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Exeter High School Student-Run Newspaper!
Iceland: Students Love Travel
Iceland is a dream unraveling each day you spend there. Students Love Travel partnered with EHS to put together an Iceland trip chaperoned by English teacher Ms. Catcher, Brittany Catcher, and Brad from the organization. I was lucky enough to be chosen to go along with the group and had a once-in-a-lifetime experience. This trip happened over April break from the 20th to the 27th.
The first day was spent feeling incredibly exhausted. The plane ride to Iceland was fairly uncomfortable from the lack of air conditioning and stiff, flat seats. This led to limited sleep or none at all. I stayed up for 36 hours to try and ward off the jet lag. Many times while we rode on the bus, sat down for a meal, or listened to a presentation, we fell asleep quickly for a few minutes rest. We walked around and ate fermented shark (which is disgusting). The best part of the day was finding out Iceland has tame and friendly cats wandering the streets of downtown Reykjavik.
We were better rested for the second day and saw beautiful waterfalls on the Golden Circle tour. My favorite fact I learned about Iceland was that poetry was considered witchcraft and more men than women were put at the stake for conducting “witchcraft.” On this tour, we saw Strokkur, a geyser that is almost as tall as Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. This geyser was specifically special because you could get extremely close to it and even be soaked as it spits up. Our bus tour guide, Gummi, took us to a secret hot spring that we could wade in like a giant hot tub. All pools and hot tubs in Iceland are heated geothermally.
The third day was eventful with riding horses. Icelandic horses just make the cut-off for being considered horses, meaning they are much shorter than a normal horse (perfect for Ms. Catcher). No one can truly pronounce the name of the horse they rode because it was Icelandic, but mine sounded like “Look-good.” Ella Donohue had a horse named the Icelandic word for animal. It was a fitting name because we had a rivalry for the whole peaceful hike, and her horse ended up gnawing on my knee. The rest of the day was spent burning a hole in my pocket around downtown.
Day four was treacherous because I got a horrible cold. I still managed to go on a biking trip, but decided to stay at the hotel for the rest of the afternoon instead of doing a polar plunge and darts at 2 Guys with the rest of the group. I spent my night beating everyone’s 2048 score on the TV in the hotel room.
On day five, I kept pushing myself and we went on a hike that showcased the beautiful water and mountains. We found a geocache next to a rock (a notebook), so EHS made its mark on Iceland with our signatures. I was most excited for the Folklore tour in the afternoon, but it was the worst tour we went on for the whole trip. The tour guide acted out multiple characters, and it was difficult to keep up with his information. In the middle of the tour, he walked us to the house he grew up in and we all waved at his Mother. The best part of the tour was when he led us to a cemetery, and we saw a really cute black cat.
Day six was arguably the best day of the trip. We saw giant waterfalls I couldn't even fathom. Full rainbows flowed from the massive amounts of water pouring down. We got to see one of the highest-rated, most beautiful beaches in the world according to National Geographic: the black sand beaches. I didn’t get too close to the water because I was extremely scared of the sneaker waves pulling me into the tide. We also went hiking on a glacier that was next to a volcano that would erupt soon. We were all definitely sad that it was our last full day in Iceland, but we were happily gifted at night. One of my roommates was still awake and woke me up because our bus tour guide, Gummi, alerted us that the northern lights were out. It was the NUMBER ONE thing I desired to see. I begged Ms. Catcher if we could run down to the water and see them, and, obviously, she said yes. I was the first one to look up and notice the green streaks in the clear dark sky. It was so much more beautiful than the northern lights you could see in New Hampshire from the recent solar flare. It was the perfect closing for our last night.
Our last day in Iceland was the perfect way to spend it. Before leaving our hotel for good, a cat came up to us, almost like a farewell. We drove all the way down to the Blue Lagoon before heading off to the airport. Iceland was as beautiful and amazing as tourism predicted it to be. We put on face masks and sat in caves. I spent the rest of my Kronur bills at the Blue Lagoon store for some skin care. Then, we were off on a plane and back to America.
Sadly, I am not sure if an Iceland trip will ever run again soon due to the teacher who put it together, Ms. Catcher, moving on to being a librarian in Greenland. I wish her all the best, of course. She will be an amazing librarian. If this trip runs again while you are still at EHS, sign up! You will not regret it. Iceland is one of the most magnificent places from their society to their geography.
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