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!

Day 6 of our Iceland Cruise - Not Husavik

Our first view of Iceland

We woke quite late, had a leisurely breakfast, and went upstairs to get the first views of Iceland. The Voyager was due to dock at Husavik at midday, and we would be straight off to escort the Whale Watching tour, so we wouldn't really have time for lunch, except they laid on the meal early (starting at 11.15). It seemed like no sooner had we had breakfast, we were eating our midday sandwiches prior to the tour.

The wind was pretty strong, and I had thought it might affect the tour, but the Shore Excursion team told me that they'd not been told of any problems and it would go ahead, but.........

Husavik from the fjord

But the wind was too much for the ship, and the Captain couldn't get her to the dock. He apologised, and we sat out in the fjord for an hour or so hoping the wind would die down. Instead, it got worse. On the plus side, the clouds were blown away, the skies turned blue, and the air warmed in the glorious sunshine.

Iceland looking beautiful in the glorious sunshine

The Capt came on over the loudspeaker system again to tell us that there was no way he could get the ship docked in this weather. He'd contacted our next port, Akureyi, and although the wind was pretty bad there as well, it was a lot more sheltered, and they had a tug that could help. So the anchor was lifted and off we chugged.

The wind catching the surface of the waves, creating little funnels of spray

And we took the scenic route. That is, the Captain took the ship into the next fjord so that we could enjoy the breathtaking views....... and it was stunning! We all stood on the top deck, almost blown away by the scenery, and almost the same again by the wind.

But eventually they closed the decks and the clouds came over and we went back inside. We didn't venture back out again until after dinner (which was lovely again by the way). We were sat enjoying a quiet drink when one of the lecturers came to tell us that if we went out on the back deck we could see the Northern Lights. And we did!

OK, the green glowing curtain didn't appear that strongly, and the lights from the town sort of dimmed the effect, but it was still wonderful.

I was very disappointed not to have been able to go whale watching today, but tomorrow we do not have any escorting duties so we get to wander freely. I wonder what Akureyri is like?

Day 5 of our Eclipse tour - The Eclipse

The anticipation on the ship was tangible as everyone was up early and eager for the event of the cruise. The moon was due to start covering the sun at 08.43, and continue on that path until it completely hid it at "totality" at 09.44. Despite the rough seas and miserably dark overcast sky, everyone was out on deck by quarter to 9, us included.

But as I said, the sky was miserably dark and overcast - ever so often the clouds would part slightly and show us a vague outline of the sun, and everyone was full of hope. We were all armed with our silly eclipse specs, photographers had covered their camera lenses, and everyone waited.........

And then the clouds parted. Just enough to see it - there.... the moon was starting to move into the sun's path. Using our silly specs we could see the dark shape of the moon, edging into the sun's path and blocking the rays. And then it was gone again.

But the clouds repeatedly parted, acting as filters so that we didn't need the specs. And each time the moon was covering more and more of the sun, until the sun began to look like the moon, a bright, bright crescent in the sky, getting thinner and thinner - smaller and smaller until there was just the tiniest sliver.

And then the clouds covered the scene again. People waited and the world went dark........... Properly dark, as if it was night time. Quite weird.


And just as everyone was about to give up hope the clouds parted to show us the eclipse. The dark circle of the moon outlined by the bright light of the sun. Quite a spectacle!  I didn't take any pictures, but Peter managed. Here's the one I stole off him.

Total Eclipse, from MV Voyager 20 Mar 2013

After such an event, the world returned to normal. People swapped camera stories, Peter started getting ready for his class and everyone started to notice that the rough seas that I mentioned at the start of this post were getting rougher.

I managed to help Peter get his class ready, but I had to come downstairs and lie down by midday, as did a lot of other passengers. But it eased off and by 5 o'clock I was back upstairs and hungry. We made do with half a tube of Pringles until dinner time.

After another delicious steak dinner we listened to Derek Aidoo, the Cruise Director in the Darwin Lounge. He's actually a very good singer, and obviously enjoys it. We're due to visit Husavic in Iceland tomorrow and down for escorting a whale watching excursion. I am so looking forward to it.