join them for a game of “RAMS” (the prize: the Ramming Card Game) in the upcoming days. 

Day 1-Zombified in Reykjavik

6:15 AM. My body is moving, but my mind is somewhere else. Where are we? Oh yeah…we’re in Iceland…

8:30 AM. KEX Hostel. I am a zombie. Jet Lag.

 9:45 AM. DO NOT FALL ASLEEP. Just keep walking…just keep walking. I feel like Dory in Finding Nemo “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.”

 11:30 AM. Kids in sombreros. Kids who are dressed like leggos. Giant pink bunnies. Where am I? Am I hallucinating?

1:00 PM. Giant Church. Weird spaceship inside. Are there aliens here?

 

 

 

2:00 PM. Crazy Windows, mirrored ceiling, classic music. What kind of opera house is this?

 4:00 PM. Still zombified. Colors and paint everywhere. Confusion.

6:00 PM. Meet other zombies. Eat real Icelandic food.

9:00 PM. Sleep. Will return to normalcy tomorrow.