After a wonderful evening passing through the Arctic Circle at Grimsey Island we sailed east through the night to the northeastern part of Iceland. Our morning at sea brought us interesting lectures and the chance for whale sightings, in which we were not disappointed. As we neared the steep cliffs of Seydisfjordur Fjord we spotted a small pod of minke whales, a special treat as minke whales are often unpredictable while feeding, which can make them hard for whale watching. We had beautiful warm weather and dined on the outer deck for lunch. The afternoon was spent exploring the largest town in the northeast, Seydisfjordur, and the beautiful nature reserve nearby. It was once an active fishing town but due to overfishing the economy has changed to being mostly driven by tourism and is one of the largest ports in Iceland with ferries going directly to Europe.
8/23/2024
Read
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.
