If you want to be a football star.....

... go and live in Iceland where your chances of playing in the national team are 1 in 7,000. This compares to about 1 in 3 million in the UK! This fact and some other quirky facts about living in a country with a small population are written up in an article in the current edition of 'Newsweek'.

Thanks to Mr Voigt for flagging up this article.

There's a little green man in Iceland.......

....and here he is! This is Geir Haarde , the president of Iceland since 2006. He is proud to lead a country which produces more than 80% of its energy from renewable sources. Mindyou, it does help if your country is sitting on top of loads of geo thermal energy!

If you want to read more about Iceland's little green men, click here.

The countdown starts here!

With just over three months left before he head for Iceland, I will now start to post regularly on the blog. This will provide us with an extra layer of communication but should also whet appetites for all the amazing things we are going to do and places we are going to visit in August.

So, let's start with a few photos which were sent to me in January by a friend who lives part of the year in Iceland. He is the Rayburn Tours educational manager but he used to a be a Geography teacher in Stonehaven. These beautiful photos were all taken in the part of Iceland we will be visiting in August though hopefully we'll be seeing the landscape without a covering of snow.

If you look back to the photos of our last trip to Iceland, you should certainly be able to spot this stretch of coastline.

I am hoping that if you are reading this posting, it means you have received the letter which I sent out last week requesting final payments and details of participants for my 'passenger list'. In case you have mislaid it or require an extra copy of the form which was attached, you can download it from here.

At the meeting I held with pupils on Tuesday at lunchtime, I asked them to check that their passports have at least 6 months to run beyond the date of our tour. Icelandic immigration rules require this. I also asked them to ensure that they have a valid EHIC card. This guarantees medical care under reciprocal agreements between Iceland and the UK.

Finally, as you will be aware from my letter, we are organising a 'hooded sweatshirt' for participants in the tour. It will be navy with a pouch pocket at the front and will carry a small Icelandic flag and the wording 'HSD Iceland 2008' printed on the upper left side of the front. We have managed to negotiate the excellent price of £17 for these and pupils can order one using this order form.

The months are in single figures - at last!

When we were planning our next fieldtrip to Iceland way back in March, August 2008 seemed a very long way off. The months are now into single figures and we can start indulging the anticipation!

Over the coming months, I'd like you to get into the habit of checking the blog regularly as I will be using it to send information to both you and your parents. It is also the place where I will post information about Iceland - to whet your appetites for our adventure together next summer.

Let us start with this photo taken by my good friend Ian Hardie who used to be a Geography teacher in Stonehaven and now works for Rayburn Tours and lives half of the year in Iceland. He took it as he was flying out to Iceland during the summer....

What you can see is an island which didn't exist when I was born! In fact, it didn't even exist when I went to school so yes, I am really very old.

The island you can see is Surtsey which lies off the south coast of Iceland. If we are very lucky we might fly over it next August and get a view like this one. However, even if we don't, we will probably see it when we fly to the Westman islands. Here is a view of Surtsey taken when we were there in 2006 (it's the one on the horizon, viwed here from the little airstrip in Heimaey which we will fly into)...

I think it is quite amazing that island is younger than me! The story of Surtsey is equally amazing and you can read all about it by clicking on the photo above. There is also a good account here and here .

Ian tells me that there is a wonderful interactive exhibition about Surtsey in the Icelandic Institute of Natural History which opened in May of this year and will still be running next summer. Hopefully, we will manage to see it. There is a very good description of the exhibition which you can link to here and from that website you can sneak a peek at some of the video footage on view.

P.S. Don't forget to scroll down through the older postings on the blog to get a flavour of the trip we will be taking next summer.

Northern Ireland are frozen out in Iceland!

12th September 2007
"Northern Ireland's hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008 were dealt a crushing blow as they lost 2-1 to Iceland " Says it all really.....

11 months to go .....

At last... we're counting in months now!

By way of celebration, here is the trailer for the new album by Sigur Ros. (They come from Iceland, if you didn't know)

P.S. The answer to the puzzling picture on the last posting is that the features are avalanche defences for a settlement which is vulnerable to avalanches.

A wee puzzle for you to solve

Here are two images of a small coastal settlement in eastern Iceland...

