Our Final Days in Iceland!

July 29, 2023

Greetings from the Icelandic Highlands! We wanted to share our thrilling trekking and camping adventure with all of you. The journey has been nothing short of incredible.

Each night, we set up our infamous kitchen tent, and amidst laughter and stories, we devoured delicious meals like freshly caught salmon, mouthwatering barbecues, and even indulged in hotdogs. Can you believe how mouthwatering our campsite cuisine is?

The most challenging part was crossing numerous icy cold rivers, but our team, including Meriwether, Zach, Jack, Molly, and Cash, showed incredible determination and courage. Some hilarious moments of IG, Delaney, and Robert were captured on camera during those crossings, but luckily, no one fell into the water (almost did, but we’ll save that story for later)!

One thing that kept us going was the Nutella sandwiches – we nicknamed them “Parisian crepes” due to their heavenly taste. They were our energy boosters during long hikes, and we couldn’t resist having more. Chase, Edward, and Mae had a competition to see how many they could eat in one day. Mae won.

The highlight of our adventure was reaching Porsmork after a grueling 50-mile trek in just 5 days. The sense of achievement and the breathtaking scenery made every step worth it. Madeline and Parker shared a mixture of exhaustion and elation at the finish line.

You’ll be pleased to know that we’ve become quite the tight-knit group and have many funny stories to cherish for a lifetime. From Meriwether’s accidental dance-off with a Puffin to Zach’s epic campfire storytelling sessions that kept us entertained for hours, there was never a dull moment.

Now, we’re all looking forward to reuniting with you soon, armed with these unforgettable memories. Thank you for your support and encouragement throughout this adventure. We miss you all and can’t wait to share more stories in person.

-Ben and Ella

Sea Kayaking in Stykkisholumr!

July 23, 2023

Beautiful things do not ask for attention” (Walter mitty). This was not the case for stykkisholumr, as the beautiful port town (in which ben stiller a.k.a. Walter mitty lived while filming his classic film) demanded attention. Narrow cobblestone roads, cute cafes, and sea food vendors are only few of the many attractions that bring people to this village. Our reason for being in stykkisholumr is sea kayaking. Anticipation was building, everyone was so excited to sea kayak, especially Cash as he was coming out of retirement after winning the gold in the Tokyo Olympics. Cash had no idea what he was getting into as this was no Olympics. This was old fashioned rough Arctic kayaking. Too bad these southern kids are cold-blooded, no heat to access, except one Connecticut’s own Delaney. Delaney was not phased by the frigid water and ripped to the island we were staying at for the night. While the likes of Cash (lol), Robert, Parker, and Edward tolerated adversity to the extreme.

The island accommodations were immaculate. Muscles were hurting after our grueling paddle, so Zach, Chase, and Jack (ingeniously) insisted we take a cold dip into the Atlantic Ocean. 3 min they said and our aches would be gone! Once we warmed up, hunger started to set in. Our gracious guides Jimsky (Manchester’s finest) and Maggie (kayak) had gourmet eats in store for us. These “eats” would not have been made possible without the cutlery skills of Mae and IG as they thinly sliced onions, peppers, and carrots. We gobbled like hungry hippos and ended the night with an amazing Moonup led by Molly. Awakened by a noise in the middle of the night, i got out of my tent to investigate the situation. To my surprise, Meriwether, Madeline, and Robert were trying to build there immune system by sleeping under the non-existent stars, they were sleeping outside. I gave them a nod of approval and retired back to my tent to read the informative writings of Anthony Bourdain and slumber.

The next morning we all kayaked back to civilized closer than ever, bonded from wild conversations and games. Fish and chips were consumed and optimism was prevalent as trekking was in store for us next.

Dear mom and dad,

I’m having tons of fun and the weather is super nice so far. I’ve gotten over the no darkness and can fall asleep in daylight. – Parker

Dear mom and dad,

I am having lots of fun, kids are fun and leaders are great. Tell Marley and Sam I say hi. – Cash

Dear mom and dad,

I’m having a blast. The sun never goes away but the mask was a good idea. I like my group a lot. See ya soon. – Zach

Hi mom and dad,

I’m having so much fun. It is so pretty and it never gets dark. Tell Luke and Olivia happy birthday. Love and miss y’all so much. – Ivey Greer

Hello parents and fam,

Iceland is amazing. Besides the fact that I don’t know if it’s morning or night I love it here. I’ve broken the bank at the gas stations. Tell everyone I say hi and miss them. See you in a week. – Mae Mae

