Iceland Trip 2006

Tuesday 16 May 2006 had finally arrived and we were on our way to the land of ice and fire - Iceland!  Everyone was really excited but also slightly nervous about what our host families would be like.  We flew from Belfast to Stansted and then on to Iceland, arriving just before  midnight to find our pen pals waiting for us at the airport.  They were holding large posters with our names on them which was a really good welcome.  We were staying with Alina and Solveg's families.

The next morning we went to Alfthanes school which was very different from Nendrum College.  The pupils don't have to wear uniforms and everyone, including the teachers, has to take their shoes off when they go inside.  The staff are also called by their first names .  The whole class worked on their own laptops and it was all very relaxed. In the afternoon we went to the famous Blue Lagoon which is a geothermally heated pool.  The water was a beautiful shade of light blue surrounded by black volcanic rocks - it was really weird!  We all had a brilliant time.  Stepping from spot to spot closer to the far end of the pool it became hotter and more misty until we could not stand the heat and could also not see where we were!

We spent the second day on a coach trip which took us around the Golden Circle.  First of all we went kayaking on a lake.  We were both in the same canoe but unfortunately we became stuck at the bank and had to get help from the Icelandic pupils who laughed at our poor canoeing skills!  After that we went for  a well deserved lunch in a restaurant overlooking a beautiful beach with black sand which Mr. Polley was fascinated with and insisted on bringing a sample home!  After lunch we went to see a huge geyser which blows every few minutes.  Then we visited  Gullfoss  waterfall which was  spectacular and truly breathtaking . On our way back we also stopped at a place called Thingvellir which was an earth moving experience! We could  see two of the earth's plates - the Eurasian plate on one side and the North American plate on the other and they are actually moving apart by two centimetres a year.  Mrs. Lawther thought it was really seismic!

On Friday we were back in Alfthanes school for the Brent Goose Festival.  First of all we had to prepare a power point presentation on our two schools and then show it to the rest of the class.  Then we had to erect the giant mosaic of a Brent Goose  (the same one that we had put up at Scrabo Tower) on the lawn outside the President of Iceland's summer palace.  It was very exciting later in the afternoon when the President and his wife came to meet us and there were lots of photographers there from the local papers (although Daniel and Kyle were more interested in the presidential car!)

Saturday and Sunday were spent with our host families.  We went into Reykjavik which is the capital to do some sight-seeing which was very interesting and learnt a lot about the history of Iceland.  Although it was a Saturday, downtown Reykjavik was not very busy until we went to the huge shopping malls which were packed, probably because it was freezing outside and trying to snow!

All too soon it was our last day.  We had to get up very early and say a sad goodbye to our new friends and leave to go home.  Our Iceland experience was absolutely fantastic. We would go back anytime and it is something that we will never forget.

Iceland  is an amazing  place to visit - it's really cool and hot!