I had a fantastic time with this fully international class and the professors! It was a pretty long day, and we did a lot, but I met lots of great people and the trip and lectures were very informative.
I met the group at their hotel, hotel Edda, which is a high school dormitory during the year, hotel during the summer time. We proceeded to one of the classrooms for 2 lectures: one about the district heating of Akureyri, and the other about the health benefits of geothermal water and the emerging spa industry. They were quite fantastic and I benefited a lot from them since I had visuals and explanations simultaneously. Then we had lunch and after went to the bus for our field trip. We drove around Akureyri to see the oldest well and then the well that is their gold mine, yielding most of Akureyri's hot water demands. It is was a lucky drill test that led to it and it yields waters that are in a way most extreme for this region. It was incredible to see this and hear about it. We also made a stop at a little hydroelectric station, which was in a beautiful location..a miniature canyon with a glacial river running through. Next, we went swimming in the town's geothermal pool, which is always refreshing and revitalizing. I have been feeling like a new person every time I go and leave these pools. Finally, I had dinner with the group, and guess who was there? Sverrir from ISOR! It was so nice to see him again. He is here teaching at another school. He later drove me back to my hostel while showing me part of town in between and telling me stories. He is just wonderful.
I had a wonderful time with the students today. They are such a diverse group from several countries in Africa, Asia, Central America, and the Carribean Islands. The students in the program are required to be part of an emerging geothermal project in their country, and the program provides training for them. They have been doing this for over 30 years. Everyone was so nice, and I exchanged emails and phone numbers with some of them, because they'd like to hang when we are back in Reykjavik. It was awesome.
Tomorrow is my last day here in Akureyri, and then I head to Husavik to see fish farms. I saw Franz today, one of Thorgils' contacts, and he provided me with some numbers for the Krafla power plant. I hope I will be able to go see it tomorrow!
Image 1: Akureyri Pipeline- distribution to the city
Image 2: Water transfer station- water is first pumped here from all the nearby boreholes, and is then distributed to the city. The people you see in the photo are some of the student I had the pleasure of joining and meeting
Image 3: Akureyri Pipeline- pipeline that intakes the water from various sources
Image 4: Akureyri Geothermal Borehole 'Gold'- this well produces the most amount of water and is their gold mine. It is located about 10-20 km north of the city
Image 5: One of the heat pumps at the main energy station located in the center of town.
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