Living on a Fault Line - Iceland to Iran

The RGS and Land Rover bursary "Go Beyond" has been awarded to a group of geographers and geologists following the fault line from the atlantic island of Iceland all the way to Iran.  They are planning to meet with as many people as possible to understand how they deal with living in this active area.

They set off at the end of July and plan to cover 25,000 kms in their quest.  You can follow their adventure and meet the people they come across during their journey who live in close proximity to the fault line.

The communities are often in the remotest part of the country, in the interior of Iceland and remote areas of Turkey.

You too can see the rift valley in Iceland on one of our educational trips and if you are really adventurous can snorkel between the two tectonic plates!  The most difficult part was getting the dry suit on as I found out when I tried it with a couple of colleagues last October.

Lorraine

Discover the Arctic on BBC's Human Planet

For the first time ever the BBC are making a landmark series dedicated to ‘Homo sapiens’, otherwise known as, humans!

From the comfort of your home you can adventure to over 80 parts of the world, witness incredible environments, grasslands, deserts, mountain, oceans, arctic, rivers, jungles and urban environments.  Venturing from Greenland to Papua New Guinea this series is sure to inspire the next generation of students. Visit the BBC for more information on the Human Planet series and a wealth of resources remember to keep an eye out for the Greenland episode…and if you’re inspired, why not travel with your students to some of our inspiring destinations to see for yourself these amazing environments.

Lorraine

Iceland Video - now is the best time to travel!

Here at Discover the World we all LOVE the recent video just posted on Inspired By Iceland!  Take a look below - very reminiscent of Bjork's video - fantastic to see some of that stunning Icelandic scenery and everyone having fun! Spread the word that now is a fantastic time to visit Iceland!

Inspired by Iceland Video from Inspired by Iceland on Vimeo.

New Volcano Charter - Your Travel is Protected

Here at Discover the World we are committed to providing you with the best possible service and understand that the recent air travel disruption may have highlighted some travel concerns. To offer you reassurance in your future travel plans we would like to advise you of our new clear and transparent travel policy.

New Volcano Customer Charter – Applicable to all our Destinations

This comes into effect in the event of any further ash cloud disruption where an airline does not provide this equivalent level of care and assistance.

Flight Cancellations

In the event that it is not possible for your outward flight(s) to operate within 24 hours of the scheduled departure time we will do our best to rearrange your holiday for a later date or if you prefer, receive a full refund of the holiday costs that you have paid to us (excluding any travel insurance premium).

If your scheduled return flight(s) are cancelled and it is necessary for you to remain in your destination and if the airline does not make these arrangements for you, then we will provide you with accommodation and meals until such time that we or the airline can make alternative travel arrangements. This may include returning you to an alternative UK airport via an alternative route, in order to repatriate you to your original UK departure airport.

Holiday Alterations / Rerouting

If you are on holiday and it becomes necessary to alter or reroute any of our holiday itineraries then we will make these arrangements for you at no additional cost. 

To read our complete new Volcano Customer Charter and conditions please click here.

Please contact our specialist team if you require any further advice.

Snap, crackle and pop in the Arctic

Hoping to fulfil a schoolgirl dream to see a polar bear in the wild I set off on the Around Spitsbergen voyage in August with hope in my heart but not an expectation.  I had heard all the stories of the disappearing polar bears.  Imagine how my heart beat when we had a close up encounter that exceeded my wildest dreams.  Five meters away from the Akademik Shokalskiy was the healthiest polar bear, as curious of us as we were in him. It was a wonderous sight as the bear just ambled towards us from the horizon past the bearded seal, who took evasive action as the bear approached. We all held our breath as he took an enormous leap over the ice that had cracked in front of the ship a truly awe inspiring sight.  Disappearing into the distance with the sun low on the horizon.

But the arctic is more than this – as we entered into the ice strewn sea the air was full of snap, crackle and pop as the bubbles in the ice popped away as they melted in the Arctic summer sun.  We cruised along in the zodiacs surrounded by this rice crispy moment with everybody quiet as we listened to this living ice all around us.

And there is so much more that is the Arctic – I’ll save that for another day….