Blogs News Trips and Excursions

Student Blog: School Trip to Iceland

10 June 2019

Iceland, a small country full of wonders to impress you. Iceland is situated in the north Atlantic Ocean, interpolated between Europe and North America, with a population of only 338,349 people, in a vast amount of land. Its bewilderingly beautiful scenic views attract tourists from all around the world to come and gaze at the famous Northern Lights and bathe in the natural thermal lagoons.

The famous capital, Reykjavik, is home to the striking concrete Hallgrimskirkja church, and full of marvelous vibrant streets. However, it is not only the images of Iceland that compelled me to sign up for this trip; its delectable food will apparently sweep one off one’s feet; the prodigious seafood, rye bread and traditional food invite everyone to taste their appealing local delicacies. And this is only a peek of what there is to come when we get there…

On Wednesday the 29th of May, after an exhausting journey, our plane finally landed in Reykjavik. As we flew in over the stunning scenery, we could already see the jewels Iceland has to offer. The first day was divine. It all started with a whale watching activity; we had to put on red fishermen overalls to help stay warm and dry; then we boarded a big tourist boat and started navigating towards the horizon, appreciating the blue gem of the sea beneath us. As we left the city behind, a woman with a speaker guided us to look where we would be amazed at what we saw — Minke whales rising and falling gracefully as they swam through the water some distance from the boat. It was awe-inspiring.

After the trip concluded, we continued to explore Reykjavik. We had a delicious lunch, trying the typical local food – the seafood was incredible! After lunch, we had a walking tour of the main archaeological sites, then finished off at the Opera house – the Harpa. Its magnificent modern architecture was inspirational – a stunning juxtaposition with the harbor of Reykjavík.

In the evening, we headed to the famous Blue Lagoon— an astonishing geothermal lagoon, the light blue waters of which contrasted beautifully with the dark grey and black volcanic rocks surrounding it. As the day came to an end, we returned to Reykjavík to watch the near midnight sunset. It would only be the littlest time until the sun came back up again the next morning to start a new day.

On Friday we started the Golden Circle tour — full of spectacular landscapes. Our first stop was Gulfoss waterfall, a ginormous crystal blue fall dropping into a canyon, and surrounded by vibrant green natural monuments. We proceeded to the exploding Geysers, boiling water rapidly bloating out in intervals, trepidation and amazement running through our blood as we watched.

Just when we started to be hungry, we headed to a horse show, where we got to see the local horse breed and the only breed in Iceland – Icelandic ponies. They were quite funny looking horses, with more than enough hair covering their heads like bangs, petite in size but amazing in their skills. When the show finished, it was time to have lunch; we went to a famous tomato farm, where we were served a mouth-watering tomato soup with delicious bread, and to learn about the ingredients of our meal, we had a guided visit of the farm.

To finish our adventures of the day, we visited Pingvellir National park. This is where the Euroasian tectonic plate and North American plate meet; standing on both plates at the same time was a unique experience. We finished our day with delectable food at a local cafe, before going to bed to rest, so we could wake up the next day to another wonderful adventure.

The final day we took a road trip through the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, stopping at different astonishing sites. The first stop was a volcano museum where we learned about Iceland’s volcanic history and the active volcanos. On our way to a volcano we stopped to take pictures and admire the most photographed mountain in Iceland— a skinny majestic green mountain surrounded by water as if it was its own island.

When we arrived at the volcano, we climbed many steps to get to the sensational view, well worth all the climbing; the centre of the volcano was full of cold dry magma with spiky turquoise plants reaching out, while the variety of the surface with green dry grass and different levels in the ground were incredible!

We continued the road trip to a black rocky beach with a wonderful contrast with the dark deep blue sea, the crashing waves singing in my ears, and the tough wind swaying our hair. Two more awe-inspiring stops lay along the coastlines: at one of them, a black little church lay in the landscape beside the crystal-clear water; at the other, huge rocks branched out creating arcs over the water. Then came the hour: our last dinner – the room filled with energised girls enthusiastically talking about their time in Iceland, while enjoying the traditional local dishes. Later, we departed on our last journey, our way back to Reykjavik.

Sunday, the date of departure, the day no one wants to leave the beautiful country of Iceland. All the memories made will forever stay with us, enjoying every last minute of this final trip of the year, before we all say goodbye. We woke up early in the morning to get our first flight of the day to Luton, before finally returning home to Surval late at night to sleep tight. Thankful for all the memories, adventures and the opportunity of getting to know the wonderful country of Iceland.

 

Related stories