Today we embarked on one of our group tours of the South Coast. While I have loved going to various organizations to learn about Iceland, there is something so special about spending time in the nature of Iceland and learning more about the country’s history beyond the city. During the south coast tour, we visited two waterfalls, a glacier, and the black sand beach. Visiting the glacier reminded me of what we had learned about at the environmental organization. Unfortunately, much of the glacier has melted, so it was devastating to see how this diminishing size affected the area. While the rock formations were still gorgeous, it was a clear loss to the area.

The picture above showcases the second waterfall we visited. Each site we visited continued to amaze me and seemed to be more beautiful than the last. This particular waterfall was stunning to me for two reasons. First, there were less tourists, so we were able to appreciate the true nature of the waterfall. Second, a rainbow appeared at the end of the waterfall. Rainbows hold a special place in my heart because they remind me of hope and a promise. A promise that the beauty of nature is good and lovely. While I could take about this forever, there is something amazing about how nature is such a reflection of goodness and beauty yet we as humans also can reflect this beauty in the way we love and treat one another. This is significant because it shows how all these things that we discuss, all the social issues, are connected and can boil down to how we treat one another. How would we treat others differently if we saw beauty in one another as we see in nature?