Final Days Together in Iceland!
July 12, 2026
Hello from Iceland!
We are so sad to see this trip come to an end but are so proud of each and every student’s growth along the way. Each student has formed lasting friendships and proved to themselves that they can do hard things!
Day 10
We had a slow morning as we packed up camp and said goodbye to the Geysers after breakfast! As made we our way across the plains of Iceland, we took a few historic pit stops along the way. First, we stopped at Bruarfoss (Bridgr Falls). Fed by glacial meltwater from the Langjökull Glacier, Bruarfoss has incredibly vibrant, icy-blue and turquoise water that flows into dark volcanic rock. We took some pictures and enjoyed the view. We hopped back on the bus for a bit and stopped to admire the divide between the Eurasia and North American tectonic plates. The tectonic plates are diverging and grow apart a few centimeters each year. Our next stop was the Thingvellir National Park, where the first Icelandic parliament was established in 930 AD. Their parliament was placed in the crack between the tectonic plates! We got to see another waterfall and learn more about the history of the parliament and the park. It wasn’t long before we arrived at our afternoon activity of snorkeling between the tectonic plates! We got suited up in wetsuits and waterproof gear before diving into the glacial water! We were amazed by how clear the water was and West even spotted a fish, which is very rare here! Everyone had a blast and loved seeing the clear water. We hopped aboard our bus and drove further west toward the coast of Iceland and to our next Campsight! After setting up our tents and getting settled, it was time for dinner. Our hosts very graciously made us some lasagna, Cole slaw and mashed potatoes. We had some free time after dinner before our Moonup. Susan taught some of the group how to play Rummikub and Sanders won several times. Ben and Baylor took a stroll down the black sand beach and explored the fjord. Phoebe was hanging out with the dogs and loved seeing the sheep. Aubrey and Baylor gathered everyone together for our Moonup. We found a nice shed to sit in while admiring the beautiful view of the water. After Moonup, we let the kids watch the Morocco vs. France World Cup match! Thomas got to practice some French with some French travelers who were stoked to watch the game. Margaret led the group in another card game of Presidents. Once the game was over, it was time for quiet hours and bed!
Day 11
Everyone was amped for our jam packed day today! We woke up, had our daily yogurt breakfast and headed on our way to the day’s first activity: a hike to Glymur waterfall (approximately 650 feet). The kids did a fantastic job encouraging each other through the steep inclines. The rewarding view at the top made it all worth it! Claire snapped some great photos of the wildlife all around us. We hiked to several different lookout points before reaching the summit and basking in the view. We enjoyed our sandwiches and made our descent back to the van. The kids were eager for our final activity: horseback riding! Half of our group started on the horses and the other half got to experience a farm tour. It was Cari’s’ first time horseback riding and she did such an amazing job! Vicente was a natural and led his group in the front the entire time. West and Baylor volunteered to help out the barn staff and clean up horse poop. Ben was a natural rider and even got to practice the Icelandic Tröt, one of the five gaits performed by Icelandic horses. We finished up with some hot chocolate and even got a tour of their geothermal bakery. We got to try some of their homemade rye bread to go with our hot chocolate. We headed back to our camp sight and had chicken burritos for dinner followed by an intense soccer match! Helen was one of our fiercest competitors, always scrambling to get the ball. After, we headed down to the geothermal hot tub and reminisced on the day’s activities. Vicente and Claire led us in our second to last Moonup where we shared lots of laughs before heading to bed.
Day 12
It was a bit of an early morning today but we were so stoked for our town day! After breakfast and packing up our tents we hit the road and headed to our hostel in Reykjavik. Everyone showered and got ready to walk around the town! The kids did some shopping and the girls even all got matching charm bracelets. We enjoyed some of Iceland’s most famous hotdogs! We visited a few thrift stores and enjoyed our afternoon! We had an early dinner at an Italian restaurant. We ended the night with one final soccer match and our final Moonup. We feel so lucky to have had these kids and are so impressed by their closeness and love for each other.
