This blog posts contains writing from Smithsonian students

We started today by waking up in our beautiful hotel in Breiðavík for the last time! After a delicious breakfast, we loaded up the bus for a day of traveling and sightseeing. 

The first stop on our adventure was a hot pot called Pollurin in the area of Tálknafjörður. While some members of the party took a dip in the waters, others were more interested in the landscape, so they took a nice little stroll along the fjord. The hot pot had a lovely cold plunge which everyone took part in, along with many different heats and depths of pools to enjoy.

After driving through a surprise green-bean festival, we arrived at the next stop, the Sea Monster Museum in the town of Bildadalur!!! 🧌 Our guide enlightened us of the local monsters, including sharing the story of how she once saw one herself! 😱Then she let us roam through numerous rooms of the museum, exploring the various monsters and monstrosities of history. After thoroughly drenching our brains with knowledge, we munched on various snacks courtesy of the cafe. 

Continuing the adventure we were off to see, upon group consensus, the most beautiful waterfall yet—the Dynjandi waterfall. After a thirty-odd minute hike up, we marveled at the view from a cliff. We took some gorgeously phenomenal pictures and felt the cool mist being generated by the waterfall. After thoroughly exploring the marvels of the waterfall, we embarked on the journey back to the bus.

After many of us napped on the bus, we arrived at the final stop on our journey to Ísafjörður, a botanical garden! We explored the history and nature of the garden, taking many pictures and signing our names in the guestbook! It went alllll the way back to 2024!! 

We arrived at our new guesthouse, got acquainted with our abode, and then undertook the trek to dinner! (a walk of two blocks 😓) For dinner, we feasted on various types of pizza! Some had jalapenos and dates, while others were plain ol’ cheese. Before the meal came to a close, some partook in a brownie dessert. Once everyone was content, we returned to the guesthouse to meet our incredible Smithsonian Expert, DAN! 

We introduced ourselves to Dan and heard about some of his expertise and the research he was conducting in Alaska. We had our nightly meeting, then organized the shower order before dispersing with excitement for the adventure tomorrow!!

-Nora R & Bella R.