travel

One of the prettiest places in Iceland is Jökulsárlón. It’s a glacial lagoon with deep blue water dotted with icebergs from the surrounding Breiðamerkurjökull Glacier.

BOTTOM RIGHT:

The Blue Lagoon is the most famous site in Iceland. The milky-blue water comes from the minerals in the power plant runoff.

‘WE ALL WANT TO GO BACK’

Escape the Florida heat by planning a trip to Iceland, where it’s 50 degrees in June and glaciers, geysers, waterfalls and lava fields create a stunning contrast to our tropical home.

here are lagoons with milky-blue water about 100 degrees and turquoise icebergs with streaks of black and white floating and tipping in the water beside glaciers. There are lava fields that stretch for miles, geysers, waterfalls, bubbling pots of steam, mountains, grassy and snowy fields, beaches with stone or golden or black sand. There are fishing villages with colorful homes, stinky shark dishes and words that are nearly impossible to pronounce.

Iceland is a tremendous contrast to Southwest Florida, making it the perfect place to visit for a huge menu of experiences you can’t get anywhere else. And when it’s 94 degrees here, it’s only about 50 degrees there. Wearing jeans and a sweatshirt in June and feeling cool crisp air is a welcome break from the stifling heat here.

Sue Soulard took 10 students from Gulf Coast High School to Iceland in March.

“It was my favorite location we have ever been to,” she says

Sue, who teaches AP Human Geography, has traveled all over Europe with students in the past and says in many countries they see a lot of churches and castles, but in Iceland the sites were varied and unusual.

“Everything was very extreme,” she says. “The cold was extreme, the landscape was extreme, and it was things we could never have seen here.”

The sights

Iceland is very easy to navigate. The Ring Road encircles the entire country traversing more than 800 miles. It could be driven in less than 24 hours, but travelers need at least a week to see everything along the way. My husband, Greg, and I and our two children, Kristyn and Alexander, did the trip in two weeks, taking time for not only sightseeing along the Ring Road, but many of its offshoots. The terrain

along the road is quite varied. In just one 30-minute period, we drove by lava fields, marshland and farms. We also saw sheer cliffs going down to the water.

Reykjavik is the northernmost capital in the world and the largest city in Iceland. Reykjavik means “bay of smokes” and got its name because the first Viking settlers saw steam from geothermal vents when they first arrived. It’s a walkable town with pedestrian streets and a natural harbor. The biggest site is Hallgrimskirkja, a modern cathedral with a huge tower that has an elevator to the top where one can take in panoramic views of the city. The Perlan, a large dome-shaped building, has a free observation deck. The dome is made of mirrors that reflect the views. One interesting thing we learned: While most European cities charge to use public toilets, Iceland has free “water closets,” or WCs, little round green bathrooms that self-clean after each use.

Not far from the capital is the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa that’s Iceland’s most visited attraction. We arrived when it opened so there were few people, and it was quite relaxing, but by the time we left, the tour buses were pulling up and the place was packed. The 99-degree, milky-blue water in the 2-acre lagoon is so picturesque that many movies have been filmed there. The geothermal spa gets its color from high concentrates of silica, from the water that passes through a geothermal power plant.

“The Blue Lagoon was so relaxing,” says GCHS student Nicole Cadieu, 17. “It was different from the rest of the trip.”

Geysir was the first geyser described in a printed source and the origin of the word geyser. The best thing is this geyser erupts every 8 to 15 minutes, so you never have to wait long to see the water shoot at least 30 feet into the air. There are other geysers in the same area, some erupting as quickly as every six minutes. It starts with the water forming a giant bubble and then exploding into the air.

You don’t travel far between sites. Just six miles from Geysir is Gullfoss Gullfoss, a huge double waterfall. All along the Ring Road are places to pull off and see waterfalls. Some are smaller, and others are big and popular. Seljalandsfoss is one that you can walk behind. Skogafoss is a high waterfall with hundreds of steps leading to the top.

“The waterfalls were my favorites,” says GCHS student Ethan Upson, 18.

After numerous waterfalls, my family’s next stop was the Skaftareldahraun lava field, the largest lava flow in recorded history, which stretched for 232 square miles like a barren moonscape.

Talking to residents always adds to our trips. We were walking on the lava field looking at a monument to a farmer who had lost his home in the flow when we met a local who told us about a small dirt road that leads to a glacier near Svinafellsjokull. There we saw icebergs and a massive glacier that’s the largest one outside of Antarctica.