Update from ICE 2B!
July 9, 2026
Day 7
We woke up today with some sore muscles but feeling accomplished after trekking over 50 miles in just 5 days. Our trekking section has come to an end but we are so excited for the remainder of the trip. After having some yogurt and granola with fruit for breakfast, we packed up camp and said goodbye to Thórsmörk. We made our first stop of the day at Iceland’s most famous waterfall, Seljalandsfoss. We suited up in our rain gear and got to walk around the back of the waterfall! The girls posed for photos underneath the falls and the boys were eager to explore the trail ahead. We switched vans with ICE 2A and the kids enjoyed catching up and sharing stories. Once the vans were switched, we said our goodbyes to Caroline and made our way to our lunch spot. We made some sandwiches and surprised the kids with an ice cream stop! To round out the day, we headed to Sólheimajökull where we did our glacier hike! Despite having acquired a few blisters, Aubrey, toughed it out and wanted to do the hike! We geared up in our crampons, harnesses, and ice picks. After our safety briefing, we hopped on the glacier and began hiking! Our hiking guide brought us to a spot where the kids were able to do a Viking push up, holding onto two ice picks in a plank position and drink from the glacier water. Everyone said it was the best water they have ever had, Susan even drank from it twice! Ben’s favorite part of the glacier hike was when our guide let everyone safely swing their picks at the ice. Caris and Margaret got to use our guide’s big pick axe to create a step in the ice! After some fun on the ice, it was ready to go. We returned our gear, loaded the van and headed on our way toward our hut for the night! Most of the kids took a nap on the drive and after a short detour we arrived at our hut for the evening. The kids were stoked to sleep inside and have a space to hang out together! Pheobe pulled out her uno cards and Margaret made friendship bracelets for the boys. West spent some time writing a persuasive essay detailing why the group should be able to watch some of the USA x Belgium World Cup game. After a beautifully written essay, all the kids were able to watch it! But before the festivities, we had a delicious meal of lamb and potatoes. Ben was out on the grill helping Zach cook and season the lamb legs to perfection! After a lovely dinner, Sanders and Margaret led us in our Moonup for the evening. They started off by asking everyone their favorite college football team, which sparked some debate between Helen’s Georgia Bulldogs and Baylor’s Crimson Tide passion. Tonight the kids really impressed us with a deep reflection on a challenge that they have endured through. We love how close this group has gotten and cherished watching them cheer on their team in the World Cup.
Day 8
Everyone was excited to sleep in a bit extra today and enjoyed some well deserved rest. We had oatmeal for breakfast and cleaned up the cabin before heading to the van to start today’s adventure! We surprised the kids with a trip to the local swimming pool where they enjoyed the water slide and trying out the different hot tub temperatures. Susan was the first to go down the water slide and encouraged the rest of the group to give it a go! Our guide picked up us after a relaxing early afternoon and we headed into the town of Selfoss for a pizza lunch! Afterwards, we made the short drive to our zip lining activity! After our safety briefing, we suited up and were transported to the top of the zip line. The kids were placed into pairs and raced each other down the mile long zip line. Vicente made sure to get some awesome footage during his descent. We got a little wet on the way down but it was so worth the laughs and excitement. It wasn’t long until we stopped at our local Bonus grocery store and the kids got to help us pick out snacks for the week. We loaded up and made our way to our Campsight for the next two nights near the famous Geysers! Will played a lot of Vicente’s favorite techno songs and was excited to share his music with his peers. The group worked together to set up the kitchen tent along with our personal tents amidst the light scattering of rain. We explored the geysers and watched the biggest one explode three different times! We shared lots of laughs while playing on the playground at our Campsight. Claire figured out how the zip line worked and showed everyone how to go down. The kids were fascinated by how different Icelandic playgrounds are compared to American ones. Our group’s competitive sides emerged once we proposed playing a game of ultimate frisbee. Caris, Helen, and Claire quickly stood out as standout players and scored several points for their respective teams. It started raining but the group didn’t mind as we continued to play and enjoy our time together. Soon, it was time for dinner where Zach taught us how to prepare traditional Icelandic hotdogs using crispy and normal onions in addition to ketchup and a traditional Icelandic hotdog sauce. Once we cleared our dishes from dinner we were ready to play one of Carter’s games called “Three people on a couch.” In the game, everyone writes down a fun fact or story about themselves. After everyone has written something down, Carter called us different groups of three people and we had to guess whose story it belonged to. Some of the stories, including Pheobe’s about having a movie filmed in her house and Sanders about going to an NFL game, were more obvious than others, especially after all the time we have spent getting to know each other. The group also always laughed when it was Thomas’ turn because he could never keep a straight face. Before we knew it, it was time for Moonup in which Ben and Caris led us through while inside the kitchen tent. It was a wonderful end to our busy day!
