There is nothing like a road trip with Nigel

Our visit to Wales brought us to rugged coastlines, beautiful beaches, mountainous national parks, landscapes that displayed 50 shades of green with sheep everywhere. Of interest, there are more sheep than people in Wales and they were good looking sheep too.

We had great weather overall except for the day we were trying to make it to the top of Mt. Snowden. The wind was blowing so hard we would have blown off the mountain top if we continued so we only made it 5/8 of the way up to Rocky Point and had to turn back. Next time…

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We visited places with names like Betys-y-Coed, Beddgelert, Dollgellau, Aberystwyth, and Pentre Ifan. The distinctive and complex Welsh language was difficult to read as well as to pronounce. Personally, I gave up trying, but Jay persisted and his pronunciation made for some good laughs along the way!

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, with 58 letter, is the longest place name in the United Kingdom and one of the longest village names in the world. We decided we’d just look at this place name online instead of driving there just to get a photo with it in the background to Nigel’s delight!

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No matter where we went or what we did, we had a terrific time and created lifelong memories

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You just had to be there for some stories!

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Any book worth banning is a book worth reading

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Evening commute outside the town of St. David’s

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Battle of Fishguard Tapestry

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The trip’s final lodging was at Llety Farms, and we definitely saved the best for last. Our hosts could not have been better. Both Jackie and Ian, as well as their farm house was excellent. We also had the good fortune to watch Jackie working the dogs one morning in preparation for their upcoming herding competition. Our breakfast was simply perfect!

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We love this photo 💕

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There is always a pot of gold at the end of every adventure with Nigel! Thank you for all the laughs and fun memories throughout our trip Nigel.

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Sometimes when you meet someone you simply know you want them to be a lifelong friend.  On the voyage to Iceland, we met Christine and David, and we got along immediately. We had wonderful meals and engaging chats, occasionally even over politically forbidden topics!

Christine and David offered to take us on a day outing after the cruise as their home was close to the hotel we would be staying at for a few days.

We met and they took us on a lovely drive to visit Petworth House, which is home to some of the National Trust’s greatest collections. The oldest English terrestrial globe is also kept there. The ceramics, sculptures, and artwork were all just stunning.

Afterwards, we stopped at their beautiful home for tea and more importantly to meet Eva!

The day would not end till we enjoyed a great meal at Diego’s for a platter of ribs and chicken wings!

How lucky are we to meet such wonderful people!

We visited the Cathedral inside and out and even went to the Crypt

We found Jane Austen’s grave and the house she lived in before she died

And enjoyed a beautiful day

We look forward to coming back in two weeks in search of the northern lights in Norway

After a couple of attempts and trying to out-wait the high winds, the captain decided it was too risky to try to bring the ship in at Newcastle. We will have two sea day instead as safety is always priority.
The Angel of the North was completed in 1998 and is believed to be the largest sculpture of an angel in the world. We’ll just have to see it another time

Photo from Wikipedia

The captain wanted to stay ahead of the brewing storm, so instead of going to the Shetland Islands yesterday as planned, we cruised for two days and stopped at Edinburgh instead. Despite the fact that we have been here before, we have never been inside Holyrood, one of the late Queen’s favorite palaces. We were thrilled to get a replacement excursion that will allow us inside!

We snuck inside St. Giles Cathedral

We visited Holyrood Palace though we could not take photos inside and it was beautiful!

We walked the Royal Mile

And we wished we could have stopped here for lunch🙃

What a great day it turned to be!

The town of Seydisfjordur lies at the innermost point of the fjord bearing the same name, surrounded by high mountains. The harbor is apparently one of the best in the country, as the fjord is long and winding and sheltered from the open Atlantic sea. The town’s history which dates around the 19th century revolves around the fishing industry and the community which grew up around it.

We decided to skip our bird watching tour for today as everyone has been telling us the birds have started migrating for winter. Instead, we toured this charming town on our own admiring the wooden Chalet style houses the town is known for.

We checked out the souvenir shops and tried to get a photo of the well-known “Rainbow Street” empty but that was near impossible. We also found a rainbow bench, an art store front with and interesting arrangement of various items along with a flag with the likeness of Che Guevara, which I still have not figured out.

We walked to the beautiful old wooden church often called the “Blue Church” but we could not go in as they were having a funeral service.

After a couple hours of wandering, we pretty much saw the whole town and decided to be first in line heading back to the ship today! Didn’t want to take a chance and try to row back in this boat!

This is our third day in Iceland and I really like this place. The dramatic and dynamic landscapes reminds me of the Big Island, my favorite Hawaiian island.

The Godafoss Waterfalls were beautiful, a mini Niagara Falls

Land of the Trolls

Our tour guide pointed out this rift as one of the sites that geologists are investigating to determine how the two plates are separated. Jay is standing on the North American plate and I’m on the Eurasian plate.

We made a stop at Skutustadir where we discovered large craters situated on the southern shore of Lake Myvatn called pseudo, or rootless craters. They were formed when lava overflowed the lakeshore’s sodden ground. They have the fluffiest sheep in Iceland. They get sheared in winter and stay indoors till spring. The horses roam free, they could be owned by someone or just out on their own. They were all beautiful and always made me think of my friend Shelley who loves horses.

Small black flies (midges or “no-see-’ems”) populate the Lake Myvatn area. Although they don’t bite, they can be quite annoying. Of interest, “no-see-’ems” are plentiful where we live and ours bite!

Our last stop before returning to the ship was Namaskard to witness boiling hot mud pools with dense vapors that cloak the hot sulfur pits at one of the most active volcanic areas on Iceland.

Maybe this is why I found Akureyri so beautiful!

The hearts lit up all over town as a consequence of the finance crash in Iceland in year 2008, when there was a need for some positive thinking and to put emphasis on what really matters. This was instigated by the former mayor of Akureyri, Eiríkur Björn Björgvinsson.

Catching up with old acquaintances

Pleasant Surprises

Over lunch, we overheard this couple, Rolly and Yolly, describing to one of the ship’s servers where they were from in the Philippines. It turns out that we are from the same province, same town, attended the same school, and know someone in common. To top it off, they both reside in the Bay Area, Yolly worked at a lab nearby the hospital I worked at in Berkeley, and Rolly retired from BART, where Jay also retired from. It’s a small world after all!

And best of all, making new friends across the pond!

Christine and David live just outside of Southampton. We’ve enjoyed many fun evenings and meals together during the cruise. They will be taking us to Petworth House when we get off the ship. Looking forward to our chicken wings lunch too!

Just when you should be sleeping and you look out the balcony of your cabin and find this!

The Northern Lights from Icelandic Sea