What might the purpose of the wall and the mound-like structures be?

HSD Iceland will be......

Make your own at ProfilePitstop.com

Second deposits!

When we first started planning our next fieldtrip to Iceland, August 2008 seemed a very long way away. Already, though, the months are slipping by. It is almost the summer holidays and soon we'll be saying 'this time next year."!

...and if you manage to get a good seat on the plane, this is the view you will get on a clear day as we fly along the south coast of Iceland before coming in to land at Keflavik airport..

In the background is the Myrdalsjokul icecap and you can see the little town of Vik (Iceland's wettest settlement) nestling on the coast with some black sea stacks lying offshore in the foreground. Even if we don't get such a good view on the approach to Iceland, we will get a closer up view of all those features from the ground when we are in Iceland.

You should by now all have received from your form teacher a letter reminding you of the deadline date for second deposits. Just in case you didn't get it... or have lost it.... or need a gentle reminder.... , could you ensure that the second deposits of £100 are in my hands by Monday of next week (18th June)?

Blog gets good reviews!

The latest edition of the Geographical Association's magazine was waiting for me when I got home from school and I was delighted to find our Iceland fieldtrip blog featuring in the 'Webwatch' section. Here's how we appeared in print...

"The blog included reminders about deadlines for payments and documentation and very successfully built up anticipationfor the visit by posting images and details about places to be visited. It followed up with images taken during the trip. A good example of best practice and an excellent resource if you are teaching about this particular location."

It's always nice to be appreciated!

If you followed the link provided in the magazine and are reading the blog as a result of that , you are most welcome. Please feel free to drop in from time to time to see what new information has been posted in the run-up to our next trip to Iceland in August 2008.

You might also like to have a look at our other two blogs:
Geography: My Place and Yours www.gmpay.blogspot.com and
The Higher Geog Blog www.highergeogblog.blogspot.com

This WILL be you in 2008!

Hopefully, if you are reading the blog, you are one of the 40 pupils (or their parents) who are 'signed up' to come to Iceland with us in summer 2008. The photo above (taken by Jonathan Voigt on last summer's Iceland fieldtrip) captures a sense of the awesome power of nature which you will see next year. It shows the mighty Skogarfoss waterfall and some of the group (in waterproofs!) making a quick dash into the spray which is thrown up - it was great fun but we were drenched in seconds.

Unfortunately, as more than 40 pupils paid deposits for the Iceland trip, we were obliged to ballot for places. If you were one of the unlucky ones who are now on the reserve list, hang on in there! Places often become available for a variety of reasons and you may yet get the chance to come with us next summer.

For the 40 other lucky pupils, I have now paid your first deposits to the tour company. A second deposit of £100 will be due before the end of term and you then have a year to save the rest. After the summer, I will organise a savings scheme for those who wish to pay for the trip in installments.

This could be you in 2008!

Imagine that you have just flown in a small eight seater plane from the mainland of Iceland on a five minute journey to the island of Heimaey in the Westmann islands. You have started to climb to the top of Eldfell, a volcano which erupted in 1973. Ahead of you is the town of Heimaey which was almost buried by ash during the eruption and from where every inhabitant had to be evacuated. Behind you is the path up the volcanic cone where you will sit on the still-warm rocks at the summit and take in a view back to the icecaps on the mainland.

Yesterday, the view had been quite different ...

You had eaten your lunch beside a glacial lagoon, watched 'icebergs' floating by and heard the glacier creaking as it moved slowly forward.....

Tomorrow you are going to see boiling mud pools ...

Hopefully you are reading the HSD Iceland blog because you have received my introductory letter advertising the Iceland 2008 fieldtrip. These are just a very few of the awesome experiences which await those who sign up for the tour.

Please do come along to the information evening planned for Tuesday, March 20th at 7pm in Trinity. This will be a very informal occasion - a chance to show you some of the photographs we took last summer during Iceland 2006 and to chat in more detail about our proposals for Iceland 2008. There is no commitment at this stage - just an opportunity to find out more and, as I said in my leter, even if you'd just like to see some nice photos, you will be most welcome!

I look forward to seeing you there.

