This is the image that presented itself to the first group as we departed from our accommodation.
Svona leit Reykjavík út fyrir fyrri hópnum okkar sem lagði af stað í dag.
Our first stop was in Vogar and we were greeted by an enthusiastic group of young children from Vogar who ran with us to the Vogar retirement home to plant a tree. Backpacks were bouncing left, right, up and down!
Fyrsti viðkomustaður var Vogar á Vatnsleysuströnd, en þar hittum við áhugasama krakka sem hlupu með okkur að elliheimilinu til að planta friðartré.
Laufey introduces the run and Peace.
Laufey kynnir Friðarhlaupið.
Natabara finds Icelandic soil quite rocky!
Natabara á í erfiðleikum með að komast í gegnum harðan íslenskan jarðveginn!
Everyone learns the song and expression to symbolize the torch!
Allir lærðu Friðarhlaupslagið og hreyfingarnar sem tákna Friðarkyndilinn!
"We are the oneness and fulness of tomorrow's sun!"
"Við erum sameining og fylling morgunsólar"
Feeling peace in our hearts.
Friðurinn fundinn í hjartanu.
Passing the torch.
Kyndillinn látinn ganga manna á milli.
Look at that beautiful tree!
Sjáið þetta fallega tré!
Some intriguing local architecture.
The women's team thought it might have been home to elves.
Our next stop was in Njardvik where we met with kids from the Njardvik sports and day care program and the Njardvik football club. Singing and expressing, "we are the oneness and fulness of tomorrow's sun!"
Næsti viðkomustaður var Njarðvík þar sem við hittum krakka úr UMFN og úr Sport- og Ævintýraskólanum.
Passing the torch carefully, making sure hair is still there.
Kyndillinn látinn ganga varlega svo að hárið verði enn á sínum stað.
A soulful wish for peace.
Hjartnæm ósk um frið.
What a group!
Glæsilegur hópur!
Planting the next tree at Holtaskoli in Keflavik, after the kids from Njardvik had run with us there.
Friðartré Reykjanesbæjar var plantað við Holtaskóla í Keflavík, eftir að krakkarnir úr Njarðvík höfðu hlaupið með okkur þangað.
The Sport Director of Reykjanesbaer municipality joined for the group photo. He was the center for the Icelanding National Basketball Team in the seventies!
Certificate to the coach.
Joined by the town of Gardur.
Krakkar úr Víði og Reyni hlupu með okkur í Garð.
A tree is planted in a beautiful little community garden.
Friðartré var plantað í fallegum garði.
Palash points to an elf's house in the rock. She knocks, but wisely no one answers.
Palash bendir á hýbýli álfa í steini. Hún bankaði á dyrnar en fékk ekkert svar.
Gardur is a town where artists have in the past been invited to stay for weeks and create a work of art, as a part of the Fresh Winds Art festival (http://fresh-winds.com/). This is a monument to Hiroshima, with a rock on top for each year after the bombing, with the hope that one day no more nuclear weapons will exist, and no more rocks will be needed.
Í gegnum árin hefur listamönnum verið boðið að gista a Garði svo vikum skiptir til að skapa listaverk fyrir listahátíðina Ferskir vindar (http://fresh-winds.com/). Hér gefur að líta minnisvarða um Hiroshima, en svo setja krakkarnir í Garði steinvölu ofan á hann á hverju ári þangað til öllum kjarnorkuvopnum hefur verið útrýmt. Von listamannsins (og okkar líka) er að einn góðan veðurdag muni ekki þurfa að setja fleiri steina á minnisvarðann.
A tree planting in Sandgerdi. We were joined by Mr. Gudjon Kristjansson who very kindly received us and assured us that two girls who live in the house behind the tree eagerly watch over the wellbeing of the tree. (They were on another part of the island visiting relatives, so we missed them.)
Friðartré er plantað í Sandgerði. Guðjón Kristjánsson tók á móti okkur fyrir hönd Sandgerðisbæjar og fullvissaði okkur um að stúlkur tvær sem búa í húsinu handan trésins muni annast tréð af alúð. (Þær voru á ferðalagi og gátu ekki verið með okkur í dag).
A kind gentleman that warmed our hearts.
Okkur yljaði um hjartarætur við að hitta Guðjón.
Kids from Grindavik gathered for a short ceremony before running around the football stadium and to the tree-planting site.
Í Grindavík hittum við fyrst krakkana á knattspyrnuvellinum til að ræða um Friðarhlaupið og fórum svo saman að trjáplöntuninni.
Everyone helped to plant the tree.
Allir hjálpuðust að við trjáplöntunina.
A lively little girl who won our hearts reads the inscription on the plaque by Sri Chinmoy.
Fjörleg ung stúlka sem vann hug okkar og hjarta les áletrunina á friðartrésskildinum, sem er eftir Sri Chinmoy, stofnanda Friðarhlaupsins.
Band photo.
Það mætti halda að hér hefðu popparar stillt sér upp fyrir ljósmyndarann.
The first town for the second group was Kopavogur, where Mayor Armann Kr. Olafsson joined us for a run...
Síðara hlaupaliðið hóf ferð sína í Kópavogi, en þar tók bæjarstjórinn, Ármann Kr. Ólafsson, fyrstu skrefin...
...to Kopavogstun park, where he planted a peace-tree.
...að Kópavogstúni, þar sem hann plantaði friðartré fyrir hönd bæjarins.
After which these two young boys Steinar and Sverrir, from the Breidablik sports club, installed the plaque...
Að því loknu tóku þessir tveir ungu drengir, Steinar og Sverrir úr Breiðabliki, við og komu skiltinu fyrir.
...and ran with us to the next town, Gardabaer
...og hlupu með okkur til Garðabæjar.
Receiving the torch for Gardabaer and Stjarnan sports club, where these two young ladies, Helena and Hildur
Helena og Hildur úr Stjörnunni tóku við kyndlinum fyrir hönd Garðabæjar.
In Gardabaer, kids from the Stjarnan sports day care came out to listen to our message
Finding peace in your heart
Making a wish for peace
Learning about how to be the peace-builders of the future
We had lots of fun and games with the kids - many thanks to Bryndis, the organizer of the group
Gardabaer had planted a peace-tree, which we assembled around
Receiving the torch for Hafnarfjordur, the next town, where Ragnheidur Olafsdottir and her group of young women athletes from FH sports club
Together we ran to the FH sports club stadium where we had a meeting with teenagers
Moving on, we ran to the other main sports club of Hafnarfjordur, Haukar sports club
The current Mayor (pictured left) planted a peace-tree together with the former Mayor, who is also the CEO of Haukar sports club
All the kids helped to plant the tree
Leaving Hafnarfjordur, we sound found ourselves running on dirt roads, up and down the hills on Krysuvik
Amazing turquoise pool
Having finished our running we drove and caught up with the first group at the Blue Lagoon
The management of the Blue Lagoon had kindly sponsored our visit to their exquisite natural spa
Outside the spa are beautiful pools
Making a wish for peace in the Blue Lagoon
Yesterday was Shyamala's birthday and today Simon turned 15
Of course, no one on the Team actually believes that he is only 15, the way he churns out the miles and has a mature outlook on life
