Clear sunny skies presented the perfect conditions for exploring the Vatnajökull glacier. Although for the super Jeeps driving up the glacier, the snow proved to be a little softer and trickier to drive through. The weather stayed favourable for our trip to the beautiful black sands and icebergs followed by a visit to Jökulsarlon, the large lagoon left in front of the glacier as it retreats rapidly back. Our day finished off with a 19:40 arrival back at National Geographic Orion, which meant dinner was ready straight away. Afterward, we enjoyed a very entertaining musical revue put on by the crew, performing some old favourites (including some favourites no one would dare admit were favourites).
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.