Winter in Iceland

My thanks to Ian Hardie who recently sent me these winter photos of some of the places we visited in Iceland in the summer. What a difference the passing seasons make!

Kerid crater

Pingvellir and the Oxararfoss waterfall we walked to when we were there..

And finally 'three finger mountain' which was just behind our accommodation at Skallin..

"Awesome"..... as Ian would say!

Follow -Up Evening

Hopefully all partcipants in the Iceland fieldtrip have now collected a letter about the follow - up evening on 18th September. It will be held in Trinity and start at 7.30. (You should note that this is not the date which was in the recently issued Term 1 calendar.)

Although the meeting is primarily for pupils and their parents, please feel free to invite friends and relatives to come along if they are interested in seeing what we did in Iceland.

I am preparing a presentation of photos which I took during the fieldtrip but I would also like to have a large display of photos taken by pupils. I know that many of you took excellent photos - please look them out and bring me a) entries for the photo competition and b) albums of photos which you'd be happy for others to look at.

Details of the photo competition are on the blog at the end of the August 13th posting.

P.S. If you want to know how to make a movie poster like this, click on the image and it will take you to the website which I used.

Two mystery pics....

Ian sent me these photos yesterday - it seems the weather has been glorious in Iceland this week! He reckons you should be able to identify both locations.

The first is a waterfall viewed from a slightly different (and drier) angle to the angle we took

The second is from a place you visited but on a day when the distant view wasn't this clear...
Answers later!

A week ago today (6)

It was incredible how fast the time flew when we were in Iceland. The 'blogged' week seems to have gone quickly too - here we are at day 6 already!

After leaving our accommodation at Skallin last Friday, we drove to Reykjavik where our first stop was the City Hall where we looked at a huge 3D map of Iceland......

You should recognise some of the terrain on the next image..

Next it was into Reykjavik for 'shopping' .... well, it was for those who like shops.


However, for those who like cakes and coffee..... like Ian, Mr R and yours truly.....As you can see, mine was the very modest chocolate brownie!

Then it was on to the legendary Blue Lagoon - a 'swimming ' pool of milky blue water laden with rejuvenating silica mud and algae and heated by waste water from a nearby geothermal power station......And that was the grande finale to our fabulous trip to Iceland. Next stop the airport.....

I hope you've enjoyed reliving the fieldtrip through the blog have shared it with your friends and folks at home. I am looking forward to seeing you all in school next week. Make the most of the last few days of your holiday and start looking out your photos. We are very keen to see them!

A week ago today (5)

Last Thursday's study unit was aptly named 'Wet, Wetter and Wettest' and it began with a visit to Skogarfoss where those of us with good waterproofs were able to brave the spray at the foot of the falls. Photography isn't easy in those conditions but I did manage to get this one of Jonathan .....








Then it was on to the Solheimajokul (see 'Snout like it' posting of 27th July) which differs from Alpine glaciers in that it comes down very close to sea level. In fact, the scenery reminds me of Scotland and made me think of what Scotland would look like if glaciers were ever to return. Here it is as we were driving over the moraines towards it.....
Later we scrambled up the moraines and ventured briefly onto the ice ('team' photo on posting of 13th August) for a close up view of glacial processes.
The cold here in winter is intense enough to shatter stones!

Lunch was a picnic on the lateral moraines overlooking the glacier - it certainly beats a panini from Brodies and the staffroom in Bonar!


After lunch it was on to the coast towards Vik, the wettest place in Iceland.





Amazing views from the cliffs at Dyrholaey...
...were almost up-staged by the inhabitants of the nearby puffin colony and their antics!

I know that some of you got outstanding photos here and I'm looking forward to seeing your competition entries in the 'nature' category!











Last stop of the day was at the black sand beach at Reynisdranger... looking back in the photo below to the most southerly headland in Iceland. The power of the sea could not be missed - amazing to think that there is no land to break the waves between here and the Antarctic!

A week ago today (4) continued!