Day 9
We got to sleep in today and had a slow start to the morning. After some granola and yogurt, we headed to our first spot, the Gullfoss waterfall, the second most popular waterfall in all of Iceland. The boys loved taking pictures in front of the falls and getting some good go pro footage. We stopped by the gift shop before heading out where the kids bought some gifts and souvenirs for their loved ones. We made a quick pit stop at a famous Icelandic Crater where we got to walk around the outside rim of it! After a morning of exploring some of the local sites, we made our way to rafting where we got suited up and ready to go down the Hvítá river, one of the country’s glacial rivers. The group was split up into two groups and had so much fun splashing each other and playing king of the hill. Baylor got to sit at the front of the raft and be the mermaid for one of the boats! Everyone was thankful that Vicente and West got some great footage of the wave trains on their go pros that they plan on sharing with the group. We even got to make a pit stop and do a cliff jump into the chilly glacier water! Claire was the first to jump in the group and she even jumped twice! We hopped back into our boats and enjoyed the rest of the way down the river. Our raft guides let us jump onto the other boats and try and get people into the water. Sanders attempted a sneak attack on our boat but found himself back in the water. At one point we got to stand up and try to balance while going down the rapids. Helen was the first one up and holding her balance as the raft rotated. We shared endless laughs and stories when our rafting trip came to an end. We got to shower and enjoy some of the amenities that the rafting company has, including two hot tubs and a sauna. After our full day of activities, we were ready to eat. We ate cheeseburgers and fries, courtesy of our rafting guides! It felt like a good opportunity to end the evening with some ice cream at the local dairy farm! We got to enjoy our ice cream alongside some of the cows! Aubrey and Pheobe decided to name two of the baby calfs, fuzzy and fluffy! We were pretty tired by the time we got back to our Campsight. Today’s LODs, Susan and Thomas, lead us in our Moonup this evening in the kitchen tent. We spent some of it debating whether the beach, mountains, or lake were our favorites. West put up a good debate for the beach, while Thomas was defending the versatility of the mountains. At the end of the day, we agreed they were all awesome in different ways. Aubrey and Baylor were elected as the LODs for tomorrow! We were exhausted and ready to hop into our tents and fall asleep to the sound of light rain.
Thank you’s!
