Today is our last day at Skalanes. We have spent 10 amazing days doing science, hiking around and boating. We have made great memories together and enjoyed every bit of these moments!

We started our day by packing all our science gear and making sure we hadn’t left anything behind. Then, while some did laundry, others cleaned the house to make sure we leave it in perfect shape. After packing all our suitcases, we gathered to play board games and cook. We spent some time enjoying our last day and did everything we wanted to, so we can leave this place with no regrets. For dinner, we had the chance to eat fabulous lasagna made by Charlie and Ella, along with Ulrik’s rice pudding and Charlie’s apple cake.

Tomorrow we are leaving the house at 8 a.m. sharp and heading to Vik, where we will stay for the next few days!

Bio Team Update

We completed all the soil extractions yesterday and the samples are prepared for transport back to Earlham.

Now that we are done with soil, it is now on to water sampling. A contingent of students were trained today by Dr. Emma Cross. Dr. Cross is an Assistant Professor of Coastal/Marine Studies in the Department of the Environment, Geography and Marine Sciences at Southern Connecticut State University. Her research focuses on climate change impacts on marine organisms.


While the bio team was away, the computer science team worked on networking and coding tasks.

Ella and Charlie cooked an amazing dinner of lamb, green beens & corn, home made biscuits, and baked Mac and cheese.

Tomorrow is an early start for the boat team!

Today was our free day to explore Seydisfjordur. To start off our day, we visited the archeological site located in the town where an archeology team is working on excavating a discovered longhouse. The longhouse consisted of the main living area, a weaving room with two fireplaces, a smithy, and pantries. At one point in the longhouse’s history, some of the walls were destroyed in a landslide from the surrounding mountains.

After visiting the dig site, we visited a museum with an exhibit about the longhouse, four pagan graves discovered nearby, and the Mountain Lady, the archeological find of human remains discovered in a cave in one of the mountains around Seydisfjordur. It was really interesting to learn about these archeological discoveries that allow us to learn about what life may have been like for the Icelanders during those points in history.

Once we finished looking around the museum, our group split up. Some of us decided to spend some time exploring Seydisfjordur, while the other group went to visit the baths in Vök. Some of the Seydisfjordur group decided to go on a hike to see some of the beautiful waterfalls in the area while the rest of us visited some of the local restaurants and shops, as well as a beautiful Lutheran church with a rainbow road leading up to it. After a few hours, the Vök crew met us at Seydisfjordur, and we all headed back to Skálanes.

After a restful night and a healthy breakfast, we were ready to start the second day of our trip in Reykjavik.

While some of us preferred to go downtown for shopping and visiting, others took the bus to go hiking. The hike was beautiful, we walked approximately 10 km (6.2 miles) along a gorgeous river. We were surrounded by lupins, which are purple flowers, and stunning landscapes. The highlight of the hike was a breathtaking waterfall at the end; Felix and Gary were brave enough to cross the river and see the waterfall from the other side. Afterwards, we headed back to the guesthouse for some well-deserved food and rest.

In the afternoon, different groups engaged in various activities. While some got boba tea and explored the area, others went to the beach and enjoyed warm hot tubs and the cold sea water. This is what we call the real Icelandic experience!