Chasing the sun away
Friday, Aug.7, 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
Reykjavik, Iceland
We’re on our way again, perhaps to escape the sweltering summer heat and drought in Colorado. An overnight flight to Frankfurt and on to Reykjavik, Iceland. It is chilly in Iceland, as predicted. Packing for a trip to experience the solar eclipse on the edge of the Arctic Circle in the North Atlantic is challenging when the thermometer reads 101. Today it was 55 degrees, but felt like 44! Our systems are experiencing whiplash!
Lucy occupying the empty suitcase…anticipating a few lonely days. Team Lucy will visit her twice daily and she’s got her birdwatching to entertain her!
We sail from Reykjavik, Iceland to Dublin, Ireland aboard the Le Lapérouse, an exploration ship in the Ponant fleet. We’ve not sailed on Ponant before, so it will be fun to compare this experience. We have experienced a solar eclipse in Casper, Wyoming and this promises to be entirely different! Le Lapérouse is Ponant’s first Explorer‑class expedition yacht, launched in 2018 and designed for intimate, eco‑forward voyages to remote destinations. The ship can accommodate 184 guests, sails under a French flag and the food is “French-forward gastronomy” Oh la la!
From our flight at 10 pm, sunset light and the moon made an appearance. Looking forward to all the atmospheric and experiences that await! Exhausted, we stumbled into our hotel at 2 am, but have rebounded for a fun day of exploring Reykjavik, sightseeing and shopping. What luck to be here on the day of the Pride Parade — the people watching has been colorful, and we were delighted that the rain has temporarily departed and we actually had some sunshine and blue sky. The clothing, art galleries and souvenir shops were full of tourists and the festivities provided a fun, atmosphere! So far our credit card is obliging our whims!
The buildings are festooned with cool murals and the building are painted a rainbow of colors — an antidote to gray skies and long winter doldrums. Lots of art and wool sweaters, along with the knickknacks, but the eclipse T-shirts are nearly sold out!
