Day 10

Today was a rather slow day as far as stops go, seeing that we actually never got in the bus to go anywhere. However, we did opt to take two hikes on local trails, one led by Dr. Ranson and one led by Dr. Suresh. The former would lead his group up a nearby trail that was rumored to go all the way to the next town approximately 10 km away, while the latter would lead his group along a less strenuous seaside trail with hopes of spotting whales. Because I did not think that there was a particularly good chance of actually seeing any whales and because I wanted to get in a better workout, I decided to go with Dr. Ranson's route, which ended up having more participants. The hike started with some confusion since we couldn't actually find the trailhead, but luckily we came across a local woman who pointed us in the right direction. The trail was not particularly well marked, which led to us getting led astray by some wooden posts that apparently didn't actually mark the trail. After crossing a broken old concrete bridge, we eventually found an old service road that we hoped would take us farther. This path did seem well blazed for a while, but eventually it disappeared into a maze of crow berry bushes further up the mountain. At this point our legs were beginning to feel a but tired and our stomachs were rumbling, so we stopped for lunch in a low point out of the wind and ate sandwiches and cookies. After lunch, the hike began to get more precarious. The crow berries disappeared and gave way to lichens, and the grasses we had been hiking on ceded to broken up boulders that were loose and difficult to traverse. The temperature also started to drop and snow became more abundant on the ground. Though we were freezing and our legs were barely holding us up, we sum mired one of the peaks and stopped to take a moment of silence and rest, then took a group picture. When we started back down, there was some confusion with the route we were taking, and Brightin, Eric and I decided to go down a different way than the rest of the group. This resulted in a stern lesson from Dr. Ranson about the two most important rules of being in the field: 1) don't leave the group and 2) communicate with the group leader before doing anything. In the end it was harmless, but it was a mistake we won't make again. Eventually we made it back down, our legs absolutely wrecked at this point. I crashed on a sofa as soon as I got in the hostel. Suresh's group had gotten back just before us, and they had actually seen Dolphins, which was surprising and fortunate. We dined on a delicious vegetable soup, and spent the rest of the night journaling and doing our group report.

Days 8 and 9

Day 8:

We traveled to the cliffs of Latrabjarg, the westernmost tip of Iceland, and by extension, of Europe, to view some of the diverse species of sea birds that nest there. These cliffs, sheared by wave constant violent wave action, are the largest "bird cliffs" in the world, plunging a dizzying 440 meters into the sea at their crest. Of the dozen or so bird species that are known to nest there, we saw Common Gulls, Fulmars, Kittiwakes, Razorbill Auks, two varieties of guillemots, gannets, and last but not least, puffins! To be honest, the puffins, with their chubby cheeks, sad eyes, ornate bills and photogenic personalities were the main attraction. We spent probably 30 minutes lying prone by the cliffs edge to get up close and personal with the tiny avian mascots. After we had satisfied ourselves with puffin pictures and gawked at the fat seals that we sunning themselves on the rocks below, we started back to our hostel. That evening, Eric and I took a clandestine hike up the table mountain near our hostel, where we discovered samples of basalts with cubic zeolite crystals, which we returned to our professors to be returned to Furman for further analysis (and so that we might seem impressive as field geologists). 

Day 9: 

Today we drove to see the magnificent waterfalls at Dynjandi natural monument. Of course, along the we we had to stop to terrorize some nesting Eider ducks by taking photos of their eggs, and also of some migrating Arctic terns. Dynjandi was designated a natural monument in 1981, and its name means thundering noise, which is appropriate. There is one main fall and seven smaller falls, each with their own name, the largest being Dynjandi. Dynjandi is 99 meters high, 30 meters across at the top, and 60 meters across at the bottom. An old farmyard, dated back to the 15th century, was once 

maintained by wealthy tenants on the slopes of the falls. Since the falls are a protected natural feature, 

they have abundant flora and fauna that are less common elsewhere. Commonly seen animals are seals (by the coast), terns, eider ducks, and colorful harlequin ducks. Plants around the falls include birch and Rowan trees, dwarf birch, woolly willow, sundew, and long beech fern. The falls are sourced by the Dymjandis river, which is fed by several lakes and glacial meltwater. The river has eroded down through the terraces of basalt layers in the mountainside from eruptions occurring up to 16 million years ago, the oldest in Iceland. This all combines to form a truly stunning jewel in the crown of the west fjords. 

Days 3-7

Continued recap from the last 3 days:

Day 4:

We enjoyed our final morning in Reykjavik and departed to look at fjord terrain in the town of Borgarnes further North. From the Borgarnes water tower we viewed characteristic features of glacially shaped terrain like u-shaped valleys and rouche montane. We then headed further north and had lunch before tackling a hike up Eldborg Crater. Upon reaching the summit, we discussed the geological and biological factors that shape the slopes of the spatter cone. After hiking down, we then continued driving, taking quick stops to taste natural mineral water at Olkelda, then to view birds near the seaside, and then to explore the gorgeous pebble beach at Snaefellsjskull National Park. Lastly we drove to our beautiful Grandarfjurour.

