A pyramid shaped calved iceberg rests atop an ice floe Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland
Ice points on an ice floe Calved iceberg, Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland Breiðamerkurjökull glacier, Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland
A steely blue iceberg near Jökulsárlón, Iceland. The darker the color of the ice, the older it is.
The Breiðamerkurjökull glacier slips slowly into the Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon in the southern part of Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland
34 stone eggs created by Iclandic artist Sigurour Guðmundsson represent the 34 native species of bird that nest around Merry Bay (Eggin í Gleðivík in Icelandic).
Iceland gull (Larus glaucoides) rests atop a rock overlooking the sea.
Bird Afloat in the water 2 - brown and white duck type bird.
Bird floating in the water
A mottled gray, black and white bird afloat on the water leaves a blue wake behind it, Iceland, summer of 2021.
All but a tail is viewed of a humpback whale as it submerges beneath the icy cold Atalantic waters off Iceland.
An Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) makes a snack of a small fish along the shore.
Dynjandi Waterfall, meaning "thunderous" or "resounding", cascades 330 feet and is reminiscent of a bridal veil spreading out as the water falls.
Dynjandi Waterfall, meaning "thunderous" or "resounding", cascades 330 feet and is reminiscent of a bridal veil spreading out as the water falls.
Kirkjufell, the most photographed mountain peak in Iceland, rises 463 meters (1,519 feet) above the Snæfellsnes peninsula, near the town of Grundarfjörður.
Juvenile and adult Icelandic gulls standing abreast on the cliffs.
Icelandic sheep in a fenced in area of grass overlooking the water.
Icelandic turf house built of stone and birch timbers nestled in a grass covered caldera.
Icelandic turf houses built of stone, birch timbers and green with grass roofs.
Green cliffs rise above the inlet of Heymaey Island, the largest of the Westmann Island Archipelago.
Northern gannets (Morus bassanus) populate the Stori Karl and Skorvik Cliffs.
Iceberg blue and low in the waters of the Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon belies the fact it is some 10 meters (30 feet) in height.
A "newer", white glacial calve rests along the Blue Iceberg - Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon - Iceland
Dynjadi Waterfall, Iceland, in the distance accentuates the bow of the cruise ship, "National Geographic Explorer"

Summer, 2021, Iceland

Our land of lakes forever fair below blue mountain summits,
of swans, of salmon leaping where the silver water plummets,
of glaciers swelling broad and bare above earth’s fiery sinews —
the Lord pour out his largess there as long as earth continues!

Jónas Hallgrímsson

When we arrived at the Reykjavik airport it was a drab, rainy, day which fortunately was an exception to the magnificent, sunny, weather that graced our entire circumnavigation of Iceland.

After a city tour shortened by the inability to visit the National Museum due to COVID-19 restrictions, we boarded our home away from home, the National Geographic Explorer, which had previously taken us to Antarctica, the Falklands, South Georgia and the British Isles.

Maria Rosa Costanzo, MD, FACC, FAHA

Dr. Costanzo is a cardiologist, philanthropist, mother, adventurer, photographer, and reveler in life. When she is not writing or presenting on heart health, wellness and all other things ‘cardiology’, she can be found shooting images or compiling these into books for her family and friends.