What a lovely morning! A gentle rocking in bed and a gentle hum slowly woke us up to the inescapable fact that we were: 1. on a ship and 2. out at sea! I do love being on a ship. Our morning consisted of a leisurely breakfast followed by safety briefings for Zodiac operations and an introduction to the expedition staff on board. An impressive range of experience and nationalities make up the team.
Lunch was at noon. During this time, a Zodiac headed to shore to pick up some local musicians. They set up in the lounge and played their own music as well as traditional Icelandic folk music.
Next came the afternoon’s activities. They warned us it would be a wet ride! A big swell and fairly strong winds meant we all got a pretty good soaking, but that’s just part of the adventure. We landed at Flatey Island, a beautiful little village with brightly colored houses, sheep, and a small church. According to the local church: Jesus wore Icelandic sweaters. The island has great birdlife. We spotted puffins, guillemots, Brunnich’s guillemots, and phalaropes.
We arrived back to the ship in time for teatime snacks. After some time to relax, our captain formally introduced us to the ship and expedition team.