Ongoing problems with uploading pictures to Blogger, I'm afraid. So where were we? Fellow passengers to Heimaey, I think....
It took an hour to fly all 45 of us over from the mainland but once we were assembled, we headed off to explore the lava flows and climb Eldfell, the world's newest mountain. Looking back to the mainland, you could see why they call Iceland the Land of Ice and Fire





(My apologies if the blog doesn't look as well laid out as previously. Having ventured into 'Blogger User Groups' this evening, I have discovered I am not alone - thousands of people seem to be having the same difficulty uploading pictures. However, I am learning a thing or two in the process and am now following the advice of an anonymous user in Korea who suggests using Firefox for my browser instead of Internet Explorer. It is a journey of discovery for me but, fingers crossed, it seems to be working!)

A steepish climb brought us to the rim of the crater....
from where we could look down over Heimaey town...

The summit walk .....

provided great views back to the mainland and a chance for another team photo (see posting of 13th August)before descending into Eldfell's crater.

You've seen this shot before but from a different angle - see my postcard from Iceland on 9th August!





And as if that wasn't enough excitement for one day, we even saw an elephant in the afternoon!

A week ago today (4)

Wednesday dawned bright and clear - perfect weather for our trip to Heimaey. Here is a view of the Eyafjalla ice cap taken that day on another of my early morning photo forays. There were a lot of z z z zs coming from your rooms when I headed out!

I don't know if you spotted the aerial photo of Bakki airstrip in the 'terminal' but here it is ... Beyond the airstrip is the flat sandur (remember that word?!) and 15 km away on the horizon are the Westmann Is with Heimaey in the middle.

Here are some of you boarding the 9 seater. You can glimpse our destination under the wing.

And here, just a few minutes later, spectacular views of Heimaey as we approached the airfield....

In this view you can see the town and its harbour which was so nearly blocked by the lava flows of 1973.

Below is the volcanic line-up along a weak point on the Mid Atlantic plate boundary..... Eldfell in the foreground, Helgafell beyond, two remnant volcanic islands off shore and on the horizon, the island of Surtsey.....

Fellow passengers arriving on Heimaey (Vestmannaeyar means Westmann islands)

to be continued......

A week ago today (3)

You may remember that it was raining - and some - when we woke up last Tuesday so this is a view of Stora Dimon (the steep volcanic outcrop near our accommodation at Skallin) which you didn't see! I took the photograph the next morning when the weather was clearer...

A steep climb in the rain was rewarded with excellent views of the Markarfljot glacial meltwater river ..

Then it was on to Seljalandsfoss where we were able to walk behind the cascade to get fabulous views of the plunge pool...

Next we transferred to an 'off-road coach' for an exciting drive up the Porsmork valley through rivers and across boulderfields to reach the Gigjokull glacier complete with lagoon and icebergs!

The final stop of the day - as everyday - were the hotpots in a local swimming pool which, at 40 degrees were a lot warmer than the lagoon water!

Then it was back to Skallin for a 'fish pie to die for' (that seems to have been your favourite meal of the week) and clearing skies which allowed us tantalising glimpses of our destination for the next day.......

The Westmann Islands at dusk with Heimaey (centre). The first triangular peak on the left is Eldfell which we would be climbing the next day. Watch this spot.........

Missing pictures!

Here are the pictures which simply refuse to slot into the earlier posting. Firstly the gorge on the Hvita river downstream from Gullfoss
....then all you hardworking people - and in your holiday too!

A week ago today (2)

Last Monday dawned bright and sunny but you were all snoozing when I woke up at six and went out for a walk! This is a view of the restaurant and the rooftops of our chalets at Arhus in the (very) early morning sunshine.

Monday was our 'Gushers and Gluggers' day and it began with a visit to the Urida falls.

A quick stop at Kerid crater.....

...then on to the Pingvellir National Park where huge fissures mark the boundary of the European and North American plates.

After lunch we drove to the Geysir geothermal area and marvelled at the mineral pools

..all the time watching for the regular 'eruptions' of Strokkur geyser

The mighty waterfall at Gullfoss was our next stop....

Check out the people on the rock platform on the left to get a sense of scale!

The final stop of the day was at the gorge on the Hvita river downstream of Gullfoss

And just to prove that we were working hard as well as having a great time 'in the field' here you are slaving away over your workbooks last Monday evening....

Well, you would be if Blogger was co-operating this evening! It has suddenly stopped up-loading images to this post so I will add a second installment .....

