Thirty students, four teacher chaperones, and I left on a venture 2,706 miles away from Pascack Valley to Iceland on Friday, Feb. 14. Returning seven days later, we came back with life changing experiences and close friends who were, just days before, complete strangers. Below are highlights of the trip through a disposable camera lens.
Day 2 Highlights
After a long day of travelling, we piled onto our bus the following morning and drove to our first hiking location at Thingvellir National Park, home to the largest natural lake in Iceland. This was one of the first times our group was finally able to appreciate the views that Iceland has to offer — it was a little taste for what the week would consist of.
We next went right to the Gullfoss Waterfall in Bláskógabyggõ. With winds that were pushing us close to the edge of the waterfall, we shortly went to our next location: Geysir.
This location is the namesake for every other geysir in the world. We all watched in awe as the Strokkur geyser erupted every few minutes.
Next, we found ourselves at our last location of the day: the greenhouses and horse stables in the Hvolsvöllur area. After meeting some of the unique Icelandic horses, our group ordered and shared tomato ice cream, tomato cheesecake, and tomato apple pie (which to say the least, was better than you would think).
We ended the day at our Countryside Cabin style hotel. Just when we thought it could not get more interesting, the Northern Lights greeted us on our first night in Iceland's countryside. Everyone in the hotel jolted out of their beds and ran outside in slippers and pajamas to see at the sky.
Day 3 Highlights
After day two, day three had a lot to live up to. And it definitely did.
We first woke up bright and early to start our three hour walking venture to the top of the Sólheimajökull Glacier. With ice picks and shoe clamps, we successfully made it to the peak where it looked like we were on the top of the world. It felt like it too.
The Seljalandsfoss and Skógarfoss waterfalls were two of south Iceland's most famous natural wonders. Legend has it that the first Viking settler in the area buried a treasure in the cave behind the Seljalandsfoss waterfall.
We next travelled to the Village of Vik where we ran around on the Black Sand beach and explored the the Skógarfoss Folkmuseum. The museum had a collection of 18,000 regional artifacts that gave our group some background knowledge on the places we were visiting.
Day 4 Highlights
After our first two jam-packed days, our tour group took a more relaxing day to visit the Lava Centre Museum, the Hellisheidi Geothermal Power Plant, and the National Museum.
Ending our tour somewhat early, we were able to go and adventure into the town of Reykjavik where we got to submerge ourselves into the culture of the city. After trying some of the native food, interacting with Icelandic storekeepers, and shopping around, we called it a night.
Day 5 Highlights
Sad to be leaving the next day, we wanted to get the most out of our remaining hours.
Starting our day before sunrise, we drove to Bessastaðir, the official residence of Iceland's president Guðni Th. Jóhannesson. Lucky for us, the president's house was near our breakfast restaurant where we dined like Vikings.
After a filling meal of traditional Icelandic breakfast foods, we observed geothermal activity in Krísuvík's geothermal fields and jumped around the Continental Divide where the North American tectonic plate and the Eurasian plate meet. Two "continents" at once, we all joked.
Our last big event of the trip was visiting one of the world's natural wonders: the Blue Lagoon in Grindavík. Bathing in the hot spring while sipping our smoothies and wearing our facemasks was definitely one of the most relaxing ways to end our trip.
After seven days of being out and about in Iceland, I do not think any student or chaperone was ready to go back to reality in New Jersey. It was a trip that was truly a once in a lifetime experience.