Sue and the students loved hiking on a glacier, seeing the icebergs, riding Icelandic ponies and being in the snow.

“We did do the whole ring (road),” she says. “One day we hiked up a crater.

“They thought that was pretty neat. They loved the glacier lagoon with the icebergs. We walked through some of the ice caves. We all want to go back.”

My favorite place in Iceland was Jökulsárlón. It’s a glacial lagoon with deep blue water dotted with icebergs from the surrounding Breiðamerkurjökull Glacier. The turquoise, white and streaks of black on each iceberg create an amazing picturesque scene. We took

Steam vents melted the snow and sent plumes into the air. Here at Hverir there were steam vents all over the place.

Facing page top to bottom: These houses were built into the hills. This was a museum showcasing traditional homes, a school and a church.• Humongous fields of lava stretch as far as we could see.

a boat ride in the lagoon, where we learned that the black is from volcanic ash, the white is the weathered color and the blue is the core when the iceberg breaks apart or flips.

Walking along the side of a volcano is also something quite unusual. There are several where you can hike to the top and walk near the rim.

Icelandic ponies are the only ones in the world that do the tolt. It’s a gait between the trot and the canter. In the town of Egilsstaðir, my family and I took an hour pony ride past lakes and mountains and experienced the unusual tolt.

Iceland is full of fjords with one scenic lookout after another. There are jagged cliffs, black sand beaches, rock formations, movuntains with snow, and green fields, snowy fields and more.

“Most everything was covered in snow and I don’t see snow often so that was pretty cool,” Ethan says.

Nature is unique and wild in the northern part of Iceland. Lake Myvatn is an unusual area of steaming pits, mud pots, craters and eerie terrain. Hverir, a hot-springs area, was filled with boiling mud pots and fumaroles, which emit sulfuric gas. We hiked along old lava flows in Dimmuborgir and along the top of a volcano in Skutustadir.

In Husavik we went on a whale watching boat. Our three-hour journey began at 5 p.m. With the sun never setting in June, you can tour late into the night. We saw puffins, harbor porpoise, whited nosed dolphin, minke whales and humpback whales.

The O’Connor family plans a multigenerational road trip every summer.

Want to go to Iceland now? Tour the country via virtual excursions, like those found at iceland360vr.com or travelandleisure.com. A quick Google search brings up lots of resources.

Each day we traveled for hours but were never in the car more than 30 minutes. Sometimes the stops were five minutes apart.

“We were able to just drive and see something cool on the side of the road and we could get out and take pictures,” Ethan says. “The people there were the nicest in the world.”

As my family and I headed south, we stopped at Goðafoss, a very powerful three section waterfall. In Holar we saw old homes built under the grass. The rooms were made of wood and stone. Grass covered the roof and two sides of the buildings were set into the hill.

We left the main road several times to explore fjords and peninsulas. The Snæfellsnes Peninsula has volcanic craters, lava fields, a glacier, waterfalls, fjords, hot springs, black and golden sand beaches, lush meadows and fishing villages with colorful houses.

We stopped in Bjarnarhofn at a farm that is the region’s leading producer of hákarl, which is shark meat that’s been cured with a fermentation process that involves hanging the shark meat to dry for four or five months. It’s a traditional Icelandic dish, and an acquired taste. There is a shark museum, racks of smelly shark hanging outside to dry and a place to taste the hákarl. My children and I tried it; my husband did not. It tastes like a stinky sponge.

“I did not try it. I was not brave enough,” Sue admits.

In Djúpalónssandur, we walked between huge cliffs to a beach. Black and gray smooth stones on the beach and tall black rocks in the water contrasted with the turquoise and deep blue water and the thick white foam of the crashing waves.

Thingvellir National Park is an historic site, home to Iceland’s parliament from the 10th to the 18th centuries. There are ruins of old stone shelters and a lookout where you can see where the American and European tectonic plates come together.

After a day of sightseeing, there are lots of places to relax. Almost every town in Iceland has a community pool that’s heated geothermally. Most are very kid-friendly with waterslides, kiddie pools and other attractions.

We did not get to see the northern lights since the sun never set in June, but the Gulf Coast students went in March and got that experience.

