Day 7 of our cruise - Akureyri

We arrived at Akureyri about 7pm last night. I should have explained this, as it was at Akureyri that we saw the Northern Lights, from the back deck of the ship. We spent a very still night in Port, and woke quite early ready to venture out and see what we could of the little town. It's Peter's Birthday today, and as we opened the door of the cabin I walked into a few streamers dangling from above the doorway which were attached to balloons. Our cabin steward burst into laughter at our puzzled faces, and came to wish Peter a Happy Birthday. What a nice touch. Obviously organised by the ship, but very thoughtful nevertheless.

After a good breakfast we were out of the port and ready to find our way about the town. aActually, what we were really after, if possible, was to get to the Godafoss waterfalls. We checked with the bus driver, who didn't know which buses went that way (and buses are free in Iceland), and then we checked with a taxi driver who told us it would cost around £100 to get out there. This is still cheaper than the ship organised tour, and might have been good if we found another couple of passengers who also wanted to go...... But not for us today.


This seal was investigating a little pool we passed as we walked into town.  Lovely to see

Instead we satisfied ourselves with a pleasant walk along a small river that runs along the outer edges of the town. There is a proper path suitable for a wheelchair or a pram, and if you cast your gaze to the right view and from the right angle, you could almost cut out any semblance of the town and be in the middle of the country.  There's a little power station and a small gorge along the way.

We took the walk as far as we dared, until we reached the top of the town. From there we walked back down straight through the middle, enjoying a cup of tea and a pastry from a very nice little bakery come cafe about half way. I was under the impression that Iceland was very expensive, but our little teastop worked out at about £6, so not bad at all.
We carried on to take quick look at the church, from where we got a good view of our ship, and then through the little town centre back to the Voyager.

The Voyager from Akureyri Church

We noted that there is plenty of wi-fi available in the coffee shops and bars whilst we passed through, ready to take advantage of later. So it was a quick lunch and then back into the little town for a beer and bit of broadband.

Akureyri Town Centre

Eider ducks in the bay as we made our way back to the ship

When we got back to our cabin, we discovered our cabin steward had left Peter another present.

Towel art in honour of Peter's Birthday

As we left Akureyri, everyone marvelled at the beauty of the fjord and the mountains under the beautiful blue sky. But the Captain had warned us. Once back out to sea, the wind would increase and the sea swell would start chucking the ship around again. In fact, the weather was so bad that he'd already checked and we are not going to be able to get into our next port of Grundarfjordur. We are heading straight for Rekjavik and should arrive about 6pm tomorrow night. (There were lots of groans from the passengers, as many of them were looking forward to our next stop, which is exceptionally scenic it seems.)

Leaving Akureyri

Luckily, the weather gods saved the wind and snow until after dinner and the end of the cabaret in the Darwin Lounge. So at about 10.30 I took advantage of the fact that it was bedtime and jumped into bed as the ship started to lurch about.

Tomorrow is another sea day then, as we make our way to Rekjavik. Peter will have another class, and I am hoping I will have found my sea legs at last, as I'm fed up of feeling groggy and nauseaus every time the sea gets rough. As Peter says..... Bring it on!