You may not know it, but you’ve probably seen the dramatic Vestmannaeyjar Islands off the south coast of Iceland before. It’s like sailing into an Instagram picture. The uniquely sculpted land is both picturesque and memorable. Heimaey is the most amazing. The harbor here was nearly sealed off by an enormous eruption in the late 1970s that demolished many of the houses in the town at the water’s edge. Today, we climbed the remaining lava pile, still warm from the magma lurking beneath the island’s surface. The blue sky gave us broad views, and the strong winds gave us a true taste of the local life. After dinner, we got a closer look at Surtsey—a volcanic island that is younger than many of us on board. It’s a bittersweet but fitting end to our explorations of the land of fire and ice.
7/11/2024
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National Geographic Explorer
Djupivogur, Austurland (East Iceland)
Greetings from Iceland! Today we continued our circumnavigation of this land of fire and ice, Iceland. National Geographic Explorer pulled into Djupivogur Harbor at 7:00am to a nice cool and calm morning greeting. Plenty had been planned for today, with guests choosing between a full day excursion to the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, a black sand beach hike, a valley of the waterfalls 4x4 Jeep excursion, and a cultural walk. Guests were thrilled to get out and adventure in this eastern side of Iceland. Again, the weather was brilliant with periods of blue sky appearing through the clouds and the sunrays. I had the pleasure of accompanying our guests to the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, which entailed a scenic bus excursion to the lagoon of icebergs, an amazing walk along Diamond Beach, and a very well-prepared Icelandic lunch before heading back to our home away from home, National Geographic Explorer. Lindblad Expeditions is about sharing unique moments and experiences and today was one of those days. It was absolutely beautiful.