Our first day of exploring Iceland was a memorable one as the weather gods smiled in our favor. Guests enjoyed fantastic conditions at Flatey, which translates to flat (flat) ey (island), or flat island. While guests viewed their first Atlantic puffins of the voyage and learning about life on this tiny island, the undersea team explored the nearby depths. The waters around Flatey are teeming with life from kelp forests to large cod to the nearby grey seals. Rounding out the day, we were all fortunate to enjoy a beautiful sunset with a very acrobatic whale, which we were able to identify as Floki using HappyWhale, a whale ID database. He spent a considerable amount of time breaching, slapping the water with his considerable flippers, and tail slapping under the gorgeous evening light. What a fantastic start to our voyage!
7/11/2024
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National Geographic Explorer
Djupivogur, Austurland (East Iceland)
Greetings from Iceland! Today we continued our circumnavigation of this land of fire and ice, Iceland. National Geographic Explorer pulled into Djupivogur Harbor at 7:00am to a nice cool and calm morning greeting. Plenty had been planned for today, with guests choosing between a full day excursion to the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, a black sand beach hike, a valley of the waterfalls 4x4 Jeep excursion, and a cultural walk. Guests were thrilled to get out and adventure in this eastern side of Iceland. Again, the weather was brilliant with periods of blue sky appearing through the clouds and the sunrays. I had the pleasure of accompanying our guests to the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, which entailed a scenic bus excursion to the lagoon of icebergs, an amazing walk along Diamond Beach, and a very well-prepared Icelandic lunch before heading back to our home away from home, National Geographic Explorer. Lindblad Expeditions is about sharing unique moments and experiences and today was one of those days. It was absolutely beautiful.