A week ago today (1)

I hope you are all well rested after a good night's sleep and have started to relate all your stories!

Over the next week I will post photos on the blog which are a day by day account of our travels..... as a reminder of all the places we visited and experiences we had. So here is day 1....

We started with some lessons on the Mid Atlantic Ridge.... literally!

At the bridge which spans the the plate boundary between Europe and North America

Europe to the left and North America to the right as you look at the photo below

And a nearby lava dome which swelled so much it burst!

Then it was on to the geothermally active area around Krysuvik for our first experience of steam vents, bubbling mud pools and sulphurous smells.....

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view) the blog doesn't do smellyvision!

nor can you hear the glugs.....

but you can see the wonderful colours of the mineral deposits

and certainly appreciate the sunset from our chalet accommodation on the first evening in Iceland..

Remember the photograph competition! Start to look out your entries for the following categories:

1) a photograph with an appropriate, amusing caption

2) the best 'nature' photograph

3) the funniest photograph

4) the best scenic photograph

To enter a photo in any of the above categories, give me a printed copy with your name and category written on the back.

5) There will also be a 'star prize' for the best poster of photos with suitable captions

We would like to collate a set of the best digital images of the trip which will eventually be copied onto a CD for everyone to have as a memento . Could you therefore let us have (in digital form ) the 5 photos which you consider your best and I will start to put the collection together?

Date for your diaries..... the follow-up parents' evening when we will be able to look at all the excellent photos and share memories of the trip will be held in Trinity on Monday 18th September at 7.30.

We're home!

Although I should really have been catching up on a few hours of sleep this morning, I was desperate to delve into my photos and share just a very few (for now!) with you.....

It seems quite appropriate when we've been to Iceland that the first photo should be of ice so above are some of the 'bergie bits' which were floating in the glacial lagoon at Gigjokull when we visited it on Tuesday.

I will treasure many memories of our trip to Iceland but without doubt, the best memories are of a great bunch of youngsters who entered into the spirit of the fieldtrip....... you got wet, you got cold, you walked miles, you got out of breath, you got tired, you were amazed and enthusuastic, you ate mountains of food, you worked well and you played hard too. You were an excellent team so I thought you might like to see some of your 'team photos' taken in a variety of the locations we visited over the week. ....
Kruisivik geothermal area

Kerid crater

Gullfoss

Seljalandsfoss

On top of Eldfell volcano, Heimaey

On the Solheimajokull glacier

There are another 500 where those came from but I'll save them until I've had a nap!

Postcard from Heimaey

All back safe and very well from a fab day on Heimaey. Stopped off in delicious hot pots on our return to the mainland ... but the pupils were STILL full of energy despite their volcanic scramblings today! Ian Hardie has kindly given me access to his computer so that I can send you a postcard ...

This is a picture of the pupils as they descended into the crater of Eldfell volcano (which last erupted in 1973 ). Just before this photograph was taken the group had enjoyed spectacular views over the Westmann Islands as well as to the icecaps and mountains (and Hekla volcano) on the mainland (all the time whilst warming their bottoms on the summit steam vents on the crater rim).

So far we've done boiling mud puddles, lava fields, geysirs, glaciers, waterfalls and volcanoes (but, as Ian keeps telling us , we ain't seen nothing yet!).

Heimaey calling.........

This is coming to you from Heimaey in the Westmann Islands...... how cool is that?!

It is day four of our amazing adventure to Iceland and today we have flown over to Heimaey on the most beautiful day you could imagine. This morning we have climbed the volcano Eldfell and warmed our bottoms on the still warm crater rim. From there we could see four icecaps on the mainland. We are now waiting at the harbour to board a boat for our trip around the island.

We are having the most wonderful time in this land of ice and fire. There is so much to tell and fabulous photos to share when we get back. I will add some to the blog next week.

Thanks to all the parents who sent exam results out. We celebrated!

See you tomorrow!

...... but what will we be able to see as we arrive in Iceland? The synoptic chart for noon tomorrow should give us a clue.The fifth years (well, you are fifth year now!) should have no difficulty in reading and understanding the chart but for the benefit of the others it shows that we will leave Glasgow in cloudy (and probably wet weather judging by the fronts) and approach Iceland just as wet weather is clearing to the northeast. We should have dry and clear weather for the second part of tomorrow.

