The Golden Circle and Hofn

Hello from Hofn!

Saturday was our first day outside of the capital city and also the day that we discovered the Golden Circle. Our group saw amazing geysers that erupted on us and got us all wet! We smelled like sulfur and it was a blast!

We then continued our journey with our Icelandic bus driver, Gummi, and stopped at a restaurant for dinner where some students enjoyed original Icelandic delights while others stuck with hamburgers and pizza. Next we settled in for the evening at our campground. Despite the fact that some of our tents were tough to set up (the directions were in Icelandic!), camping was a lot of fun. After setting up camp some of us played ultimate frisbee while others played their instruments or went swimming. We then walked up to the top of a mountain near to the campsite and took in the beautiful view. At the end of the day, we all retired to our tents. . . but it wasn't easy to fall asleep since a few of us snore and it was light outside!

The next morning, we packed our belongings onto the bus and headed off to our next destination, Hofn. Along the way we stopped for breakfast where we broke our students into On Assignment teams to discuss projects. We were impressed by our students' excellent ideas and can't wait to see their projects come to life.

En route to Hofn, we stopped at many gorgeous waterfalls and glaciers where students took photos and the Documentary Film teams captured some great footage. We also checked out a huge canyon cut out of surrounding rolling hills where Icelandic sheep grazed; it was truly spectacular.

We are now at the youth hostel in Hofn. The hostel is cozy and we have to take off our shoes to enter! Since we arrived here, we have eaten in a Viking restaurant and had some epicurean pizza. All is well here!

-Santi, Charles, and Apryl

Greetings from Reykjavik!

After a long flight (and a delay long enough to watch an entire movie) we have finally arrived in Iceland! We emerged from the airport munching vigorously on our sandwiches to find a desolate, windy landscape. But the views were absolutely stunning. We rode on the bus for about an hour, looking at the plains, empty as far as the eye can see. Finally, we reached our cute little hostel in Reykjavik.

Next, we held an orientation which focused on health, safety and hygiene themes, and gave the group some time to get to know each other through cool icebreakers and games. After the orientation, we walked around Reykjavík and stopped for a splendid Icelandic buffet lunch. We then took a bus downtown and for the rest of the day we explored the city. We spent some time getting acquainted with the grocery store and bought food for the next two days. When we returned to the hostel, the first student cooking group prepared a delectable dinner of pasta and fish balls. Later, a few brave students decided to go swimming in the hostel's pool, though it's not a geothermal pool. It has been a long first day and we're all excited for the expedition ahead.

Photos to come!

Bye for now,
Santiago, Apryl, and Charles

The group has arrived

We've received word from the expedition leaders that the group has arrived in Reykjavik.