Today we woke up to a typical Icelandic summer day: the sky was overcast with high clouds, and the air temperature was soaring around 50 °F. It turned out to be an excellent day to explore Iceland’s East Fjords. We docked in a charming little town called Djupivogur. We had several wonderful excursion options to choose from. Some adventurous guests joined a Super Jeep safari to explore two beautiful waterfalls of the East Fjords: Sneadalsfoss and Einstigsfoss. Others who longed to stretch their legs opted for a 6.5 mile hike to the dramatic and beautiful Black Sand Beach near Djupivogur, a characteristic example of Iceland’s volcanic landscape. The rest of us chose to visit Europe’s largest ice cap by volume, Vatnajökull Glacier.
Vatnajökull Glacier is located in the southeast and covers approximately 10% of Iceland. It is a massive and impressive ice cap. Today’s excursion took us to the Jökulsarlon Lagoon, located in the southern part of the ice cap where the melting ice water meets with the ocean. We arrived around midday after a delicious lunch of local Icelandic delicacies. The view was simply breathtaking, and the lagoon was filled with many different shapes and sizes of icebergs. After enjoying the view a bit and taking as many photos as we could, we got into our hybrid boat/truck and ventured into the lagoon itself. What a wonderful and informative boat ride! Our next stop was Black Diamond Beach, where we got the chance to photograph pieces of glassy icebergs on a black sand beach. This is one of Iceland’s iconic photography spots. Tired but happy, we reluctantly bid farewell to this uniquely beautiful place and drove back to National Geographic Explorer. Back on board, we shared our adventures with fellow explorers. After a wonderful Icelandic dinner prepared by Chef Magnus and the galley team, we were invited to the lounge to listen to our on-board band, “Spice Boys.”
