"If you get lost in an Icelandic forest..."

"Stand up!" This joke among Icelanders bears witness to their modern struggles to create substantial (and tall) forests across the island. Before vikings settled here in the 9th and 10th centuries, nearly half the land was covered in dense birch forests. The vikings used this wood for construction, heat, and allowed their sheep to graze on the fertile land- which in turn caused all the seedlings of trees to be munched up.

Ok, history lesson over. Fast forward to this weekend, when our group headed east to the base of Mt. Hekla, a volcano that is actually due to erupt any day. Beneath its shadow lies a very humble little farm and some cozy guesthouses. This was our home from Wednesday until Saturday, where we worked on the Hekla Reforestation Project to restore birch trees to the area and reduce erosion of the soil.

Before we arrived at Hekla though, we made a stop at a reconstructed viking longhouse and a nearby hydropower plant. The longhouse was interesting- the early Icelanders lived such a simple life in these houses. Often up to 25 people lived in them along with the animals in the winter!

Outside of longhouse, covered in turf

The hydropower plant, called Búrfellsstöð, was also very interesting. I don't think hydropower is the most "green" option for power (especially since Iceland already produces far more energy than they could ever use). The river that it sits on, Þjórsá (pronounced Thie-or-sow) is harnessed by four other power plants. This river is vital for the salmon that swim in its waters, and each dam severely limits the areas in which these salmon can spawn and grow. Nevertheless, the employees at the plant were very courteous and we did learn a lot. We also got a behind-the-scenes-tour and saw one of the turbines that create the electricty up-close. The best part was getting to wear a neon vest and hard hat! 

 My classmates Lily, Christina, and I

As you can see, getting to Hekla was half the adventure. You can't go on any sort of road trip in Iceland without stopping at several waterfalls. The rock formations here are incredible and since I don't fully understand them, I'll just show you some pictures of what we saw. 

So, by Wednesday afternoon, we're finally at Hekla. The farmwife there (Sigurdhunn or something like that... sorry if you're out there!) fed us SO well. We were all pretty sure that she was trying to fatten us up to eat us, Hansel and Gretel style. The majority of the time at Hekla was spent eating, collecting birch seeds from trees around the property, having coffee break, taking naps, going for rops to the river, having another coffee break, playing cards with friends, and doing a bit of homework here and there. It was fun to have some time with the group away from our computers and the internet- we spent much more time just talking and playing games together than we normally take time to do.

  The farm. See, the sun shines in Iceland!

Yesterday, on the way back from Hekla, we stopped at the Hekla Volcano museum and learned a bit more about the volcano itself. They even had a current seismograph of the rumblings inside the mountain. We stopped at Selfoss, the nearest legitimate town here, and wandered into a few stores. We stocked up on mjolk and several of us bought yarn and needles. Our good friend Rosie, a resident here, is having us over for waffles and a knitting lesson at some point this week. Also coming up on Wednesday is an all-day trip to the capitol city: Reykjavik. Sjáumst! (See you!)