Day 12 – 2012/August/09
- Thursday
Already I have had a vacation within a vacation. And now I get to go on a trip within a
trip! We are taking a day to travel up
the Thorsa river to tour the only power-producing river in Iceland (which
provides ~75% of the country’s electricity).
The first dam we stopped in, we toured the entire facility, even the
room between the generator and turbine where it would have been possible
(albeit imprudent) to touch the rotation shaft…
which reminds me, I need to go back and find out how many poles the
generator had to know the speed of the shaft…
The dam was just as well geared towards tourism of
the normal sort as well, with a whole hands-on menagerie to present a concept
of power usage and dam production. They
even had a game. The game consisted of a
plaster landscape, out of the wall which gushed a river. There were 3 “dams” of 3 blocks located at
different levels in the plaster, establishing the location of 3
reservoirs. In the second reservoir was
an inlet to a pipe that ran down to a power station at the bottom labeled
A. In the third (bottom) reservoir ran a
similar inlet and pipe to a power station labeled B. On a control box at the bottom were 2 knobs
(labeled A and B) where the power production of the 2 stations could be
metered.
At the start of the game, water ran freely as you
were told to fill the reservoirs. Once
you began producing 60 MW of power (ie, turning the 2 knobs such that 60 MWe production
was achieved), the game began. A graph
was displayed on the large monitor above the plaster landscape. A blue curve displayed flow rate from the
river- the rate at which water would be given to you. A dotted line showed you what the power demand
would be for a given time, and a dark line was drawn in real-time showing how
much power you were “producing.” The
x-axis was in time, divided by months, describing a full years’ cycle. The goal of the game was to not overproduce
or overproduce power, and you were scored in the end accordingly. It was fun to see other visitors and the
other students alike getting a kick out of playing a game that is considered
“work” to many people out there…
We then toured the 6th dam that is
currently under construction on the river, scheduled to be finished at the end
of 2013. We were fed when we arrived,
and then spent our time looking at the different parts of the construction
underway. The reservoir is being routed
through a tunnel being dug in the mountain to the power station. It is much easier to appreciate the
engineering behind a dam when you see all of its guts splayed out. We even drove halfway through the tunnel in
our bus. And the bus was even successful
at turning around inside!
We finished off the day when we pulled into the
hostel. There was a slight déjà vu when
Mircea and I realized that we had stopped at this location on our way back from
Landmannalauger. Mircea and I shared a
room - a tiny room. After I set my
things down, I heard a helicopter engine.
I thought to myself, “Silly tourists.”
Then I heard the helicopter get louder.
I grabbed my camera and looked out of the window. My face pressed against the 1st
floor window, I could see the edge of the parking lot- where a helicopter was
“pulling in” beside our bus! Two of the
girls (Caroline and Marina) went to investigate, helped the pilot and his
passenger pull the copter across the parking lot to the fuel pump to refuel-
and they each got a ride.
Dinner at the hostel was an all-you-can eat buffet,
which I have not seen anywhere else in Iceland.
I’m glad the cost was included in the class tuition because it can’t
have been cheap (although the clever person would tell me that I already paid
for it anyhow). In celebration of the
Olympics, there were 2 international chess matches. The first was Australia vs USA. Australia won – most were vying for Sam just
to hear him say “checkmate.” Of course,
we all realized the confusion in the non-terminal announcement of “check,
mate,” but let it slide nevertheless. In
the following game, It was Australia vs the UK.
Victory for the UK, calling it an Olympic home-field advantage.
When could the Olympics be held in Denver… or some other high city?
When I boarded the bus in the morning, several
greeted me by telling me they thought I had been kidding the day before when I
said I would be bringing my ukulele along.
And a concert time of 9:00 was decided by somebody- although I assured
that there really was nothing worth coming for.
