Sunday, 3/8

On Sunday we explored Reykjavík. Our weather wasn’t great but after hitting the road we visited the famous church, Hallgrímskiirkja. Our tour guide then challenged us to go to a traditional Icelandic restaurant to try fermented shark. I and a few others did it at first having similar feelings of discomfort with the taste, but the atmosphere and doing it for the experience made it feel very worth it and fun despite the flavor. We then brought more shark samples to the others at the church so more people could experience it. We then packed back onto the bus and went to lunch.

  After lunch and people trying the famous bagels and hot dogs, we got on a very rocky boat ride. We were expecting to see a couple whales and have an enjoyable time. Instead we were met with rough water conditions and no signs of any animal. Right as we were returning to dock sad we never saw a whale, the group saw a blow and turned the boat around very quick. We ended up seeing a teenage humpback but he never fully lifted his tail out of the water. 

  After that exhausting, rough ride we had some free time before dinner. I spent my time warming up from the cold in the hot tub before heading to dinner at the GRANDI MATHÖLL food hall, unwinding with a little tv while eating, and laughing with friends. We stopped for ice cream on the way back that was pretty good. We then played some games in the lobby until it was time to go search for the northern lights. 

  The trip to the northern lights was interesting in that we learned how to capture them on our iPhones, but when we arrived, we only saw one ray of a light and something similar at the next stop. We ended the night hoping to see better skies one of the next nights and went to bed. 

• — Sydney S.

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