After last night's Viking Feast, and a good night's sleep, we started the day energized and ready to explore the Saga Museum in Reykjavik. The Icelandic Sagas are stories that were written long ago (mostly 13th and 14th centuries) to document early Viking society and history. We really enjoyed the life-like Viking figures--so life-like that one of them was even mechanized to look like he was breathing--and the rich detail in the narration provided in our headsets.
| While we were at the Saga Museum, we contacted Katrin Magnusdottir from Landvernd because we were having trouble finding their street address in our GPS. Katrin was nice enough to come pick us up and we then went to their office downtown for a light lunch and some presentations. Their CEO, Gudmundur (Mummi) Gudbrandsson, talked to us about the mission, goals, and projects of Landvernd. Their three-part focus includes nature conservation, environmental education, and environmental management. We learned more about their Heart of Iceland project that seeks to protect the wilderness of the Central Highlands from development from power companies. Our contacts, Katrin and Rannveig, work on Landvernd's Eco-Schools and Restoration in South Iceland projects. We really enjoyed learning more about how Landvernd engages and educates young people to help them become better stewards of Iceland's incredible natural resources. After Mummi was finished, Mrs. Reid and I were able to present our Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative projects that we do with our students. The Landvernd staff was very impressed, and they would like to stay in touch to learn more from us as we incorporate our new global information into our existing projects. |
We finished off a busy day of learning with a relaxing soak at the famous Blue Lagoon. This geothermal bath is popular with tourists because of the warm temperatures and skin-soothing mineral and algae content. The lagoon is fed from below with seawater that is heated by molten magma. Fortunately, as it travels 2,000 meters upwards, the water cools from over 400 degrees Celsius a soothing 38 degrees C (100 F). It is very visually stunning with the milky blue water surrounded by towering walls of black lava, and framed with a bright blue sky.