“Seeing the northern lights was really amazing, seeing them dance across the sky,” Nicole describes. “It was so so cold, but it was worth it.”

Cutting costs

Iceland is expensive. Fishing and thermal energy are the only native commodities. Almost everything else is imported. Most hotels have rooms that accommodate only two people, so families with children would need at least two rooms. Food is also costly. But there is a way to see Iceland inexpensively.

We filled one suitcase with a tent and sleeping bags and camped all over the country. Not only did we spend no more than $10 a night, we also had the amazing experiences of camping near Geysir, beside a deep blue lake, near lagoons and other beautiful scenery.

We brought a soft-sided cooler and in each town filled it with cereal, bread, peanut butter and jelly, Nutella and fruit. We ate our breakfasts and lunches along the road and dinners at a restaurant.

We also traveled in June as soon as school let out. Prices are cheaper before the tourist season in July and August.

The language

My son got a T-shirt that reads “What part of Eyjafjallajökull don’t you understand?” (Eyjafjallajökull is an ice cap in Iceland.) Towns and street signs have words that look, to us, like a scrambled mess. Can you say Klofalækjarkjaftur, Gullberastaðaselsbringur, Fimmálnaspottalækur or Svalbarðsstrandarhreppur? They’re all towns in Iceland.

But Iceland is easy to navigate even if the words aren’t. It’s also a place of extensive beauty and a wide variety of scenery and experiences that can’t be found anywhere else.

“It was one of my favorites,” Sue says. “I can’t wait to go back. Hopefully we can travel soon.”

Note: Many flights are suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. In the past, the best way to fly to Iceland from Southwest Florida was from the Southwest

Florida International Airport to the John

F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and on to Reykjavik. There was also a nonstop flight from Orlando to Reykjavik.

Those flights did not exist in May, but I did find one from Fort Myers to Boston to Reykjavik for $880. Other flights go from Fort Myers to Orlando to Munich to Reykjavik or from Fort Myers to Dallas to Munich to Reykjavik for $911.

THE ESTATES ARE BLOOMING

Getting out into nature lifts the spirit. And now you have one more place to do that. One more beautiful place. The Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers announced a May 29 reopening date. “The plants and trees have been blooming like crazy and are just waiting for visitors to come see them,” says Debbie Hughes, the horticulture director. “The gardens feature hundreds of plants and trees from all around the world.” The plan is to open the botanical gardens and riverside of the property to visitors Friday through Monday throughout June. The museum and laboratory will stay closed. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for teens, $5 for children, free for ages 5 and younger. Get details at edisonford.org.

Explore nature again Even social distancing doesn’t require you to be indoors all the time. Friends of Rookery Bay provides naturalist-led, private, small-group kayak and boat tours every day at 9 a.m. Kayak rentals are also available at various locations. And Collier and Lee county residents get 10% off through September 1. Get details at rookerybay.org and book by calling 239-530-5972. Also at Rookery Bay Research Reserve, state-owned uplands, Shell Island Road, the boat ramp and the kayak launch are open (the learning center was closed as of May 19).

IMAG opens with fun on tap As the state of Florida reopens, we’re now at the stage where you can go spend some quality time at the IMAG. The IMAG History and Science Center in Fort Myers reopened May 23 with hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The center provides sanitation stations, enhanced hourly cleaning and disinfection, plus deep cleanings twice a day. The center started out with hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. On June 9, the center begins summer hours of noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, closed Mondays. Group visits and field trips will be scheduled in the mornings. For details, visit theimag.org or call 239-243-0043.

IN-PERSON

Public libraries You can now browse books at some libraries in Lee and Collier counties. Both counties set a reopening date of May 26 for some of their larger regional libraries. Collier County set to reopen three regional libraries with limited hours and limited services at 25% occupancy: Headquarters Library at 2385 Orange Blossom Drive, the Naples Regional Library at 650 Central Ave. and the South Regional Library at 8065 Lely Cultural Parkway in Naples. Hours started at 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Wednesday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. Limited curbside pickup continues and computer access is limited to two computers, one hour per person. Other libraries with curbside pickup: Golden Gate Branch, Immokalee Branch and the Marco Island Branch. Updates will be posted at collierlibrary.org. Lee County’s four regional libraries to reopen are its locations in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Northwest Cape Coral and South County. Lakes Regional Library will not reopen along with the other regional libraries due to ongoing construction. “We’re going to keep the Lakes Library closed so we can expedite construction and hopefully reopen somewhere in the middle of June,” Assistant County Manager Christine Brady told The News-Press in May. “People will be able to continue to place material on hold at all libraries, regional as well as county libraries, and continue to drop off materials.”

