From the 1,200 year old Icelandic Sagas to the stories we’ve heard from folks who visit Iceland, again and again, people just can’t stop talking about the place. It was finally time for us to get our own sense of the Land of Fire and Ice.
Our ship’s first port of call was Akureyri, “the Capital of North Iceland.”
The weather was in the mid 50’s and sunny so we set out on foot. The Akureyri Museum was interesting as was the lovely botanical garden. Lunch was at a backpackers cafe where we met our buddies Mike and Nancy for relatively inexpensive fish sandwiches and beer.
The next morning we arrived at Isafjordur in a region called the the Westfiords. While the fjord was majestic, the weather was bleak. I was recovering from a Greenlandic cold so I didn’t even get off the ship. Judy opted to explore a wee bit as her back was continuing to heal.
On day 13 of our cruise, we arrived at our final destination - the capital city of Reykjavík. Coincidentally, Mike and Nancy had booked the same hotel as us so, after dropping off our bags, the four of us explored the town.
A former student of Judy's, named Terrence, has an Icelandic friend who arranged for us to attend a popular entertainment call “The Lava Show.” We learned a lot about volcanos (there are 130 in Iceland!) and got to watch a fascinating live lava flow.
This was all very nice but, so far, we had only seen the coastline and three towns in Iceland. While they were each interesting, it is the countryside that most people talk about. But that rates a post of its own…
You forgot to mention the awesome main dining room companions you had on the ship! Looks like you kids are continuing to enjoy your adventure!
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