("Góða ferð "means Bon voyage in Icelandic)
July 12 & 13
Flatey
On July 12th, after a tour of the capital of Iceland, Reykjavik, we embarked the National Geographic Explorer.
This ship is a state of the art, ice-class expedition ship, which means that it can break through ice. Jennifer Carter, my Grovernor Teacher Fellow partner on this trip, and I checked-in and made out way to our rooms.
Home away from home-
There, we found our gear for the expedition - a warm, waterproof jacket, as well as waterproof boots and pants. This waterproof gear would be important on days when we would have "wet landings".
A "wet landing" means that we would be disembarking onto small zodiac boats, which would then shuttle us to land. This would allow us the visit places that larger ships couldn't visit, as well as placed without a dock.
On our first full day day aboard, we got to experience our visit "wet landing" when we disembarked onto Flatey Island. Flatey Island is one of the largest of the thousands of islands in Breidafjord, and was an important trading post during the Middle Ages- it was part of the Hansearic League. A monastery was founded in Flatey in 1172, which made the island the center of culture and education in Iceland at this time.
Today, there are less than a handfull of year-round residents.
We wrapped up the day sailing to Vestmannaeyjar in the Westfjords Region of Iceland. This is the most Western point of Iceland. We sailed along the cliffs of Látrabjarg where millions of birds nest and live. The cliffs were massive and imposing.