Day 5:

Our first stop was a large geothermal spring in the scenic countryside of Deildqrtunguhver. It is the second largest thermal spring in the world, and is thought to be fed by groundwater from a glacier that is 1000 years old, based on oxygen isotope dating. From there we went to the ruins of the once regal home of a monk named Snorru Sturluson (1179 - 1241). We saw a reconstructed version of the elaborate bath house that he built to celebrate his wealth. The main event was our guided glacier tour of the Langjokull glacier, whose name means "long glacier," which is appropriate since it is the longest glacier in Iceland. We assailed the glacier in our modified military vehicle, whose original purpose had been to haul nuclear war heads ✊🏼🇺🇸. On our way up we drove through the protected Husafell forest, which was nearly wiped out during the 11th century settlement of the island. At around 500 meters, we left the forest line and entered the highlands, which cover 70% of Iceland. We
 saw interesting features like table top mountains, which are flat, layered basaltic monoliths created when volcanoes erupt under glaciers. Once at the peak, we decended into an artificial ice cave to see the inner workings of a textbook temperate glacier, including trapped air bubbles that provide climatic information that has been crucial evidence for global warming cycles. On our way back from the ice cave, we stopped at a magnificent waterfall, where we played a game casting stones into hole on the opposite bank. We returned to our hostel and enjoyed a much needed dinner, crashing like stones that night.

Day 6:

The main attraction was our tour of the Shark Museum just outside of Grandarfjurour. The farmstead which houses the museum was one of the first in Iceland to have a landline. More importantly, it is one of the only, and by far the largest and best, provider of Greenland Shark meat in Iceland (and by extension, the world). Our guide is the third generation to carry on with preparing the elusive sea monster, although he no longer hunts the Sharks like his grandfather did, as all hunting ceased in the 1950s. The Greenland Shark, though large (up to 21ft and 2500 lbs, making it the second largest predatory shark in the world) is rarely sighted and poorly understood by humans due its tenancy to live at depths of up to 3km and in waters hovering around 0 degree Celsius. The Sharks are now provided by large fishing boats that catch them by accident. The meat must be cured to be edible, because it is otherwise toxic due to the antifreeze-like urine that is filtered through the shark's tissue. After 2 months of fermenting in boxes and 4 months of drying, the toxins are broken down, and the shark is ready to eat. Whether or not you are ready to eat it is another story altogether. It certainly has a distinct taste and odor.

Day 7: We drove about 8 hours to the most beautiful place in Iceland, the West Fjords. We got to our hostel that night, so there was not much time for sight seeing, but we could tell already that we were in for a treat when we awoke the next day.

Days 1-3

          Since today was relegated to driving to the western fjords in the Northwest corner of Iceland, I thought I'd use the spare time to finally share with friends and family about what's been going on for the last week. 

      Day 1:

    We finally arrive in Iceland and meet with our guide to Reykjavik, Dr. Thorleifur Fridriksson. We get acquainted with our weapon of choice for exploring Iceland's harsh terrain, the Golden Gopher (or Golden Egg, depending on who you ask). We had brunch (with coffee ☕️❤️) at Thorleifur's house and I got the opportunity to take a brief nap on his couch. We then took a trip to the local pool, which was my first experience with Icelandic daily life. They are certainly less shy than Americans. After a couple hours at the pool we checked into our first hostel, which was much nicer than I anticipated. We went to dinner at Furman grad Inga's beautiful home in Reykavik and enjoyed a already of Icelandic dishes and watched Eurovision which is now my favorite show. We returned to the hostel that night and took much needed showers before getting much needed sleep. 

Day 2: 

We traveled into the mountains surrounding Reykavik to visit the ON Geothermal plant, the largest of its type in Iceland and the second largest in the world. Besides being architecturally gorgeous and being surrounded by equally gorgeous mountains, the plant  is extremely efficient. Situated on an active central volcano, it uses steam from geothermal fluids to power enormous turbines while simultaneously condensing the steam to pump back into the groun for continued use. This plant alone can power all of Reykjavik when running at full capacity. It also draws water from underground wells to be warmed through heat exchange and pumped towards the city for water and heating. Later that day, we got a guided tour of the Iceland History Museum to learn more about the country's sometimes enigmatic past and get a better person understanding of where the Icelandic people draw their cutlural inspiration.

Day 3: 

We took a scenic drive down Highway 42 out of Reykjavik and into mountainous terrain to see some of the unique geological features Iceland has to offer.  We first made note of some of the characteristic remnants of past volcanic eruptions, identifying our first basalts and drawing a distinction between scoria (coarse) and ash (fine) layers from a past series of eruptions. We then took a look at the nearby hot vents, where geothermal fluids rich in sulfur (and smell like rotten eggs) effuse from the ground at around 200 degrees Celsius. I was careful not  to fall in. We also saw a green bowl shaped lake created by a fairly recent explosive steam eruption that must have been quite the shock for locals. We then aimed the golden egg at the coast, stopping along the way at the popular tourist attraction, the "bridge between continents," where a bridge straddles a rift separating the North American and Eurasian plates (although the divide between the continents is actually a series of rifts).     After reaching the rocky shoreline, where we got to do some bird spotting, we got out and analyzed the unique formations that occur where lava and ocean meet, namely bizarre pillow basalts whose formation history had been a mystery until fairly recently. We also saw some beautiful columnar basalts, which are nearly perfect hexagonal columns formed when basalt quickly cools and contracts in an almost honeycomb pattern. Lastly we went to the infamous Blue Lagoon, the largest tourist trap in Iceland. There we swam in what essentially is a glorified hot tub, except heated by geothermal activity, which makes it a little more exciting. The pool itself is blue, true to its name, and absolutely full of people, mostly tourists carrying alcohol. After stewing ourselves in the lagoon for a couple of hours, we made the long drive back, fed ourselves with hearty salads, and spent our last night in Reykavik with our expectations high for the rest of the trip.