Day 3

Day 3: Stora Dimon, Hekla, pumice, earthquakes and geothermal pools.

In contrast to yesterday's start to the day we began the day today with a hike up Stora Dimon, a small sub glacial volcano for a view over a glacial outwash plane and towards Eyjafjallajökull. A very steep ascent and a hail storm made this all the more exhilarating. It was an excellent vantage point to see how humans have managed the outwash plain to reduce the impact of glacial meltwater. Getting back to the bus was welcomed by all after a slippy and steep descent.

The Hekla centre was next on today's itinerary; what a great place it was, giving boys an excellent view of the Hekla volcano and its previous lava flows. A talk from a local farmer on the impact of the volcano and subsequent management was very interesting, followed by a trip round the Hekla museum and a chance for a drink in the cafe. Good links were made between the increase in tourism in Iceland and increased risk from eruptions, apparently Iceland's tourism is rising by 450,000 people per year!

On the way back to the coastal plain, we stopped at a wild and desolate pumice quarry to collect rock samples and consider the use and extraction of this as aggregate and an industry for Iceland.

The afternoon was spent on a walk through the volcanically active hills of Gönguleiđir through thick snow and with amazing views of a dramatic landscape. The top of the hills was a very active place, the air was filed with sulphur and steam; boiling water poured into a natural river and boys took time to paddle. With staff that had been here before it was interesting to consider the changes that have taken place due to increased tourism in this area. A brisk walk down meant we had enough time for a trip to Selfoss swimming pool before dinner which had geothermaly heated swimming pools, hot tubs & steam rooms. A highlight for everyone was the challenge of submersing yourself into a near freezing plunge pool then jumping back into the 40 degree sauna.

What a great day, evidenced by a tired looking group of boys after a day in the elements.  We've seen rain, hail, snow and sunshine.  A quick reflection session after dinner followed by quiz master Campbell 's tiered quiz finished the group off for the evening.