We did it! Dee and I have planned for this trip for TWO years. The 2026 total solar eclipse falls on Dee's birthday. The whole solar system wanted to sing Happy Birthday to You! We wanted to see it in the Northeast Greenland National Park, from an expedition ship called the National Geographic Endurance, with a group sponsored by TravelQuest.
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| I see an eclipse symbol. Do you? |
We met at the Iceland Parliament Hotel in the center of Reykjavik, capital of Iceland. Dee came in the morning of the 4th of August from the US, I came in the afternoon from Norway. It is a beautiful hotel next to the Parliament building, with a large park surrounded by amazing flower beds.
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| Black kale as a flower! |
We checked in with our TravelQuest guide, Josepha, and accepted our Total Eclipse t-shirts (fun). Then we explored! This trip is for exploring every day. Reykjavik was preparing for possibly the biggest celebration they have every year - Pride Day. What colors!
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| I interpret this as the heart of Iceland - volcanoes |
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| Callout to Nordic mythology and Odin's crow |
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| I call this church The Normal Curve Church because it's almost a Gaussian shape. But it's really named Hallgrimskirkja |
There's a stylized Viking ship sculpture on the shoreline representing the promise of exploration, a dream of hope, progress and freedom. The artist was Jon Gunnar Arnesan and it is called Sun Voyager.
We boarded the ship on the morning of the 5th of August, as a storm was blowing into Iceland. The crew handed out seasickness medicines and the vessel raced across the Denmark Strait toward northeast Greenland. We made it!
This post was heavy on links, because there was so much introduction you need to understand our adventure. We had so many wonderful experiences, great people, lots of lectures on everything from geology to microscopic underwater life, taking hikes and Zodiac rides to explore, and chasing that elusive hole in the clouds to watch the eclipse! What a rush! Follow our wild ride...
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