Our day started at sea, navigating towards Grimsey Island, the northernmost inhabited island of Iceland. We were looking forward to a fantastic day ahead and we were not disappointed.
Shortly after breakfast, geologist Grace Winer gave us a masterful talk on the fascinating geology of Iceland. Her lecture helped us understand the outstanding rock formations that we have seen so far and will be seeing as the trip continues. Andrew Peacock, Lindblad photo instructor, demonstrated his deep photography knowledge with his talk entitled “Expedition Photography 102”.
Just as we were about to head to lunch we were called to the bridge as some whales had been seen around the ship. Most of the guests and expedition team ran upstairs to aid in the search for the giants of the sea. Some flukes were observed and the National Geographic Orion got closer and closer to the animals. Several humpback whales were feeding just in front of the ship, much to the delight of our guests (and expedition team!). At various moments the humpback whales were witnessed bubble feeding just under the bow! It was the perfect birthday present for our Iceland cultural specialist Dagny Ivarsdottir.
In the afternoon we landed on Grimsey Island, which is just 2 square miles and has maximum elevation of 344 ft. After walking 5 minutes, we crossed the Arctic Circle. There’s nothing better than celebrating that occasion by drinking champagne and eating chocolates delivered to the scene by our exceptional housekeeping department. After relaxing for a while, we walked to the cliffs. Hundreds of puffins and kittiwakes were nesting on the walls. Puffins were bringing fish to their chicks while the noisy kittiwakes were taking care of their newly hatched chicks. After the great northern views from the cliffs, we made our way back to the ship while being dive-bombed by some angry arctic terns that were nesting just along the path. A snow bunting sang while we departed from the islands, calling out a farewell and wishing us good luck in the rest of our expedition. It was an awesome day that will be fondly remembered by all of us.
