We awoke near Grimsey Island, home of the Arctic Circle here in Iceland. We went ashore scouting for birds and other wildlife and admiring not one, but two Artic Circle monuments. Soon after that we lifted our anchor and headed north of the Arctic Circle for a true polar plunge. Once these brave and chilled souls completed their dip we then made headway into Husavik. It was from there that we went to Godafoss, the Waterfall of the Gods, before enjoying some Icelandic hot dogs as we headed off to our next adventure.
8/23/2024
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National Geographic Explorer
Reykjavík, Iceland
After a cracking morning out at sea with some truly impressive waves, we were called up to the lounge by Expedition Leader Leah Eaton, who briefed us on a volcanic eruption that had just started on the Reykjanes peninsula. As the briefing concluded, we could already see the volcanic plume through which we would later sail on our way around the Reykjanes peninsula. We finally reached Reykjavík in the afternoon, where we had our final lounge briefing with our guest slideshow, a presentation on our final volcano plan, and a farewell speech from Captain Peik Aalto. After an early dinner, we mounted a trio of busses that carried us out onto the Reykjanes peninsula to an abandoned airstrip. From there we could already see the spectacular eruption very clearly, but to get a better look, we made our way onto some of the old storage bunkers which lined the airstrip. This gave us a view of the eruption in all its glory, with smoke billowing into the sky from the two-kilometer-long fissure, and also a number of smaller fires. It was a truly wonderous ending to an already incredible expedition.
