En-Vigur-rated by yesterday’s adventures through the magical Westfjord amphitheater, we set our alarms early and rose with a sleepy, low-lying fog blanketing the towering slopes of Arnarfjörður. Just after 7:00 am, powered by eggs royale and just enough caffeine, a baker’s dozen and a few bonus buns sat themselves on our Zodiac pontoons to be delivered to their hike. Their one-way commitment? The glorious Dynjandi Waterfall and its stepsiblings named Bæjarfoss, Kvíslarfoss, Hrísvaðsfoss, Strompgljúfrafoss, and Hæstahjallafoss.
Those of us not quite ready to make such an early morning “foss” of the day took the Zodiacs to a landing a few miles farther up fjord to enjoy the same stunning bridal veils, wildflowers, and roaring creek, just with a bit more sleep washed from our eyes. The dive team of Kayvon and Pat jetted off to a rocky point nearby to photograph the sub-fjord, with swimming sea spiders and many a moon jelly as the highlights of their warm, 51° F dip.
Or at least they thought it was a decent amount of Aurelia. The afternoon at Geirþjösfjörður made satellite work of that smack, with shoals of moon jellies nearly eclipsing our kayak platform at times! Intrepid adventurers braved the spicy water and discovered that two species of lion’s mane jellyfish—the common Atlantic and the rarer blue lion—were also part of the current events.
Undeterred, a few of us opted to partake in an Icelandic Immersion (a lower-latitude offshoot of the popular Polar Plunge), braving jelly-inhabited waters for the reward of upgraded vodka and sauna experiences. Historian extraordinaire Pelin helped us bid adieu to Iceland with a deep dive into its cultural past as we recapped and dined and went to bed with the land of fire and ice at our stern and the open ocean of Denmark Strait awaiting at our bow. Tomorrow, we sail toward the world’s largest island, thankful for the gelatinous send off from one of its newest. Onward!
