Iceland

Touching Two Continents: What You Should Know About Snorkeling Silfra Rift in Iceland

Have you ever thought about snorkeling Silfra Rift in winter? Grey rain lashed against the windows as our little minibus pulled into a car park in the middle of the Icelandic countryside in mid November. Just the right setting for some snorkeling. Louis, our driver, pointed to a little hut in front of us: the only sign of life in the immediate vicinity. “Ok,” he said, “Time for you guys to change into your Silfra snorkeling gear!” At Louis’s instruction,…

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Iceland

Northern Lights on Cloudy Nights: Spotting the Aurora in Iceland

Reykjavik, Iceland

“Oh my goodness!” The breath had been knocked out of my lungs. Or rather, not knocked so much as shoved. The shover in question was a middle aged American woman who lay heavily across my knees, neck straining against the cold interior plastic of the minibus door. “I can’t see anything!” she cried, her voice adding to the chorus of female chatter that filled our vehicle. It wasn’t exactly a surprise, I thought to myself. The lights of Reykjavik still…

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Iceland Malta Morocco Travel Plans

The Three Month Update

I’ve been ‘back from Asia’ for three months now. Which also means it’s approximately three months more until I head out to Ecuador and discover whether teaching English to a group of children for a five month semester is something I’m actually able to do. There’s also been a lot happening in the world of Flora The Explorer, so I thought I should probably divulge some of it now before I’m overcome with too many overdue posts. Although at the moment, it…

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Challenges Kenya

A Fear of Flying

This morning, I’m making my way to Gatwick, an airport I’ve frequented many times. I’m off to catch a flight to Morocco, on what will be my twentieth airborne journey this year alone. But I’ve got a confession to make. Every time I board a plane, I make my peace with dying. Like most people who are a bit obsessed with travelling, I’ve been flying for a long time. My first ever flight? I went to France with my family at five years…

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Festivals Iceland Volunteering

What It’s Like to Volunteer at Iceland Airwaves Music Festival

I’m a first-time volunteer at Iceland Airwaves. Standing in a sweaty store cupboard, mere inches away from the main stage at Reykjavik’s Harpa concert hall, I hold up a green tee shirt against my bare chest with a certain amount of scepticism. I’ve been promised untold amounts of ‘female, size medium’ by the grumpy bouncer out front. Clearly, these are all masquerading as men’s larges. Lost in a tee-shirt-sizing reverie, I fail to hear the turn of the doorknob as it…

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Iceland

Returning to Reykjavik: My Iceland Obsession

icebergs iceland faces WWF volunteers

I wandered down the catwalk-worthy thoroughfare of my airy London office. All around me, hard working fingers typed confidently onto shiny keyboards. The smell of coffee and Pret A Manger sandwiches filled the air. Sidling up to my team’s manager’s desk, I opened my mouth. A little timidly, perhaps, but resolute. “Hi, Sam! So… I know my internship finishes on Friday but I wondered if I possibly could leave on Wednesday instead? The thing is, I’m kind of going to…

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