Our adventure for the day was a train from Southampton to Winchester.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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
Today, we went about the day in reverse direction as the itinerary stated. Our tour guide did not want to be around other tour buses and he did not want to rush us as it was such a gorgeous day. Wait until you see how this terrific day ended!
It took me a while to come up with the right phrase to sum up this pristine, almost sterile looking country and I’ve settled on “ruggedly beautiful.”
Djupalonssandur’s Beach has four giant lifting stones used to test fishermen’s strength. Many sagas and tales are strongly connected with this dramatic black pebble beach. Djúpalónssandur is considered to be one of the most famous elves and trolls locations in Iceland. According to folklore, Karl (male troll) and Kerling (female troll) are thought to be trolls that were turned into stones when they saw daylight. These two troll formations are well known all over Iceland. Söngklettur rock, known as the Singing Rock holds a mythical reputation as the Church of the Elves. When we were there, we heard the waves make an audible “crackling” sound when the tide recedes, resembling a rainmaker. . Along the way, you will notice chucks of rusted metal which are the remnants of the British trawler Epine GY7. 14 seamen drowned when the ship sunk on March 13, 1948. As parts of the wreck washed ashore, it was decided to leave them on the shore as a memorial.
Snæfellsjökull serves as the entrance to the subterranean journey in Jules Verne’s classic science fiction novel, Journey to the Center of the Earth, (1864). While trying to discern whether Verne actually visited Iceland, a Czechoslovak-Icelandic science party discovers an ancient alien outpost in the cave system under Snæfellsjökull. While I have not read the book, the characters in the book were apparently spewed out in a volcano called Stromboli in southern Italy! When we sailed past Stromboli last year on this exact same ship, the volcano was actually active and erupted a few weeks later!
We stopped to take photos of giant, protruding cliff with beautiful volcanic rock formations.
We also visited Arnarstapi, a quaint fishing hamlet but I’m sure it was a shopping opportunity stop in disguise!
Our last stop before heading back to the ship was Helgafell, ‘the holy mountain,’ which plays a pivotal part in the Laxdœla Saga, an ancient Icelandic love story. It is also believed that if you hike to the top of the mountain without looking back or uttering a word you will get 3 wishes fulfilled. This only works the first time you hike the mountain though. The town dog was not sure what to think of us but as we got off the bus, he decided we were okay after all!
As we boarded the bus to head back to the ship, the tour guide informed us that he had phoned his office and asked that the ship be notified we were on our back but he wanted us to enjoy the glorious day so we would not be rushing! As you can see, when we got to the port, the ship was loading up the tenders. Only one tender was left out for passengers which was our entire group: we held up the ship’s departure by thirty minutes. I was forever grateful we were on a ship sponsored excursion and not on our own!
We took the Golden Circle tour in Reykjavik which took us on a full-day journey. The day started with a scenic drive to Thingvellir National Park where we walked through the tectonic rift. The park was established in 1930 as a historical, cultural and geological shrine. This breathtaking rift valley features Iceland’s largest natural lake and a rich history tied to the formation of Icelandic Parliament in 930 A.D.
Our next stop was Gullfoss Waterfall, whose rushing water tumbles over a natural tiered ‘staircase’ to plunge down a deep ravine.
From there, we visited Strokkur, an explosive geyser whose steamy spouts sometimes blast 60 feet skyward. Though we saw the geyser go off while getting off the bus, we did not catch a 60 footer while we were standing there waiting.
The Icelandic lunch we were served was the best lunch I have ever had on any excursion anywhere in the world. I think we had to wait a few minutes because the fishing boat was still offloading the catch of the day. The salmon we were served was fresh, cooked to perfection and guess what, it was served with rice! The food was served family style and all 5 of us at the table were so ever to dig in no one took a photo of this great meal. It will be long before anything can beat that meal!
After lunch, we visited Hellisheidi, the world’s second largest power station, which employs geothermal forces from three volcanic systems dating back 11,000 years.
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