Dear mom and dad,

I am having so much fun. I don’t want to come home. I have met some really fun people. Put money on my card (jk). Tell all my friends I said hi. – Madeline

Dear mom and dad,

I am having a great time. I have met so many new friends don’t ever want to leave. I already ran out of money so please add more (😉) love ya. – Meriwether

Dear mom and dad,

I am having so much fun in Iceland. I have made many new friends, and the leaders are so fun. We are about to go trekking and I’m kind of nervy. I hope y’all are doing good (well) and tell Morgan and Charlie I said hi and love you. I love y’all so much and I miss y’all but I don’t want to go back home because I’m having so much fun. – Molly

Dear mom and dad,

I have had so much fun in my first week in Iceland. The only bad part in the sun never sets so it is hard to fall asleep. We are starting trekking for five days. Miss y’all. – Edward

Dear mom and dad,

I miss you guys so much. Iceland is really pretty. Tell Ainsley, Maeve, and Willy (?) that I miss them so much too and can’t wait to see them in a week. Bari if you are stalking this I miss you too. It never gets dark here. I love you guys. – Delaney

Hi mom and dad,

I hope the animals are doing well and am having an amazing time. I love and miss you so much. – Chase

Hi to to the family. Hope AB is good. This place is a wonderland and i haven’t even seen the best of it. Love all of you and miss you. – Robert

Hello family,

I love you all and will see you in a week. Miss y’all – Jack

Greetings from Iceland!

July 22, 2023

Good Day Iceland Moondance readers. Our group has settled into the Icelandic world quite nicely! Right off the bat, Robert informed everyone about the geography of Iceland and its neighboring bodies of water, (the Atlantic Ocean), for all the group to learn. Parker quizzed Robert on every capital of every country ever, and proved some impressive results. After getting schooled by 2 14 year olds, we decided to teach the kids how to properly relax in the most Icelandic way possible – face masks and Slushies at the Blue Lagoon! Zach and Jack rocked face masks like locals!! We could have soaked in the Blue Lagoon all day, but we couldn’t ignore our rumbling stomachs. Delaney and Ivy Greer sought out a scenic lunch spot underneath an Atlantic Ocean lighthouse. Molly entertained the group by frolicking in the wildflowers and enjoying the beautiful scenery around her. Madeline has been expanding her pallet with the assortment of local fish!

After a wonderful nights rest in the Bus Hostel, it was an early wake up call to begin white water rafting. If you’re struggling with finding a stylish outfit to wear to your next dinner party, we highly recommend sporting a head to toe wetsuit.They accentuate the waist like none other. We learned how to save each other from the freezing cold rapids and how to paddle in synch by shouting Viking chants before our LODs, Mae and Robert, chose teams (raft groups). Midway through our fun filled whitewater experience, we stopped for some cliff jumping! Chase and Meriwether led the charge by jumping first. Meriwether screamed a bone chilling scream the whole way down while she braved the jump. Our lovely Argentinian rafting guides, Martín and “Positive Paddler”, spoiled us with the most Icelandic meal you can think of, Hamburgers and fries! The hot tub was thoroughly enjoyed by all, and we kept on our adventure to our first campsite of the trip! Edward slept in a tent for the first time ever!!!!

Didi, our Icelandic guide, woke us up with the smell of breakfast. We were quickly humbled by packing up wet tents after a steady rain the night before. Rain doesn’t stop us here in Iceland, we drove to our first day hike of the trip. Cash kept everyone singing and high spirited with his song requests in the van. The hike through geyser covered mountains was worth the smell! Everyone OOOooo and Ahhhhhed at the pretty glacier water while holding their noses to block the sulfuric smell in the air. The weather cleared up and we are now on our way to our second campsite of the trip. We are excited to surprise the kids with a secret oceanside hot tub to end our day! Sea kayaking and trekking are up next!!

Stay classy,

Ella and Ben

Arrived in Iceland!

July 18, 2023

Hello Iceland Families!

We heard from our leaders and the group has landed safely in Iceland! The trip is off to a great start, and we cannot wait to hear more stories from their adventure.

Please remember our leaders and students will be unplugged during their trips but we will be posting up to three trip updates throughout the next couple of weeks! This will allow you to follow along with the trip and the students will also give a special shout out mid-way through! You can also follow us on Instagram, @moondanceadventures, to see more of what we are up to this summer!

-Moondance HQ