Hey dad! Thanks for sending me on this trip, I’m having a great time here!-Ben
Hey dad. I’m having a great time and thank you for sending me on this trip. Love you. -Baylor
Hey Mom and Dad! I’m having a great time and I’m super appreciative you guys for sending me on this awesome trip! Thanks and love you! -West
Hey Mom and Dad! I’m having a good time and I’m really grateful for you for sending me on this trip! Thanks and love you! -Sanders
Hey Mom and Dad!! I’m having the best time! All of my new friends are so kind and caring! I’m never not laughing here!! 🙂 I love y’all so much and can’t wait to see you guys soon!! -Aubrey
Hey Dad, no one laughed at the duck joke (expected). Hey mom, thank you for sending me on this trip. Thank you very much. 🐸🦔🌚🫓🏋🏿♀️🤹🏿🛰️🎑🕍🌄🏩🛤️🕌⛩️🕋🏞️💒 -señor Johnson
Hey mom and dad, thank you for the trip, bye mom and dad. Thomas Schriber
Hey mom and dad!! I am having so much fun on this amazing trip and I wanted to say thank you. I love yall so much and will see you soon! Thank you!!! Love, Susan
Hi mama and daddy! Thank you so much for this trip. Everyone is so nice and fun! Yesterday we went white water rafting, and it was so fun! I fell in the water 🙂 I love yall and I will see yall soon. Love, Phoebe
Hey!! Thank you for sending me on this trip. We have done so many fun activities, like white water rafting and zip lining! I love you guys and can’t wait to see you again! -Caris
Hiii Dad! Hiii Mom! Thank you so much for sending me on this trip. I’m seriously having the best time of my life. I am extremely sad that it’s coming to an end but I miss y’all and can’t wait to see you. Margaret Burke
Hi mom and dad!! Thank you so much for sending me to Iceland!! It has been so much fun and I am so sad it is coming to an end but I can’t wait to see yall!! Helen Perkins
Hey Mom, Dad, Annie, Robbie, and Baker! I am having so much fun in Iceland! We white water rafted yesterday and it was so fun! Don’t worry baker I got you a present. I love y’all so much and I am excited to see you! Love, Claire
Off to a GREAT Start!
July 6, 2026
Hi hi from Iceland!!!
Day One:
Our trip is off to a fantastic start, and we couldn’t be more excited to be here! We jumped straight into our itinerary as soon as we disembarked the plane! Even after the long flight, the kids were eager to get the trip started. The group immediately began to bond as they set off creating our group’s playlist. We watched the beautiful scenery roll by as we descended into the Icelandic landscape and came upon the country’s capital of Reykjavik. After settling down in our hostel, we explored the downtown of the city and stopped at a local pizzeria, where we shared our first walk together. We ended the evening with an introduction to Moonup, a nightly ritual where we reflect on the day’s activities and strengthen our connections. Will and I got to elect the first Leader of the Days (LODs) for our trip, Claire and Baylor. LODs are responsible for helping us leaders navigate the daily activities and get more involved. Everyone was exhausted after our first day and got a good night’s sleep in preparation for tomorrow!
Day 2
After a night of restful sleep, the group woke up ready for the day. We spent most of it traveling in our van to our first hiking spot! We got to play music from our playlist and made a few local stops along the way. We enjoyed a nice lunch of Icelandic-style sandwiches before we hit the road again. We took a quick pit stop at one of Iceland’s most famous waterfalls, named. We ascended over 250 steps to see an awesome view at the top of the breathtaking landscape. After some time in the van, we made our way into the Icelandic backcountry. We got our raingear on and embarked on the first part of our tracking section. Today, we had two river crossings where we each went over in groups of three to safely cross to the other side. Well, we got our fair share of rain today. The kids had great attitudes and had so much fun getting to know each other along the way. After about 5 miles of hiking in the rain, we arrived at our Camp spot, and we were surprised we could spend the night there rather than set up Camp. Our Arctic adventures guide, Zach, made us a wonderful first night of trekking meal of salmon pasta with creamy white sauce. Susan and Aubrey tag-teamed chopping veggies and being Zach’s soy chef for the evening. We made some hot chocolate and laughed around the table together, enjoying some Icelandic lemon cake. West and Vicente were eager to help clean up everyone’s dishes. After a long day of traveling, we got ready for bed and ended our night with Moonup.
