National Geographic Endurance arrived in Djupivogur to a brilliantly sunny and warm morning. Guests set off with their local guides and the expedition team in all directions. Many visited the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon to experience the largest glacier in Europe and to photograph the enchanting Diamond Beach. Other guests explored the area in jumbo sized 4x4 vehicles or completed beach walks with our naturalist team. We finished the day by taking our National Geographic Expeditions Adventurers participants out in Zodiacs for a boat driving lesson. Everyone lived.
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.
