This post contains writing from Smithsonian students

We started our first full day in Ísafjörður off with breakfast and a talk with our Smithsonian Expert, Dan. He gave a presentation about his background and his work in environmental science and collecting ice cores in amazing places to understand the past 200-1000 years of climate. It was a wonderful talk and the information was very enlightening. We also had time for questions where we got more background knowledge in his field of work.

After the talk, we had a two hour window of free roam time around the town. People split into groups and went to different stores, restaurants, and some went on a run. One group went to a burger restaurant where they enjoyed a delicious lunch. Some people went to souvenir stores and bought gifts and other items to take home. One group went on a walk/run along the water where they saw beautiful views but were caught by a strong wind. After we returned from roaming, we had about an hour to work on our projects and perfect them. We worked on gathering information and putting them into slides or creating art projects.

After our project time, we all got ready for our kayaking trip. It was a windy day, so we had to really layer up. We walked over to the kayak place where we put on wet suits and other kayak gear to prepare for the weather. The guides taught us how to get ready and use our equipment before we headed down to the docks. It was two per kayak so we paired up and hit the water! We spent two hours on the water enjoying the views and paddling around the ocean. It ended up being a gorgeous day!

Once we got to the shore, many of us ran back to the house to get the wet suits off and use the bathroom. It was a great experience and a nice break from all the walking. After kayaking, we removed our gear and walked back to the guest house to freshen up and continue working on our projects. 

Graham, Grace, and Dan cooked us a delicious spaghetti dinner while we played cards and other games. The dinner was delicious and everyone enjoyed the much-needed pasta after a long day. We all cleaned up our dishes and talked for a while before getting ready for bed. After dinner we had our nightly meeting and ended the night with watching the movie Eurovision which was super funny and a great way to end the night.

– Samantha M. and Kai D.