Iceland Tour in the Summer of 2005

Mark Anderson, the Girlchoir music director, shared the tour experience with parents via a log on the website. Below are some of the excerpts.

The Singing

"Before we boarded the plane in Baltimore we sang our two Icelandic songs for the flights attendants and the people boarding our flight. We received wonderful accolades for our pronunciation and our "dulcet tones"

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"We had an informal concert inside a small mountain- literally. The power plant near Westmannsvatn is inside a huge hollowed out part of the rock, which provides an acoustic of 4 or 5 seconds of reverberation. There was an enthusiastic audience of people from several countries. Our American folk music continues to be a grand hit everywhere! The stark Icelandic songs we have learned are making sense to the girls as they sing them in the various acoustics in which they were conceived."

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"We hiked to a crest right against a mountain and sang out into the canyon and heard our echo last for three to four seconds. I never thought I would see many of the girls speechless.... but -- miracles happen! They were astounded :)

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"After dinner we will sing a bit for tourists in the little church here (the oldest wooden church in Iceland.)

The Sights

"We headed to the "Blue Lagoon of the North" ...outdoor hot baths which are a result of the harvested steam and water from the power plant. A midnight soak in the healing silt and bubbling waters -- with the sun glimmering through the rain at this hour.....there couldn´t be a more perfect ending to a day of hard work!

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"The sun came out as we left Reykjavik and illuminated spectacular views of the mountains and coastline. As we neared the northern coast we turned east and saw the west fjords off in the far distance, across the bay and Breiðafjörður. Lots of sheep and cows in the fields, grass covered houses, and miles of pristine wilderness were everywhere we drove.

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"Husavik is a tiny fishing village on the north coast and is a haven for several kinds of whales. We watched the whales and saw the puffins on Puffin Island.

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"The girls are out riding Icelandic ponies through the 4000 year old lava fields with Arnagrimmur, the owner of the horses.

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"From Dettifoss we travelled on through yet a different terrain - green and grassy (and tree-filled!) on our wato A'sbyrgi. The Icelandic legend has it that the Norse God Qotan was riding his eight-legged horse through the skies and one foot stepped down to earth and left this 3 mile foot print. The area is an overwhelming meadowland surrounded on three sides by striking mountains. The earth just dropped in this area, and left the surrounding mountains, creating amicro-climate full of trees, grasses and a crystal clear river.

The Friendships

"The friendships that have been taking seed all year have blossomed wonderfully and the care and concern every girl has for every other girl is truly heartwarming. We don´t have a formal concert until this weekend... at this point in the trip, that is secondary to the relationships that have taken root and come to life. These gains will only help strengthen the music making the girls do together. I am a firm believer that groups who have deep personal connections make music together at a significantly more profound level."