If you click on the chart, you will link to the Met Office web page where you can look at the likely pressure situation over the next few days..... and hopefully, draw your own conclusions.

You might also like to follow the link to the Icelandic Meteorological Service's long term weather forecast. It is fair to say that we aren't expecting a heatwave next week. The weather will be very typically Icelandic - the sort of thing you expect if you live on the edge of a large ocean. So, pack your waterproofs but don't expect to be wearing them all the time!

When we are in Iceland, I am going to try to up-date the blog at least once so that your folks can read about what we have been doing. Make sure they know how to access it at www.hsdiceland.blogspot.com . If you have any last minute questions, email me on my school address and I will check that a couple of times today but in the meantime, 'happy packing', have an early night and I look forward to seeing you all at school at 6.30am tomorrow.

Last minute reminders....

I'm sure you are all well organised and don't need this set of reminders but just in case you want a last minute check list, here it is......

For handing over to your group teacher on Sunday morning:
Passport (please don't put these in bulky passport covers as this makes them more difficult for staff to handle. A removable sticky label with your name on the outside of the passport would be appreciated)
EHIC card
Pocket Money
Medical Up-date form and any prescription medicines you are curently taking.

It would be really helpful if all the above were in a large envelope with your name clearly written on the outside when you hand them over.

Luggage allowance is 20kg plus 5kg of hand luggage. 20kg if much more than you need for six days so try to pack less than this and limit yourself to a small/medium sized suitcase or holdall.
Hand luggage should ideally be a small day rucksack (or similar) which you can use when we go out each day. No other hand luggage!
If you are locking your case, make sure you bring the key

You must have stout footwear for your first afternoon in Iceland so I'd recommend you wear this for travelling as it will release space in your luggage. Make sure your study guide and cameras are accessible - either in your hand luggage or the top of your suitcase.

The weather forecast for next week looks cool and unsettled so ensure you have waterproofs with you.

It is standard practice in Iceland to remove outdoor shoes when going 'inside'. You should therefore bring something like flip flops to wear indoors or else be prepared to walk around in your socks.

Remember your camera, batteries, chargers for cameras etc. and a European adaptor for any electronic equipment.

Prepare to make an emotional farewell to your mobile phone. You CAN survive without it for a week, you know!

We may have access to a DVD player so you might wish to bring a DVD with you (no 18+ films, please)

Finally, make sure you get a good night's sleep tonight and go to bed early tomorrow!

Any last minute questions, phone school today and they will contact me or use my school email address and I will check this later.

There will be stacks to look at!

Next Thursday our Icelandic exploration will take us east along the south coast towards the town of Vik (check the maps in your pupil guide!). Just before reaching Vik, we will stop to look at the black sands, sea stacks and columnar basalt cliffs at Reynisdranger (already mentioned in the 'girl band' posting on June 20th). The sands are black because ....... no, let's just wait and you can find out next week! The cliffs make a great 'photo opportunity' - everyone has their own perch. Low down, of course.

From the spot where the photo above was taken you can turn round and look back along the beach to the headland at Dyrholaey which we will visit en route to Reynisdranger. There is a fine natural arch in the headland which you can just see in this photo. However, the next photo gives more of an idea of its scale.







OK... I hope you've been reading the Iceland blog over the last few weeks and feel that you know a little bit about this wonderful country we will be visiting together in just a few days from now.

If you haven't been keeping up-to-date with my postings, try to find time to browse them before Sunday and certainly read tomorrow's posting. There will be lots of last minute reminders!

Away day to Heimaey

By this time next week we should be back on the mainland after our amazing 'Away Day to Heimaey' . We will be flying to Heimaey courtesy of Westmann Airways. Click on the banner above for more information about the company which operates a number of light aircraft from the airport (really just an airstrip!) at Bakki to the airport on Heimaey.

The flight to Heimaey takes only 6 minutes but if the weather is clear you will get some amazing views of the south of Iceland and the Westmann Islands. The photo below is taken from a plane as it approaches the runway at Heimaey.......

