Exploring Iceland

Were it not for isolated wisps of geothermal steam dotted across the horizon, the starkly beautiful landscape visible from the plane window might have been mistaken for the tundra of northern Canada.  Landing in Reykjavik, the Lakefield College School delegation of five students and two adults, was about to experience an unforgettable journey, one that would begin with a four-day Icelandic adventure, and conclude with attending the annual Round Square International Conference in Germany. 

 

Representing LCS were:  Ali Attyani ’17, Hanen Alfuhaid ’17, Allie Avard ’18, Paige Bonner ’17 and Joe Gennaro ’18, along with LCS Trustee and alumni parent Cara Westcott and Director of International Programs Gerry Bird.  Also participating in the Iceland pre-conference tour were delegations from four other Canadian Round Square Schools:  Lower Canada College from Montreal, St. Clement’s School from Toronto, St. Mildred’s–Lightbourn School from Oakville, and Stratcona-Tweedsmuir from Calgary.  Upon arriving in Reykjavik on October 6, the first item on the agenda was a bus and walking tour of the city, which we learned is home to more than a third of Iceland’s 332,000 people, and the northernmost capital in the world.  Although we were all tired from the overnight flight, we were excited to witness, first-hand, such landmarks as the Viking World Museum, the old town centre and Reykjavik City Hall, Hallgrímskirkja Church with its soaring steeple and statue of explorer, Leif Eriksson, Harpa (an impressive new glass and steel structure that is home to the Icelandic Opera), Parliament, and the modest-looking Höf.i House, best known as the location for the 1986 summit meeting of presidents Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbatsjov, a historic event that effectively marked the end of the Cold War.

 

After an enjoyable day, we relaxed that evening at Hotel Örk, where we continued to get to know the members of the other schools’ delegations, and even watched via live stream - somewhat questionably orchestrated by an innovative student - as the Toronto Blue Jays walloped the Texas Rangers 10 – 1 in the third game of their American League Division Series. 

 

The next morning, we embarked on a full-day, Golden Circle tour.  This involved a long, but comfortable bus trip along southeastern Iceland’s Hellisheioi plateau, featuring some of the country’s most beautiful and wildly desolate scenery.  Several times, our tour guide Agusta excitedly announced that we were about to pass one of the island’s few “forests,” which always drew smiles from the group, as most consisted of a few stunted conifers, and occupied a space no bigger than an average-sized city parking lot.  After passing one such woodlot, Agusta reminded us of the old adage about how to find your way if you ever became lost in an Icelandic forest – simply stand up!  A highlight of the trip was a visit to Gullfoss, or the double Golden Waterfall, one of the most impressive waterfalls in Europe.  A while later, we stopped to stretch our legs at Geysir, the site of Iceland’s most famous geothermal feature.  We learned that the English word, geyser (a periodically spouting hot spring) comes from the name, Geysir, which is itself derived from the Icelandic verb, geysa, meaning “to gush.”It is aptly named, as roughly every 15 minutes a massive bubble of scalding water surged upwards, and with a loud hiss, spouted about 50 metres into the air. 

 

On the way to the town of Hveragerði, where our group would spend the night, we stopped at .ingvellir, the site of the world’s oldest democratic parliament, founded in 930.  Here, a narrow canyon opened into an expansive meadow, traversed by several meandering streams with bridges, from which we watched a few fat trout swimming lazily in the cold waters.  In the distance, the streams terminated at picturesque Lake Þingvallavatn, the largest lake in Iceland and now a national park.

 

In late afternoon we arrived in Hveragerði, and after a quick rest and dinner at the Hotel Cabin, prepared for a night-time visit to one of Iceland’s most iconic attractions – the Blue Lagoon geothermal springs.  Here, the warm, mineral-rich pools, nestled in pockets of black lava, soothed any aches we had acquired over the preceding hours of hiking and bus riding.  The wind was fierce, at times blowing the water horizontally into our faces as we crouched to the neck to avoid the slashing wind and rain.  Still, it was a great way to unwind after a long day - although as one member of our group wryly remarked, on this night the outdoor pool complex might be more appropriately known as the “Blue Typhoon!”

 

The next morning, after confirming that the winds had safely subsided, we again boarded the bus for a trip to the majestic mountains towering over the island’s south coast.  As we passed through villages and farm fields dotted with small herds of stout little Icelandic horses, we learned that the area was the setting of one Iceland’s best known classical sagas, Njál’s Saga.   For the Icelandic people, the ancient sagas play an important role in documenting the country’s history.  Even today, they are an essential element comprising their national identity.  As the clouds dissipated and the sun broke through, we were afforded spectacular views of Hekla, the country’s most active volcano, as well as the towering, ice capped strato volcano, Eyjafjallajökull. 

 

After stopping to view the magnificent Seljalandsfoss waterfalls cascading over a high rock escarpment, we continued on to our destination, the Sólheimajökull (South Shore) Glacier.  Here, we were met by our guides from Arctic Adventures Iceland - self-identified “glacier Ninjas,” who after a brief safety talk, outfitted us with ice axes and crampons for our boots.  We then walked along the dramatic glacier valley and black sand flood plain to the edge of the melting ice.  Here we strapped on our crampons and in shuffling, single file formation, ascended the glacier itself.  Picking our way upwards along a narrow path and passing beneath a low ice arch, we soon found ourselves in bright sunshine on top of the crevasse-riddled glacier.  After an informative talk by the lead guide, who also happened to be a reputable geologist, we learned about the sobering effect that climate change is having on Iceland’s glaciers, and on the island as a whole.  The “Glacier Ninjas” then demonstrated how to sip a drink from the rivulets of ice-water flowing along the surface, and a few members of the group assumed a push-up stance, using their ice axes as stabilizers, and sampled the cold, crystal clear meltwater.   After an hour or so on the ice, we made our way back down the glacier by way of the same route, hiked back along the flood plain, and once again boarded the bus.  A short while later we stopped for a quick walk to the base of yet another spectacular waterfall, Skógarfoss, before embarking on the long drive back to Rekjavik.

 

That night, our mixed-school group of thirty or so, students and staff – who by now, had bonded into a single, noisy unit - enjoyed a sumptuous dinner of Icelandic salmon and other delicacies at a well-known restaurant in the capital, before turning in for an early night’s rest.  Catching our 7:50 a.m. Iceland Air flight to Hamburg would require a 4:00 a.m. departure for the airport, but there was little grumbling the next morning, as we all knew that the next phase of our trip, the Round Square International Conference itself, was about to begin!

 

Read part 2, Round Square Adventure, online.

Hanen Alfuhaid '17 created this video highlighting the trip for the group's presentation in Chapel.


Photos by Joe Gennaro ’18, Cara Westcott and Gerry Bird