July 12th - Reykjavík
After a short 4 and a half hour flight from New York to Iceland, I landed in Reykjavik. The airport is actually located in Keflavik, which is the international airport in the Reykjanes Peninsula. During our short bus ride, we drove past the active volcano that began erupting a few days before. Thankfully, it wasn't a danger to humans or air traffic!
Below is a photo I took from the bus. The smoke to the right is the volcano. The surface of the peninsula is volcanic stone, and seems almost other worldly.
On the ship, I met Mr. Clark Esarey, who filmed the video below and was kind enough to o share it with me. This was filmed during a helicopter ride he took over the Reykjanes Peninsula a couple of days before embarkation! Isn't it incredible.
It was an amazing introduction to the Land of Fire and Ice!
During the afternoon, we had a chance to tour the capital city of Reykjavik. Sixty percent of Iceland's population of 360, 000 people live here. We were able to visit a few interesting landmarks such as the Hallgrímskirkja and the National Musem of Iceland.
The weather was beautiful, sunny and warm!