Day 3
We got some well-deserved rest after yesterday and woke up feeling refreshed and ready to conquer the day. We had some Icelandic yogurt and granola for breakfast, made our sandwiches for lunch, packed our bags, and headed out. We were excited to see the sun and had some awesome weather today! Margaret passed the time by telling people riddles, and Caris was determined to answer every single one of them. We trekked through ravines and valleys and scaled peaks and ice caps. Towards the end of today’s journey, we stumbled onto a volcanic hot spring where we soothed our muscles and basked in the warm waters. Sanders was incredibly eager to get warm and was one of the first ones in! After some well-deserved relaxation, we got suited up and finished the last few miles of our trek! We circled one of the highest peaks in this area, Strutur, until we landed at our Campsite! The camp wardens were so gracious to give us access to the cabins, where we warmed up, showered, and ate some delicious lamb soup for dinner. In total, we walked 16 miles today! West and Susan were our LODs for the day and did a tremendous job encouraging the group today. They led us in our Moonup before we got some well-deserved rest.
Day 4
We had another early wake-up to get packed and ready to seize the day! Today’s LODs, Ben and Aubrey, gave us some words of wisdom and encouragement during our morning huddle before we were on our way. Today, we continued along the trail and got up close and personal with two of Iceland’s most notable glaciers. Our guide, Zach, told us about the structure and formation of the glaciers. The group was especially excited to learn more about the volcanoes that are underneath each of the glaciers! Today was a shorter and flatter hike, but we had a few river crossings scattered throughout and even walked through a black sand desert of shallow, quick sand. We indulged in our delicious lunch sandwiches, and it wasn’t long until we ran into HQ Caroline along the trail! Caroline got to come visit our trip for several days, and we were so excited to see her! We hiked up a ridge and got to see a breathtaking view of the glacial landscape! We walked around 8-9 miles today and found a beautiful and desolate spot to camp in the valley. We set up our tents and immediately started playing games. Caroline taught everyone how to play Monopoly Deal! Phoebe picked up the game so quickly and won her first time playing. At the other end of the table, Wilk was teaching the kids how to play the card game Presidents! After some fun and enjoyable free time, dinner was ready. We indulged in some good old-fashioned spaghetti bolognese, in which Phoebe cut all of the veggies in preparation for! We still had some time for games and friendly competition. We taught the kiddos how to play a Moondance Classic, Big Booty. Aubrey and Will were both two-time winners and faced off in a funny veggie off! It wasn’t long before we got ready for bed and had our Moonup outside tonight!
Day 5
Today marked our fourth day of trekking and the Fourth of July! We woke up to the National Anthem and split the kids up into three teams: Red, White, and Blue. We played American-themed trivia, followed by a wheelbarrow race. Thomas and Helen were the wheelbarrows, and their teammates raced them across the finish line. We got amped for the day and wore our 4th-themed necklaces and flags with joy. On the hike, we played games and shared stories as we descended into the black sand desert and around the glacier, Mýrdalsjökull. Caroline proposed that we play word assassins, which occupied most of our conversations today. She gave each person a secret word and a person that you are trying to get to say that word. Caris was especially good at this game and got several people out! Once we got to our Campsite, the fun only continued! We set up our tents and explored the Campsight! To round out the night, we had a delicious grilled salmon on rice. It was a long day of trekking, but we climbed up to a beautiful viewing spot above the gorge for our Moonup, led by Phoebe and Vicente. We have loved seeing how close this group has gotten over the last few days and how many memories they have shared.
Day 6
We were blessed with another beautiful day in Iceland. Today was a bit of a longer hiking day but was extra special because it was Carter’s birthday! Caroline and Will gave all the kids birthday hats to wear on the trail today! We trekked along the Laugavegur trail and approached the region of Thórsmörk. We went from starting the trail in desert lands to ending it in the lush Icelandic greenery filled with animals and flowers! Claire got some amazing photos and shared her tricks for shooting photography in manual mode. We headed to our Campsight and set up our kitchen tent for the first time! The team did such a great job working together to set up our spot. Everyone was excited to get some snacks, and we ate Zach’s burgers for our dinner! After, we had some lemon cheesecake to celebrate Carter’s birthday. We split the group into two and had a dance battle between the teams. West and West led their group to victory, teaching Baylor and Sanders a dance routine to “God’s Country.” Meanwhile, Ben showed off his worm and cartwheel for some bonus points in the other group. We laughed so hard as each group presented their dances and showed off their moves. Caroline surprised the group with fruit roll-ups and a friendly competition. We got to witness a beautiful and slow Icelandic sunset for the first time during our Moonup. Thomas and Helen were our LODs today and really challenged the group to dig deep when answering their questions, bringing the group so much closer.
