31 July 2024 - Reykjavik, Iceland

This is the third time I've been to Reykjavik, and I was really looking forward to it. This cold is a bit of a bummer, and I didn't want to mix with people to much, so Peter got me a bacon butty from the Grill for breakfast. The plan was to walk into town from the ship, it takes about half an hour and the last time we did it, (in 2015), I really enjoyed it.

But today the weather was a bit on the dull side, and so was I, so it didn't seem quite as enjoyable as last time. But once we got to the "Recycled House", I perked up.

Apparently, it's the home of an Icelandic film director where he created stuff fir his films. It's a fantastic place and you are very welcome to wander and look around. We loved it the first time we visited, and we loved it again today.

From there, we continued the walk into the city. There is a lot to see, good views and all sorts of structures and sculptures.

And then we got to town. Basically we just wandered a little. I wasn't up to a full day of walking, so we visited the cathedral.

And then walked about the area around it. I still love the quirkiness of the place.

And then it was time to go back, we walked back to the took the shuttle bus from the Opera House (amazing building) and once back on board I spent the afternoon going through the worst of the cold, feeling properly sorry for myself. Dinner in the cabin again and a good night's sleep needed - tomorrow is a sea day, and I will need to help Peter with his classes.

30 July 2024 - Isafjordur, Iceland

OK, so now I have a cold. It's going around the ship, and I don't really want to spread it any further. We're in port though and I can get off and away from everybody. The ship was supposed to be docked, but apparently the port authorities haven't dredged the necessary bit for us, so we are having to tender in. Funny how the massive Aida ship was able to berth though.

Spirit of Adventure at anchor in the fjord.

We've not been here before and I've not got round to researching the area. A look on Maps.me shows paths that might be interesting, but a look out from the balcony tells us that getting to any sort of height in the surrounding hills is probably a bad idea. The cloud base was really low and the day felt cold and dreary

After a late breakfast we took our time, with the aim of having a walk about to see what there was to see. In all honesty..... Not much.

We found a supermarket, bought a couple of bananas and some chocolate, and decided to make our way to the edge of the town for a walk up the hill. We could see the path disappeared into the clouds as it rose, but we thought we'd go as far as we could.

Then it was back to enjoy the comforts of the ship and nurse my cold. To avoid spreading it further, we decided to take advantage of room service for our evening meal, which was surprisingly easy. This also meant that we were able to spend time watching from the balcony hoping to see whales as we left the fjord.

And we did! A couple came up to the left of our balcony, towards the front of the ship. They were so close it was the noise of the blow that made us turn and look. Then we saw a few more, some distance away, which Peter was able to film. I haven't worked out what type they were yet - either fin or humpback, but what a thrill, especially when you add the large pod of dolphins that we saw a little later. Awesome.

Room service was OK, eating in the Grill is better, but at least we didn't have to get changed for dinner. The only real hitch was that the little table in the room isn't really big enough for two people to eat from.

Tomorrow we are in Reyjavik which is somewhere we really like. Hopefully my cold will have improved.

29 July 2024 - Akureyri, Iceland

After two days at sea, we have arrived in Akureyri, in the North of Iceland. We've been here before when it was cold with snow on the ground. We tried and failed to get to the Godafoss Waterfall on that occasion, this time we are in luck, since it is an included excursion for the cruise.

Godafoss waterfall is 45 minutes east of Akureyri by bus, and we were on the first set of buses out. It's well worth the drive.

There's a footbridge allowing visitors to access both sides of the falls and Peter and I used up the hour plus that we had at the site, getting back to the bus with just a few minutes to spare. A wonderful place made better by good weather.

Sadly we had to leave, and the bus took us back to Akureyri, with a stop at the botanical gardens on the way. We were back in time for lunch though.

I'm starting to come down with a cold, and my throat is a bit sore - so we decided to take it easy in the afternoon. Next stop Isafjordur tomorrow. Cool.