This morning we arrived in the quaint little town of Siglufjörður in northern Iceland, which used to be the centre of the Icelandic herring industry. A light rain fell onto our shoulders as we walked into town, but it did not dampen our spirits as we learned all about the fascinating herring industry from the enthusiastic locals. While National Geographic Orion repositioned to our next port of call, Akureyri, many of us decided to take the opportunity to go horseback riding on the famous Icelandic horses. What a great day in Iceland!
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.