Hey dad how are you doing, I’m having a great time here! I miss you and tell Hollis I said hi!!!!!
Love you-Ben
Hey dad what y’all been up to, we just got done with a 50 mile trek and it was awesome. Our guide is from Bulgaria and tought a lot of stuff to me. I love you and tell the boys I said the same to them and I got all of yall presents
-Baylor
Hey guys, I’ve been doing well. Iceland is a super cool place! Love you!
Sanders
Hey Mom and Dad I am enjoying Iceland. All is well. Tell Louie and wade I said hello. Love you guys. – West
Hey mom and dad, I am doing very well. Tell yall about it when we get home. P.S. our leader is a Bulgarian Chelsea fan since 1996.
Vicente Johnson
Hey mom and dad, don’t you worry I am alive. We just hiked around 50 miles in 5 days in the highlands of Iceland. It is very pretty in Iceland and I will be sure to bring back some great pictures! Thomas Schriber
Hey mom and dad!!! I am having so much fun! We just finished our 50 mile trek in 5 days and I got some great photos. We saw some amazing views. Now we’re heading to do some other fun activities! I am having a blast and love all of the people in my group. See you all soon and I hope y’all aren’t missing me too much!
Love you, Susan
Hello! We just finished the hiking part of the trip. We spend 5 days hiking 50 miles! It was so much fun and I feel so accomplished. The views are amazing! Our outfitter makes us really yummy food (including salmon) and everyone is nice. I have made so many new friends. We will go white water rafting soon. Thank you! I love y’all and tell Pippi and Papa I say hi. See y’all in one week!
Love, Phoebe
Hi Mom, Dad, and Benjamin, Iceland has been so much fun! We just finished our 5 day hike where we walked 50 miles in total. I’m so excited to do other things! I miss y’all and cannot wait to see y’all in a week!! I love y’all!!
Helen
Hi Mom! Hi Dad! I miss y’all so much, but Iceland is gorgeous! We just finished our trek and over the span of 5 days we walked 50 miles mostly up hill! Is Owen back yet I bet he had a blast! What about Emily? I wish it lasted longer, but I do miss the weather in Georgia! I love my backpack the camelback is the best. I think we are going rafting and horse back riding soon. There are a lot more showed opportunities than I thought which is nice. Who is my super mom?! Who is my super dad?! Love, Margaret
Hey Mom and Dad! Thank you so much for sending me to Iceland! I am having so much fun and have done so many cool things! We have just finished our 50 mile trek through rivers, over big hills, through swamps and a huge field of quicksand! It was awesome! So excited to see you!!
Love, Claire
Hey!! Thank you for allowing me to have this experience. I am having a great time! We just finished our trek, which was 50 miles in 5 days! Now we are doing lots of fun activities. I can’t wait to tell you guys all about my trip. I love you and so excited to see you!!
Love, Caris
Hey mom and dad!!! Thank you for sending me to Iceland!!! I’m having the most fun and I’m making the BEST friends! We hiked 50 miles over a span of 5 days and it’s hard but also so so much fun! Did you guys send off Cam to SeaTrek and how’s Pawleys? I miss you guys lots and can’t wait to tell you everything! Please tell Tess, Charlie, Django, and Cam that I miss them! I love y’all so much always!
Love, Aubrey
Safe Arrival!
June 30, 2026
Hello Iceland Families!
We heard from our leaders that the group has landed safely in Iceland! Please remember that our leaders and students will be unplugged during their trips, but we will post trip updates throughout the trip! This will allow you to follow along with their adventure. You can also follow us on Instagram, @moondanceadventures, to see more of what we are up to!
-Moondance HQ