Theme parks Universal Orlando and Legoland proposed reopening June 5 and 1, respectively, with precautions due to the coronavirus. Both parks plan to check visitors’ temperatures and not allow entry to anyone with a reading above 100.4. At Legoland, face masks are encouraged but not required. At Universal, masks are required. At both parks, masks will be available if you don’t have your own. Legoland will limit admission to 50% capacity. Universal is limiting, too, but did not have a figure as of May 21. Legoland asks that guests book online when possible to help better manage capacity.

SUMMER CAMPS

The following summer camps recently shared with us their plans:

Woodland Nature Montessori School starts weekly summer camp programs for ages 3-6 on June 8. The last camp of summer is August 3-7. The camps focus on nature and science and include activities such as “water day,” planetarium shows, animal shows and crafts. The camps run 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and extended care is

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available 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. The camps are $50 for one day or $225 for the week. The Woodland Nature Montessori School is located on the grounds of the Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium in Fort Myers. woodlandnaturemontessorischool.com Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium emailed families that summer camps will be offered for nine weeks this summer, from June 8 to August 7, for various age groups, grades 1-9. Camp sessions are limited to nine campers, and participants must bring hand sanitizer and a mask each day. Cost is $175 per week for members, $200 per week for nonmembers. Get details at calusanature.org or 239-275-3435. The city of Cape Coral plans to start summer camps June 15 with a 9-to-1 ratio of campers to counselors. They’ll begin at four locations and could be broadened. For details, visit capecoral.net.

ONLINE

Virtual Kids Cooking Camp Kids of all ages can learn how to follow a recipe, measure ingredients, use a stove safely and other kitchen skills in the Virtual Kids Cooking Camp at 4 p.m. every Monday in June. This series by Lee Health’s Healthy Life Centers can be a parent-child activity for the littles or an enrichment experience for independent learners. Each week features a different recipe with healthy ingredients. Make reservations by calling 239-468-0050. Get details at facebook.com/events/705186876895413.

World Oceans Day World Oceans Day is June 8 and the folks at Keep Lee County Beautiful are marking the occasion with a virtual screening and discussion of “The Story of Plastic.” The film dives into the issue of plastic pollution and the effect it’s having on our planet and the people who live on it. Register for the viewing and discussion at https://bit. ly/35QW0cK. There’ll be a question-and-answer discussion with Maia McGuire of the Florida Microplastics Awareness Project at 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 8. Participants who register receive a link to stream the film 48 to 72 hours prior to the discussion.

Stay at Home Storytime Kids can catch a new story, favorite rhymes and songs at 10 a.m. every Wednesday on the Lee County Library System’s YouTube channel. Notifications for Stay at Home Storytime are also posted on Facebook.

Alliance for the Arts The Lee County Alliance for the Arts has a lineup of online youth classes for June, including visual arts, theater, magic and dance. There’s even a STEAM series and a circus series for grades 1-6. The classes will be hosted on Zoom starting at 10 a.m. Prices range from $12 to $50. Get details at artinlee.org/classes.

Hodges University Virtual Summer Camps Tweens and teens ages 10-14 learn how to create games and apps in this online summer camp by Hodges University. The camps take place 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday. Cost is $175. Campers need a computer or laptop, Zoom and Google Chrome. The software to build the games and apps is free. The camps on June 8-12 and July 6-10 focus on creating games. Those on June 15-19 and July 13-17 create apps. Register at visit hodgesconnect.catalog.instructure.com/browse/ technology/summer-camps. Get details by calling 239- 938-7747.

#DingAtHome Sanibel’s famous wildlife refuge, the J.N. “Ding” Darling Wildlife Refuge, and the “Ding” Darling Wildlife SocietyFriends of the Refuge host an array of educational experiences for all ages at dingdarlingsociety.org/articles/ ding-at-home. There are downloadable activity books and coloring pages, virtual story times, an outdoor scavenger hunt, yoga, crafts and at-home experiments. “Learning about nature is always important for kids and adults alike,” says supervisory refuge ranger Toni Westland in a news release. “During this challenging climate of social distancing and self-isolation, it becomes crucial that we nourish our souls with the beauty and wonder of wildlife and its habitat.”

