Day 4:
Today we got up and left the Reykjavik hostel. We drove westward towards the fjords and glaciers. The first stop was at the Borgarnes water tower. This was the first taste of the cold weather to come. I thoroughly enjoyed this stop just because I understood all of the terminology Suresh was looking for (thank you surficial). I love being able to connect what I have learned over the past year to what I am seeing on this trip! The rouche montane was something that I vividly remember from the last test in surficial.
The next stop was the Eldborg crater. Although lunch outside was a bit cold, the hike was perfect. It took us about an hour(?) to get to the top of the cone. At first is was a slow, easy walk. However it soon got much steeper as we approached the cone. The actual crater was called a scoria cone and was formed from repeated eruptions of low viscosity magmas. Eventually it made a 60 m tall cone.
The next stop was ströndin where there were sea stacks with a lot of birds on them. This stop was painfully cold and windy. We did not stay for long.
The last stop of the day was my favorite: Drituík- Djupalónssandur. This was a beach covered in smooth pebbles and incredibly blue water. The rocks were just amazing. There were mixtures of composition, size, and color. The round smooth rocks, which made up most of the beach, was difficult to walk on. Although I was hungry, cold, and very tired from the day's activities I throughly enjoyed myself and I wish I cold have stayed and explored a little longer.
Finally we hopped on the bus and took a breathtakingly beatific ride to the next town we are staying at. The little town is picturesque. Small, colorful houses cover the winding street. Overlooking the houses are the huge snow capped mountains. The sun decided to come out just for our arrival. This was the most I have seen of it the entire trip.
We made dinner then celebrated Erik's birthday! We the split up to do our own thing. Then Lettie comes into the room and says "you guys have to try out this swing!" So naturally I followed. We went to the playground right behind the hostel. There we played on the swing set. Some more of our people came around and we started a pick up game of soccer on the AstroTurf pitch. This was the high point of my day.
One thing about this trip that I love is that everyone is so alike and we all get along so well. No one is afraid to be themselves around each other. We also geek out about the same things as well. I feel like can have great conversations with anyone on this trip, even if I didn't know them before we arrived. I really do appreciate this great group.
