Iceland

It was so calm this morning that we could barely feel the motion of the ship. The wind was less than 5 knots and variable. The ocean swell was almost imperceptible. We are grateful to have had such a calm crossing. The Denmark Strait is well known for its ferocious storms. As we approached the coast of Iceland the weather began to change. Grey clouds moved in and by 11:00 it was completely overcast, however the wind stayed down and we had glass-like conditions all of the way to Grundarfjördur.

During the morning we were kept busy attending lectures and briefings on our plans for the day.

 We arrived in the small but beautiful Grundafjördur harbour at 14:00. While we had lost our clear skies the weather was still excellent for the two optional excursions we had planned. Quite a few people chose to explore the pretty fishing town on their own. One large group of people were going on a bus tour which would include the Snaefellsnae park. The glacier Snaefellsjokul is right in the centre of the park. Snaefellsjokul was made famous by Jules Verne as he wrote that it was here that you could find the entrance to the centre of the earth in his famous novel, Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

A second large group of people chose to go on a boat tour of Breidafjördur. The tour was truly amazing as we had excellent views of many seabirds including: Puffins, Kittiwakes, Fulmars, Black Guillemots and three magnificent Sea Eagles. We cruised in a veritable labyrinth of small volcanic islands.

 By 19:45 everyone was back on board and at 20:00 we cast off our lines in Grundafjördur harbour and set a course for Reykjavik.

During the evening our ship’s photographer presented a slideshow with images from our entire voyage. It was amazing to review all of the places we have been. Our arrival in Kangerlussuaq Greenland seems like so long ago.

Now it’s time to begin preparations for disembarking Fram in Reykjavik and starting our journey home.