Lexie Page-Boyd is studying how warming waters will affect stream ecosystems in Iceland. She is traveling on a 5-day tour of the geology of Iceland with a group led by Dr. Amy Berger and Dr. Marc O’Reilly. Follow along on her adventures!
Day 1: Getting Started
I started my trip on May 16! This is my first ever international trip. Not only is this my first international adventure, this was the first time I had ever flown! There were some things I expected from the flight, like a long time in TSA and the plane itself to be super cold. However, none of it seemed to happen (so far). In all honesty, I don’t think I could have experienced a better first flight. I got to be on the inaugural flight for Iceland Air out of (Cleveland) Hopkins Airport -- it was super exciting. We all got cake, bubbly grape juice, and a luggage tag that said “Inaugural Flight.” The flight itself was a great experience, with little turbulence and good movies to watch. The only down side was how hot it was. I loved my first flight to Iceland!
We landed and all had our passports stamped (my first stamp ever!). After we collected luggage, we met up with our guide and began the tour. In the short amount of time I have been in this small country I’ve learned so much about the Viking and Icelandic culture. I even got to eat my breakfast under a replica of a Viking ship! Though it got kind of cold and rainy (as expected), being in the city of Reykjavik is awesome! The buildings look so different than anything I’ve ever seen (at least two environmentally-friendly green roofs and one green wall). Museums and Lutheran Cathedrals just blow my mind in their own appearances. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!
Day 2: Exploring
Jet lag is real! I have never had anything like this, but it hasn’t stopped the adventure! Rain, snow, sunshine, and gusting winds will not stop this group. Each location we visited I had only seen in pictures or read about, and they do not do these places justice. The lava flows at the Thingvellir National Park were surreal, the rock formations and the view from the top of the flow was just jaw dropping -- after all the snow and rain of course. I was able to see the rift valley below: the North American Plate diverging from the Eurasian, a big check mark on the geology bucket list! The only geyser I had ever thought of was always Ol’ Faithful at Yellowstone, but now I will always think of the small and large geysers at the Geysir geothermal area. The pools were so clear, the smell of sulfur was strong, and that water was extremely hot (there were warning signs about the water). Seeing the small geyser go up was fascinating, it even scared me the first time. If anyone had told me last year that I would be standing at the bottom of a gorge, at the top of a waterfall, getting sprayed in the face with cold glacial water, I would have said they were crazy, but it happened! I had never seen such power and beauty in my life. This country’s landscape shatters my expectations and raises the bar every time!
As we road through long country roads and looked out the windows there are horses everywhere. The Icelandic Horse is an interesting breed, I’ve ridden horses in the past and know several people with horses as well and I never knew there were five possible gaits! A visit to a horse farm to see how they are ridden was a nice surprise! How often does someone get to say that they got to pet a breed of horse that has been in a country since 900 AD and has such pure lineage? The love for keeping things natural here doesn’t seem to stop. The greenhouse we got to visit is able to grow tomatoes using nearly 100% natural and renewable methods all year long, utilizing the hot springs to heat the greenhouse, geothermal and solar power to run lights, and imported bumblebees to pollinate the plants. These tomatoes taste like nothing I have ever tasted in my life, and the sheer height of the plants just blew my mind (they are 9 meters long). Too bad they are not sold anywhere but Iceland, now I have another reason to come back and visit this amazing country!