I mentioned the run-in with Jon earlier, which was enough to make my
evening. By 10:00 or so, everybody but
Esteban (from Guatamala) came out to sit in the circle, sharing stories,
pulling up YouTube videos, discussing Icelandic lore, and trying out various
musical talents. I passed around my
harmonica and jaw harp. Sam and I
attempted a pseudo-duet of “Girl From Ipanema,”
but that will require some work- though it was neat that he knew the Portugese! We sang and talked until 1:00 in the
morning. It was truly a nice opportunity
to get to know everybody and bond as a group.
It’s just too bad it happened so late in the summer class!
I showed some of the video clips I had taken (as
everyone has seen me waving my GoPro around on our tours). They were impressed enough with the
quality. I told everyone that I was at
odds as to what to do with the video footage.
My intent is to put together a five-minute video montage of the trip as
a whole to show to my friends and family (and finish as a final tag to this
blog). The cross-purpose would be to
include a class-only type footage to provide a sort of promo for the REYST
class for Agust to use in the future and post on the REYST website. I have a sneaking suspicion that I will get myself
involved in both projects…
Day 13 – 2012/August/10
The primary purpose of the second leg of the field
trip was to examine the environmental impact of hydro power by working our way
back to Reykjavik along another river and coast of Iceland, pointing out some
proposed locations for installing power plants and discussing the
socio-political scene in Iceland regarding those. Since there truly were a limited number of
things to see, it turned into more of a sight-seeing segment of the trip. Even our trip into Landmannalauger was
prefaced with a suggestion of bringing bathing suits for the 30 minute stop.
The bus trip itself was more tense in the division of
the cliques that somewhat developed within the class over the past couple
weeks. All were trying to devise plans
for the weekend and be inclusive of everybody.
Mircea and I were continuing to develop our plans to coincide with
Caroline and Marina’s, these two plans providing the rift in planning. All that wound up happening is that due to
the cost with the others’ plans as well as the threat of rough weather,
Caroline and Marina opted to stay in Reykjavik for their final weekend in
Iceland- Mircea and I assimilated their weekend plans into ours, creating
another whirlwind. Fortunately, Michael
opted to join us.
Once we arrived late in Reykjavik, Mircea, Michael,
and I unpacked, repacked, and took off in Roro’s car (with her permission of
course). We made it to Bakki around
midnight where we set up camp near the beach, across from the ferry station,
where we would catch the first boat to Vestmannaeyjar (the Westman
Islands… yes, the island of an island…)
in the morning. We slept well on the
soft black sand of the beach with the crashing of ocean waves singing us a
lullaby.
Day 14 – 2012/August/11
We awoke to the sound of buses and cars going
by. We packed quickly and got onto the
ferry just before it departed. In ~45
minutes, we pulled into the harbor whose tall cliffs left quite an impression
on us. We arrived on the island just
before 11:00, where most of the shops opened at 11:30. The small town was nearly lifeless in the
overcast rain and cold of the August morning.
We did find a restaurant that was serving whale and
puffin as an appetizer. And the seafood
soup for lunch was likewise delicious.
We walked around town to learn about its history, primarily the volcanic
eruption on the island in 1973. We saw a
few buildings that were half-covered by lava (now cooled), and a field of
memorials on top of the lava flow dedicated to the buildings buried some 16
meters below. On the bright side, the
eruption did add some 2.5 km2 of real estate to the island!
We explored the coast and visited an aquarium
exhibiting the wildlife of Iceland in taxidermy (and some fish in tanks). The puffins are smaller than I thought they
would be… and quite cute. “Cute and tasty” is an odd combination for a
creature.
Realizing we needed to board the 5:30 ferry back to
the mainland, we headed back into town, with a stop by the grocery to gather
supplies for the rest of our trip.
Mircea was taking awhile, and a glance at a clock said we were running a
little late. Michael and I had already
checked out while Mircea continued to browse.
