This day will certainly stand out in our memories during this Icelandic expedition. Not for the perfect weather, and not just by Icelandic standards, but also for just how much fun can be packed into a day. The near 24 hours of light was also big help. Starting at Akureyri first thing in the morning we traded the National Geographic Orion for buses and headed inland towards Lake Myvatn, stopping at many investing geology sights along the way. By late afternoon we rejoined our ship, not back in Akureyri but instead further along the coast in the town of Husavik. From there we set sail towards the island of Grimey for the opportunity to see more puffins but also to cross the Arctic Circle, which is conveniently located on the island of Grimey. Not being ones to waste the sunlight and lovely weather we decided that a midnight polar plunge was the perfect way to end this amazing day.
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.