The day was packed with adventure and learning. Waking up at 7:15, we ate breakfast at our hostel. We then packed our lunches for the day, consisting of sandwiches, potato chips, and bananas. We got a lesson in Icelandic geology from our resident geology expert, Dr. Stephanie. She is with us for the next four days to answer all of our questions and teach us about the wonders of Iceland’s geology.

After we packed our bags for the day we met our driver, Thomas, and drove about an hour to the largest geothermal power plant in Iceland. We met our guide who soon found out that Dr. Stephanie had taught us very well in our brief lesson earlier, as we already knew most of what he told us. However, we didn’t know everything, as we bombarded him with questions that he answered very well and in great depth. All in all, we learned a lot at the power plant. We even had some free time before leaving and many people bought items from the gift shop for family and friends.

After the power plant we got back on the bus and drove another hour to go see Geysir, the first geyser and namesake. After eating our lunches, we went to see the geysers. The main geyser spewed water every 10 or so minutes, and while we waited, Dr. Stephanie gave us an in-depth explanation how geysers and hot springs work, as well as the differences between them.

After seeing Geysir, we drove to a waterfall called Gulfoss, which translates to “golden waterfall”. The waterfall was massive and incredibly impressive. Our group enjoyed it so much that many people said it was the best sight we had seen yet. Dr. Stephanie explained how the water fall formed and why it was called the golden waterfall (it’s due to the high amount of silica in the water that reflects lots of light, making waterfall glisten and look almost golden).

After the waterfall we drove to Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park. The park was beautiful, with expansive mountains on one side and a river on the other. We enjoyed exploring, splitting apart into separate groups to explore various paths. Eventually our paths collided and we walked back to the bus. After a full day, everyone was exhausted and rested on the two hour drive back to Reykjavik.

After getting back, many people went to their rooms to relax and shower before our dinner of pizza arrived. When pizza did finally arrive, everyone got their own small pizza and we had our nightly meeting during dinner where we discussed what it means to be a tourist vs a traveler, and the difference between our hometowns and Reykjavik. After dinner people went to sleep early or played cards until it was time to get to bed. All in all, these were some of the most amazing and interesting experiences many of us had ever had.

— Lauren & Trivik