I told Mircea that we were going to run over to the bakery quickly to grab
a treat for the trip and that we would see him at the Ferry, given the long
line at the grocer’s. We ran by the
bakery and down to the harbor. We went
to the ticket office where I asked the attendant if we were too late to board
the boat – it was 5:24. We were fine, so
she swiped the credit card… the reader
there had been having issues, causing the card to be denied. I pulled out some cash. CLANK!
She looked over her shoulder out the back of the office at the
ferry. “Nope, they just closed the gate. The boat is about to depart. Would you like a ticket for the 8:30
crossing?”
We waited an hour for Mircea to show up, certain that
he had been behind us. He did not
appear. So we decided he was either lost
or on the boat. Michael and I went to grab
dinner. When the ferry returned, we were
the first on it, eager to not miss the last boat of the day! There was an area on the main deck with
bunks, and I laid down for the trip over.
Mircea was waiting for us, thankful that WE weren’t lost, albeit bored. We hopped in the car and drove to Skaftafell
all night in the fog and rain. We
arrived at a campsite, quickly set up, and again passed out, alarm set for
9:00. I went to sleep still wondering
how Mircea actually beat us to the ferry.
Earlier in the week, Agust had noted that the fog
that we saw on the bus ride was the type common to Iceland- the type that would
make one believe in trolls and faeries.
I had to laugh a little bit later to realize that though I didn’t
believe in trolls and faeries, I had participated in Iceland’s tradition of
tolls and ferries.
Day 15 – 2012/August/12
The campsite was a-bustle somewhere around 6:00. I kept hearing people and engines moving
about, but I kept going to sleep, denying that it could be time to wake up yet
in spite of the brightness outside.
After several snoozes, I decided I ought to look at a clock. Mircea’s watch said it was only 8:00 still. Back to sleep. And then we awoke to the “Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles” theme.
We climbed up to Svartifoss – a waterfall that
tumbles over a collection of huge basalt crystals. It was actually threatening to be a nice day
there in south-central Iceland, where the weather was only supposed to get
better going east. Unfortunately, the
air below Vatnajokull (Water Glacier), the biggest glacier in Iceland at around
11% coverage of the island nation, was very heavily influenced by the
glacier. The air hung around 37 F with a
cool mist and harsh wind. Mircea opted
to ride the amphibious car-boat around all of the icebergs that sat in the bay,
while Michael and I admired them from the shore, walking out to the ocean edge,
where lots of icebergs were held captive against the shoreline by the incoming
tide. We caught a glimpse of a wild
seal; and even saw one of the large icebergs in the bay spontaneously split,
throw up quite a spray, and left the remaining colossus of an iceberg to roll
and bob in place.
Our drive back was interrupted by a stop by a
geothermal pool house and time spent swimming where we talked to some local
Icelanders while lounging in the hot pot (ie hot tub). There was a toddler with floaties at one
point that decided it would be best to take a mouthful of water, swim over to
Michael, and unload the water on his face.
The parents apologized earnestly while Mircea and I were trying
unsuccessfully not to laugh. Some French
folks joined us a little later, but there was no conversation between us. I had to marvel at all of the different
languages I have listened to in the past
few days alone. In short, I am amazed at
how much we have been able to see in one weekend. The hope is to take one of the days at the
end of the week to go see the Golden Circle.
I think we are supposed to visit the geothermal plant down by the Blue
Lagoon at some point this week… at which
point, I would feel like I had seen 90% of the things to be seen in
Iceland. As of typing this, we are 56 km
away from Reyjkavik. We should be
back about 11:30. Not too bad!
An interesting note about standing on the southern
coast of Iceland. Agust pointed out to
me when we had gone through Vik on Friday, the next landmass to be encountered
on your way south from the very beach we stood was Antarctica. For a moment, I thought he had mixed “arctic”
and “Antarctic.” And then I realized he
hadn’t at all. What a long way!
Love reading your posts Keith. Sounds like you are having all kinds of fun!
ReplyDelete