The Land of Fire and Ice
Where can you travel to see geysers shooting 40 feet into the air, feel the heat and smell the sulphur from active volcanic bubble pots, watch puffins frolic and whales spout, swim in naturally-fed hot springs, and see glacial fragments float past on their way to the ocean? No other place than Iceland!
Iceland is a strangely beautiful place with a surprisingly mild climate. The summer temperatures range from the mid-60s during the daytime hours to the mid-40s in the evenings. The sunshine is brilliant, due to its proximity to the Arctic Circle, and the Midnight Sun casts orange hues throughout the night and into the morning. The blues are bluer and the greens are greener. All of this makes for amazing opportunities if you are into photography!
Our home-away-from-home will be located at Holar University College nestled between two large mountain ranges in the north central region of Iceland. Holar is the site of historical buildings and ongoing archeological excavations. It is home to the Center for the History of the Icelandic Horse, Holar Cathedral, and turf houses. It is also where we will hold our face-to-face classes.
Key travel highlights of our time in Iceland include Snaefellsnes Peninsula (home of the Snaefellsjokull Glacier where it is believed to be the meeting place of extra-terrestrials, and one of the seven energy centers in the world); Diamond Circle (including Lake Myvatn; Europe’s most powerful waterfall called Dettifoss; Dimmiuborgir, known as one of the settings for Game of Thrones; and Krafla, a volcanic caldera with the last eruption in 1984); Akureyri (second-largest and northernmost city in Iceland); Siglufjordur (traditional fishing village); Golden Circle (including Thingvellir National Park, where the North-American and European continental shelf plates are being torn apart; Geysir; and Gullfoss); Jokulsarlon (the majestic lagoon where several movies were made, including the James Bond film Die Another Day); Reykjanes Peninsula (where Keflavik Airport is located, in addition to the Blue Lagoon).
Another highlight of our trip will be celebrating the ten-day event known as “Reykjavik Pride” with tens of thousands of people from all over the world. The event has been celebrated annually since 1999, and is proudly advertised as “the biggest little Pride Parades in the world"