The large natural harbour is visible as well as the lava flow from the 1973 eruption of Eldfell which threatened to block the harbour and cut off Heimaey's life blood.

The website of Westmann Airways has some other wonderful aerial photos of the Westmann islands and other areas of southern Iceland - they cover topics such as Gullfoss and Geisir, glaciers and other aspects of the scenery of southern Iceland. Click on the photo to link to the website and then drop down the 'photos' menu.

A week today.......

... we move from our accommodation at Hella (pronounced 'Hetla') to our accommodation at Skalinn (pronounced Scowlin). I took this photo in the first week of August 2004 (about 9.30pm) from a spot about 500metres away from Skalinn. This is the sort of view we will get as we look southwards towards the Westman Islands. What is remarkable is how close they seem despite being 30 kms away! This is due to the clarity of the air and the fact that the sandur ( flat coastal plain - see previous posting on big flat bits!) is so featureless.

There is lots of good geography in this view but I'll spare you that for now!!

....and a photo from Iceland

This is the Eyafjallajokull photographed last night around 11pm! You can expect to be seeing views like this next week as it was taken from a spot very close to our second accommodation. The photo arrived in my Inbox this morning along with the email message in my last posting

A Message from Iceland

This email message for you all arrived today from Ian Hardie who will be our guide next week. Ian has spent the the summer in his 'sumar hus' in Iceland guiding groups and entertaining friends who have gone to Iceland to visit him.........

Next weekend is THE weekend on the Icelandic calendar; luckily you are arriving on the Sunday and so should be spared the Friday and Saturday evening celebrations. No, it’s not because the HSD is arriving (although that in itself should be sufficient reason for wild celebration!). No, it is all rather amazing and all very Icelandic. Every year, on the first weekend in August, all Icelanders like to arrange to meet up with their families (their extensive, extended families!) for a grand old outside party (preferably amidst the nature of Iceland). They come from all over the country by jeep and 4x4 (and, I wouldn’t be surprised, on horseback) and indeed fly in from overseas for this “festival”. Encampments are set up with tents and caravans and every sumar hús is filled to overflowing; it’s quite a sight. The grocery stores and Vinbuðs (think about it) do a roaring trade just before the weekend commences. It can be raucous … but everyone is very welcome and you just have to … go with the flow. As I keep telling my summer guests, “It‘s what Icelanders do”! There is much eating, drinking fun and music. It is rather like a Scottish Hogmany (but magnified somewhat!). I hope to participate a little on the Saturday evening … so please make allowances for me on Sunday when I meet you at Keflavík Airport – I’ll be the one in dark glasses! I hope you are all looking forward with anticipation to your Geography Tour to Iceland; I am really looking forward to leading you to amazing places that will blow your socks off, teaching you the “one minute trick” (if you are game) … and seeing if any of you develop “parrot syndrome” (all will be explained!). Take careful heed of your kit list; dress to be warm, dress to be dry and dress to be windproof. And for goodness sake, make sure you know how to operate your camera and to care for it; carry a small cloth to dry your camera and to keep the lens clear/clean (it’ll get damp at the waterfalls). As I type this, the icecaps are simply splendid, shining in the sunshine and with the spilling glaciers off Mýrdalsjökull looking totally magnificent. The Westmann Islands are cloud shrouded but just you wait till you visit this wonderful archipelago; you’ll be entranced! The exchange rate is pretty good for you at the moment (about 133 ISK to £1) so things are not too expensive to buy here. But still fill any spaces in your suitcases with a few edible treats for yourselves (and your friends!).


Ian also sent me a lovely photo which I will upload to the blog later - Blogger isn't cooperating in that respect right now!

A week and we're off!

It's amazing to think that after all the months of planning, this time next week we'll be in the air and winging our to Iceland. We land at Keflavik airport which is Iceland's main international airport, located about 50 kms south west of Reykjavik.

The airport website makes interesting reading...... amongst other things there are statistics relating to the number of passengers arriving in Iceland via Keflavik. They show a phenomenal growth in traffic in the last ten years...

1996 374,000 arrivals
2000 536,000
2005 752,000

44 of this year's final figure will be us!

Icelandic Horses