This morning dawned bright and cloudy, with a short Zodiac run into Borgafjörður Eystri. The famous puffin cliffs loomed over us in astonishing numbers as we prepared for the bike ride, followed by a long hike, a moderate hike, or a leisurely hike. While the bikers and long hikers made good time going up the various mountains, the moderate hikers stopped at a slightly lower scenic point, and the leisurely hikers made their way up while looking at flowers, birds, and rocks along the way. Those who were not signed up for one of these options had the chance to enjoy the colony of puffins nearby, where a boardwalk led them along a beautifully rugged cliff where thousands of birds were nesting.
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.