Conservancy of Southwest Florida Families and schools often turn to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida to learn about natuvre and how to protect the local environment. The nature center staff takes that mission online with lesson plans, hands-on activities, videos, scavenger hunts, guided virtual walks and resources at conservancy.org/virtual-learning.

C’mon The Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples created Play & Learn, a free online program to help families continue to learn and have fun while the museum is temporarily closed. You can access it through C’mon’s YouTube channel, Facebook page, Instagram TV and the museum’s website, cmon.org.

Naples Zoo The Naples Zoo was one of the first attractions to offer free online learning options. Staff takes viewers on

virtual tours of the Naples Zoo and provides numerous educational videos and activities. Access them via the zoo’s Facebook page or YouTube channel. Learn more at napleszoo.org.

Sanibel Sea School The Sanibel Sea School is sending out educational e-newsletters three times a week. Each Nature Near You email provides a different lesson, ways to explore nature in your own backyard and additional resources. Plus, on Tuesdays, the school offers a Creature Feature and, on Thursdays at noon, its educators host a live session on Facebook and Instagram. See the archives and sign up for future newsletters at sanibelseaschool.org/nature-nearyou.

Love Your Rebellion Poets, here’s your outlet. Love Your Rebellion developed Poetry for the People, a free virtual workshop that refines poetry skills and connects poets, perfect for teens. It’s led by LYR founder Angela Page. While the workshops were hosted on Zoom every Thursday from April 9 to May 7, the 60-minute sessions were recorded and uploaded to LYR’s social media channels. While they are free, donations are appreciated for this nonprofit arts program. Learn more at loveyourrebellion.org/poetry-for-the-people.

Marco Island Historical Society Explore historical artifacts and learn about local history through the Marco Island Historical Society’s History at Home web page. There are coloring pages and other printables, activities you can do at home and an open “door” to the museum’s 19,000 objects, photos and artwork through an online database. Visit virtually at themihs.org.

IMAG History & Science Center Kids can enjoy the fun, educational lessons found at the IMAG History & Science Center online through the IMAG@HOME program. It’s focused on STEM education and local history, and it’s free to all ages. Find lessons, meet-the-keeper live animal encounters, shows, DIY activities and more on the center’s Facebook page. Learn more at theimag.org.

Edison and Ford Winter Estates The Edison and Ford Winter Estates launched a video series called “Edison Ford Goes Viral.” It’s full of history and science. Find it on the Estates’ Facebook page, @EdisonFordFL.

Naples Botanical Garden The Naples Botanical Garden has been posting educational materials to its website at naplesgarden.org. Read about the different plants in the gardens, find fun activities and tasty recipes, or ask a gardener your plant questions.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Busch Gardens and Sea World are sharing their educational resources, including classroom activities, teacher’s guides and videos for parents, students and teachers to access online at seaworld.org and at x.m.seaworld.com/ats/msg.aspx?sg1=44b61b0871f76421 5e703c4bc4f78385.

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Florida Space Coast icon the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is sharing daily Facebook Live video experiences and at-home activities that relate to all sorts of space topics. Presentations are at 9:30 a.m. Monday through Friday for younger children and 1 p.m. for young adults. Each presentation is followed by a question-andanswer period. You can also find downloadable activities at kennedyspacecenter.com/camps-and-education/ educator-resources.

PBS Kids PBS Kids created a free daily email newsletter with educational activities for parents of young children. Today's newsletter can be found at pbs.org and parents can sign up for the newsletter at public.pbs.org/ PBSKIDSDaily. In addition to the newsletter, PBS Kids has other resources, too, such as tips for how parents and children can de-stress during times of uncertainty and tips on how to talk with children about COVID-19.

American Kennel Club The American Kennel Club and the AKC Museum of the Dog created free printable activities and coloring pages for kids to use while at home during the quarantine plus helpful articles for families with dogs. Find them at akc.org.

Embry-Riddle Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University ramped up free online course offerings for students in grades K-12. Topics range from aeronautics and meteorology to computer applications and history. Courses include “Aviation is Your Future,” “Introduction to Aviation,” “Introduction to Computers & Applications,” “Foundations of Biology” and “Introduction to Sociology.”