Akureyri, Iceland. After a two hour horse back ride I found a precious lamb close to the barn. 

Husavik, Iceland A man who works on the whale watching ships smiles for an environmental portrait. 

Dentifoss, Iceland. Most powerful waterfall in Iceland. 

Our last day in Akureyri and might I add last expedition day in all was truly a great one. To start the day off we drove 30  minutes to a horse riding place and got ready to ride the most beautiful horses. They were Icelandic horses and they had long luscious manes. The instructors specifically told us that we could not wear any of our leather riding clothes from the states because of the diseases that our horses could carry. The Icelandic horses are very healthy and it would be a huge issue if one of the horses on the island became infected with something that our horses have. But since I'm not a horseback rider I did not have to worry. They gave us a horse according to what level we were on and I said intermediate, which ended up being okay. I got on my beautiful horse named something hard to pronounce so I just said the closest thing to it which was "Eldo." Eldo was an old horse and he knew his way very well. I was lucky to have him because he was a very sweet horse. Seeing everyone get on their horse was hilarious.  We started off slow and I was bit uncomfortable. I decided to just relax and try to remember everything I knew about riding, which was not much but enough. I was in front of the line and the whole scene of the mountains and streams was too perfect. I honestly felt like I was in a movie. Everything was just so picturesque. I wanted to go faster on the horse and so the instructor prepared us to gallop. Now that was my favorite part. I galloped for a good 7 minutes along  the grassy fields. I loved it. It was suprisingly smooth and exciting at the same time. A little bumpy at first but I did something a bit odd; I trusted the horse. I just held on and trusted the horse. We galloped twice in the two hour period and it was amazing. After the ride was done, I did not want to leave Eldo. But I did and walked over to where two lambs were lying down. Of course Cindy is snapping pictures like crazy of the lambs and saying in a very light voice, "Oh my god look at the lambs." It was so great. But I wanted to hold the lamb, so I walked straight up to her and picked her up. She was so precious and I loved holding her! So after that everyone came up and starting holding the lambs. We headed back to the hostel and had lunch. Our next task was to do a scavenger hunt around Akureyri. Everyone got into their groups and we walked around the city shopping, taking pictures, and meeting people. The day was great and Tota had a delicious indian dinner waiting.

Tomorrow morning we have a 7 hour bus ride to Reykjavik and there we get situated to go home. Tomorrow night is also our last dinner out in the city and then we leave early the next morning. I am going to miss Iceland so much and all the people I have met here. I would just like to shout out to my mom and thank her for sending me on the most spectacular trip I have ever been on. From seeing waterfalls to whales and walking on glaciers. Iceland has been a tremendous triumph. My group has turned into a little family and we have all gotten to be so close. I will especially miss Peter and Erika. They have been awesome and taught me so much and more about photography and traveling. I have come out of this trip a way better photographer and traveler than before.

Alex

After 3 nights in Hofn we left early this morning and embarked on a 7 hour bus ride to Akureyki. About 6 hours into the trip, Austin see's a sign for an auto museum and of course freaks out. He asks to go and Peter says yes. So we get to the auto museum and it is a medium size house and in front of the house was 10 or 15 old cars. So we walk inside and its this amazing collection of classic cars in pretty good condition for how old they are. Austin enlightened us with his knowledge of cars and it was very interesting to learn about the history.  My favorites were the 1954 green mercedes and the 1952 black Packard.  The man who currently owns the museum, took it over when his father died. His father started a car garage and collecting in the early 1950s. So overall it was a very cool experience. We were only a few minutes away from Akureyki when I began to see these beautiful mountains peaking from underneath the fog and a town in the distance...we had finally arrived! We got settled in our hostel and saw our friends from Holland that we met in Hofn. I unpacked and began to do the usual editing/down time. While doing that, the boys brought in pizza and we had ourselves a little pizza party! Funny because the pizza was from dominoes... haha.  Now it is morning, and my roommates, Paige and Erika, and I are getting ready for whale watching! Today is the summer solstice so it will definitely be a long and eventful day.

Alex

Fishing Museum in Hofn, Iceland. 

Little boy gets into defense position while playing soccer in Hofn, Iceland

A couple of american/french guys strike a pose by their land rover Defender.

Erika sports her stylish hiking boots while hiking a mountain in Hofn, Iceland. 

Moss covered rocks stand out on a rocky beach in Hofn, Iceland. 

Mountain in Hofn, Iceland. My group and I formed a square and slowly approached the sheep. They of course saw us and took off, but I chased after them to get this shot. 

Looking out at the view, I watch Chase use the tripod to shoot a bird in flight photo. 

Black sand beach is located across from the Iceberg Lagoon. Chunks of Iceberg are scattered through out the black sand and intact icebergs are seen in the water from the shore.