This post contains writing from Smithsonian students

Today was an incredible day that reminded us why we’re so lucky to be on this Icelandic adventure! 

We woke up to cool coastal air and started our day off with a nice breakfast buffet. Our first activity of the day was a long walk along the beach near the Hotel Breidavik. The landscape here feels otherworldly, the huge cliffs and empty beaches truly make this place special. We had a more heartfelt group meeting surrounded by some 19th century ruins at one end of the beach and held a moment of meditation as fog rolled in from the ocean. We also saw our first Arctic fox, who came upon us and then ran off across the landscape with a bird in its mouth.

Around noon, it was perfect weather for a picnic lunch of sandwiches. Right after, we had some much needed free and down time. Some of us went to workout and cold plunge at the beach like true vikings, others rested, and even a few went for hill sprints!. Later in the afternoon, we held an exciting Fourth of July celebration. Even though we’re far from the US, we had a spirited competition with games, challenges, and lots of laughs. 

Later, we went to the famous red sand beach (Rauðasandur), which, to our surprise, was not really red at all. Some of the shells on it were reddish, but we almost all unanimously agreed that it should’ve been called something along the lines of “yellow sand beach.” Despite the color confusion, we still had plenty of fun doodling in the sand.

After a delicious chicken dinner and a dessert of apple pie, we set off to the Lartranarg bird cliffs to see the seabirds come in to roost after a long day at sea. There were thousands. Gulls, kittiwakes, murres, razorbills, puffins, terns, fulmars, and more swarmed the cliffs like bees around a hive. They didn’t care about our presence at all, swooping and diving and twisting and soaring on the invisible rollercoaster of ridgelift and coastal breeze.

– James K. and Sunny B.