Iceland study tour August 2007
‘The Land of Fire and Ice’ exceeded all expectations for the 18 Warminster geography students who travelled to the edge of the Arctic Circle last month. 8 days of glaciers, volcanoes, anthropology, history and puffins met the GCSE and A Level group, but sadly no whales.
This was the only disappointment of the study tour, yet three hours on a whale-watching boat in the North Atlantic was soon forgotten as the team enjoyed the 1st afternoon of September and their last in Iceland, floating and exfoliating in the world famous geothermal spa, The Blue Lagoon.
When asked to choose their highlights of the trip, few could narrow the list down to three: the awesome rift valley and magical ancient parliament site at Thingvellir; the home of the Geysir; the immense rainbow waterfalls of Gullfoss, Seljandafoss, Skogarfoss and Svartifoss; the ethereal Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon; climbing the world’s youngest mountain and volcano; or glacier trekking on Solheimjokull, an outlet glacier that flows from one of Iceland’s active volcanoes, Katla.
Even the day-to-day travelling added to the excitement of the trip, from coach journeys crossing rivers and amphibious vehicles meandering through icebergs to 5-seater light aircraft flights and open-air boat trips.
The team were allocated a food budget for the week and took roles and responsibilities to take their part in the smooth running of the trip. The International Youth Hostelling Association provide outstanding budget accommodation for groups in Iceland and enabled the students to experience hostel independent hostel travelling for the first time.
In between the amazing visits each day, the team had to brave the bizarre Icelandic supermarkets and purchase items to cook for 22, using the often small kitchens at each hostel. Fortunately, the Icelandic delicacies of dried fish and rotten shark snacks were omitted from the daily rations! A traditional Icelandic meal, did however complete the week on our last evening in Reykjavik.
For most of the students, the tour compliments their studies in the geography classroom, however for all students and staff, the shear ‘awe and wonder’ of the Icelandic scenery will never be forgotten. There are even murmurings of a student-led expedition in the future…
