some more pretty places and sustainable things

More class time and traveling around by bus. Geothermal and Hydroelectric run the world in Iceland and we are getting to see some of the coolest places.


Today we visited the largest geothermal plant in Iceland at 300MW--Hellisheiðaryirkjun in the Hengill area. (I will never be able to say these names so please don't ask. It's just embarrassing.) 

The waste from there geothermal plants is hot water for heating and bathing in the capital city of Reykjavik. Not bad. 

From there we went to the most amazing little hydro plant in Reykjavik--Elliðaáryirkjun in Elliðárdalur Built in 1921, it is now a historical monument in the country.

It was so beautiful and well preserved--museum quality. I was touched by the pride that the workers talked about the plant with.  It's so small compared to the newer plants (Only 3MW), but it was one of the most well-kept and loved places I have ever been.  It was sweet to hear how tenderly the staff talked about the plant. 

The afternoon swim at a public pool (Laugardalslaug) is so far the greatest cultural immersion we have experienced.  Veðis informed me as we were all preparing for the swim that one of the greatest culture shocks she experienced when traveling outside of Iceland for the first time was the lack of warm, public, outdoor, swimming pools located in virtually every town that are open all year round.  This of course is due to the rest of the world's inconvenient inability to access geothermal heat sources just, you know, wherever. 

Turns out that there is process and ceremony to going to a casual swim at the public pool. First you must leave your shoes and socks outside of the locker room all together.  Then you must remove all clothing and wash in a little communal shower.  Third put your bathing suit on and rinse off again.  Then (and ONLY then--this whole process is strictly enforced by an attendant who I can only guess is there to keep bothersome tourists from skipping the more uncomfortable steps in the process) may you proceed to the pool deck. Woah. 

We passed a couple of hours happily splashing in the warm water and sliding down the fantastic water slide and having climbing rope competitions. I apparently left my bathing attire on my bed after making sure I had it in my backpack this morning, so I sported a rented one-piece (...which I ROCKED.) 

Dinner was absolutely tasty.  We ventured into Reykjavik to a popular hikers' hostel called Kex. The grub was buttery white fish over mashed potatoes with bread and salad. It was a long day--7am to 12:30am on the road--but oh the fun we had. We had a pop quiz "with a twist" that lead to my consuming of 1. a shot of fish oil (brutal) 2. lamb tongue (gag) and 3. cure shark (absolutely rank).  

We stayed at Kex playing games and talking and dancing and being all too loud until they told us it was time to let the guests sleep. Then back to the bus and home.  I have a good feeling that the rest of the days are going to just as packed and fun.