T HE G REEN W AVE G AZETTE
P AGE 20
Abington Global Education: Iceland 2017
Amazing Icelandic Treasures
Allison Dennehy ‘18
Associate Editor
personal fear boundaries and see natural
formations that were incredibly beautiful,”
said Sophie Gendreau ’18, my classmate and
fellow traveler. Perhaps the best part of the
hike was drinking fresh water that had melt-
ed from the glacier.
In April, the Global Education Program
traveled to Iceland for five days, providing
participants with the opportunity to see
landscapes unlike anywhere else on earth.
Global travelers, including myself, stayed
in the village of Vik, in the city of Reykja-
vik while driving to different national parks
each day. Chris Mulhern, our tour guide,
showed us the major landmarks of Reykja-
vik. We walked along the waterfront with
an incredible view of Mount Esja, went
shopping and visited Hallgrímskirkja, a very
tall Lutheran church that can be seen through-
out the city. Our first day was laid back, but
that was not true for the rest of our trip.
From then on, every minute was packed full
with activities.
Everyone was exhausted after the five-mile
hike, but we had more to do. Our next stop
was Reynisfjara Beach, famous for its black
sand and basalt columns. These hexagonal
columns don’t seem natural, but they are
the result of lava cooling as it flows over
already cooled lava. Our tour guide told us
that locals always say not to stand with your
back to the sea because the infamous waves
have taken the lives of people that stood too
close to the water’s edge.
Day Two – We visited Thingvellir National
Park, where the North American and Eurasian
tectonic plates meet. The separation of the
plates forms a rift valley that tourists can walk
through. It was here that we experienced our
first real taste of the cold Icelandic wind and
rain. But, everyone was dressed accordingly,
so it did not ruin our time.
The day continued with a trip to Fridheimar
Farm, a greenhouse and restaurant in Iceland
that specializes in tomatoes. We all had toma-
to soup for lunch, and some students even
tried tomato ice cream. We also visited the
stables at the farm where Icelandic horses
were raised, the same breed of horse we
would mount later in the trip.
One of the most memorable features of Ice-
land are its geothermal springs and geysers.
We visited Stokkur, which erupts once every
six minutes. The way the water level rises and
falls before finally erupting is mesmerizing.
We then visited Gullfoss, one of Iceland’s
most famous waterfalls. Unfortunately, an
intense hail storm with whipping wind came
out of nowhere and cut our visit
short. Iceland’s weather is very unpredicta-
ble. Later, our bus driver showed us Faxi
Waterfall, a smaller and not as well-known
waterfall that was more accessible. The
weather was nicer and we had more time to
enjoy the view.
Day Three – We hiked over a glacier.
Some groups even traversed over a large
crevasse suspended from ropes, while others
explored ice caves. “It was an unforgettable
experience, which allowed me to push my
“It was an
unforgettable
experience, which
allowed me to push
my personal fear
boundaries and see
natural formations
that were incredibly
beautiful.”
Sophie Gendreau ‘18
Our next stop was Skógafoss waterfall which
is 200 feet tall. Many students, still tired from
our glacier hike, passed on the opportunity to
walk to the top, but I decided to go for it.
The view was breathtaking. The sky was blue
and sunny, which was hard to find in rainy
Iceland and we could see the Skógá River go
off in the distance. We also visited Seljalans-
foss Waterfall, which you can walk behind,
but you will get wet if you do. “It gave me an
entirely different perspective of something so
simple as a waterfall. It was worth getting
drenched for,” said Laurel Blanchard ’18,”
The day ended on a high note as we spent
over an hour trying to see the Northern
Lights. We couldn’t see anything through the
clouds, but searching for the Northern Lights
is not possible back home.
Day Four – We returned to Reykjavik and
divided into two groups to go horseback rid-
ing. This was one of my favorite parts of the
trip because I had never liked horses as a child
and this was my first experience riding.
Day Five – For our final day in Iceland, we
traveled to the Blue Lagoon. The water was a
beautiful light blue and was very warm. Most
travelers took advantage of the lagoon’s free
silica mud mask. The mask left everyone’s
skin feeling very soft. This was a most amaz-
ing end to an incredible trip, a trip that
pushed us to be more adventurous than ever
before.
Photos by Allison Dennehy