Our group have been kept very busy today. Starting off with a good breakfast at the youth hostel and were on our way. Our guide, Oli, took us past some geothermal boreholes on the way out of Reykjavik and also pointed out the many uses of geothermal...all very useful as we were on our way to Hellisheidi geothermal power station. We also observed some of the human geography (and impacts of settlement) on our way out of town. At Hellisheidi we saw the turbines before having a talk from one of their guides and watched a video and explored the exhibits. Next stop was the slopes of Eyjafjallajokull where we observed outwash plains and braided channels as well as attempts to restrict problems of flooding using levees. Lunch was by a couple of impressive waterfalls - falling over old coastal cliffs which are now well inland due to sea level change. After lunch we ventured under the waterfall getting a soaking from spray.
Driving through the ash fields and solitary stacks we arrived at a folk museum where were given a guided tour including a demonstration by the 92-yr old owner of how to spin horse hair.
Moving on we visited the headland of Dryholaey to see present coastal features from beach cusps to arch sequences.
Finally our last stop was much drier at the wool factory shop with a chance to buy souvenirs...including a debate on whether a student could bring a stuffed puffin back!!!
We're now settled into our hotel for the night.
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| Looking at the interactive boards at Hellisheidi power plant |
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| Geologists considering the various rock types found in Iceland |
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| Listening to the guide explaining about some of the exhibits at the folk museum |
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