Thursday, Friday

Sept. 7 and 8

Akureyri and At Sea

Thursday, Sept. 7: Akureyri  

Akureyri: another port town well down into a fiord

Today would be unique….  We would actually go on the excursion/tour that we had signed up for prior to the start of the cruise.  We were going on a different day than was originally planned, but at least it was the same basic tour.  We would be visiting the “Jewels of the North”: several places of interest and with beautiful sights to see.  It would have been better if it had not been cloudy with a light rain most of the time, but at least we were out and exploring.

As we approached the port and town of Akureyri, a small but colorful tug boat came out to greet us and escort us into town.  (You will see it later.)  It was not really necessary, but seemed to be a pleasant and colorful welcome.  Akureyri is the largest town in the northern parts of Iceland and, at 19,000 people, is the largest town outside of the capital region surrounding Reykjavik.  Like most towns in the northern parts of Iceland, it was located well into a fiord and had a well-protected natural harbor.

After docking, we soon got organized into our tour groups and loaded into our bus and made the hour ride to our first stop at Godafoss waterfall.  Remember what I told you about “foss” at the end of a word?  It holds true here as Godafoss can literally be translated as God’s Waterfall.  When the early settlers discovered Godafoss, they naturally came up with several myths and tales explaining its existence and attributing its creation to the various gods of the time. 

The top and main falls of Godafoss

There were several paved walkways to and around Godafoss so we explored the area as best we could.  Between the light rain and the mist coming off the waterfall, everything was wet and, while the waterfall was impressive, it would have been much more beautiful under a bright blue sky and being able to see the mountains in the distance.  The layout of the falls reminded me very much of Nigara falls, with the smaller falls to the left (like American Falls) and the larger falls in a curved shape to the right (like the Canadian Horseshoe Falls).  We slowly worked our way back toward the parking lot, taking in the various views as we did.

People observing Godafoss from many overlooks

As at the Gullfoss waterfall several days previously, some people got a bit adventuresome in exploring various overlooks: a bit more adventuresome than we were.  We were happy with the views from the walkways, or at least close to them, like this video of the main falls and downriver.  Like most of the rivers in Iceland, this one starts with glacier melt, but most the water actually comes from rain runoff, especially during the rainy season.

After the main falls, there were a series of smaller falls with the river finally calming and flowing under a pedestrian bridge and the main vehicle bridge just slightly downstream.

Taken from a pedestrian bridge over the river.

After getting our views of the falls and river, we headed back to the parking area and the gift shop and restaurant there: we had a bit of a “mission” (and I don’t mean the restrooms).  We had been warned that our next couple of stops would include many small and irritating flies and our guide recommended that we purchase “fly-nets” to put around our heads to reduce the nuisance factor.  The flies don’t sting or bite, but they do fly toward your eyes and nose and are very unpleasant.  We ran into the same problem several years ago in about as opposite a place and conditions as you can imagine, in the very hot and dry Australian Outback.  The gift shop sells the fly-nets and they were doing a good business in them. 

Back in the bus, we headed for our next stop, the Namaskard geothermal field.  This was somewhat similar to the Giyser geothermal field we visited on the “Golden Circle” tour back in Reykjavik, but no geysers here, just lots of steam vents and bubbling mud pools.

Entering Namaskard geothermal field

In several places, a pile of rocks had been placed on top of steam vents, possibly to better disperse the steam and minimize the chance of some one getting scalded.  The rocks in these stacks had had accumulated yellow Sulphur deposits from the escaping steam.  Throughout the field, the odor of Sulphur Dioxide (the “rotten eggs” smell) was pervasive.  

Sulphur from the gasses has collected on the rocks.

You can probably get a better idea of the size of the geothermal field and the various activity in this short composite video showing several of the features.  You will notice the flies buzzing around all the time.

Cooking eggs on a vent

On one of the stacks of rocks with steam coming out, someone had placed a couple of eggs in a mesh bag and then put that on the stack where some steam was escaping.  I suspect they will very soon have some hard-boiled eggs.  I just hope they don’t taste like the Sulphur Dioxide smells.

Our next stop was at the Dimmuborgir lava field where lava flows, “bubbles” of lava, lava tubes, and other phenomena had created many large and strange shapes of black lava.  This is another subject of many Icelandic folk tales with trolls being the primary characters in many of them.  We followed our guide through (as we later found out) a relatively small part of the lava field, staying on the paved paths to avoid getting lost.

Signs to various parts of the area: easy to get lost

There were many strange shapes, including holes you could walk through and formations that looked like a person’s face (with a little imagination).  We had started on the trails directly from our bus and had not really stopped to take a look from a higher vantage point.  When we left the lower level of the trails and climbed up to the over-look area, I was surprised at the extent of the lava field.

Higher viewpoint gives better appreciation of the size and number of mounds

Even the photo just above does not give a good perspective of the size of this place:  check this panoramic video to get a much better feeling for how extensive, and strange looking, this lava field is.

Our next stop, only about 15 minutes away, was for lunch and, by now most people were ready for it, so we didn’t look around much before heading into the restaurant.  We did appreciate getting largely local or Icelandic food, including a soup and a local fish that was mild but tasty.  There was nothing fancy about the meal, but it was hot, filling, and tasty on a cold day and we made the most of it.

We had some time to look around after the meal and. Although it was raining lightly, we walked across the road to fields and hills that overlooked Lake Myvatn.  This lake is known as one of Iceland’s most beautiful lakes, and some photos I saw of it were beautiful, but today it was largely lost in the mist and rain.

Fields across from lunch stop and Lake Myvatn.

Once again, we climbed into the bus and now headed back to Akureyri and the Star Pride. It was a little over an hour ride back, so we arrived at the harbor about mid-afternoon.  From ground level, the town looked like most of the town and villages we had visited, very clean and neat, and well cared for.

Harbor in Akureyri was peaceful and calm.

When we got back on the ship, we took a walk on the upper decks and looked out over the town from that vantage point.  From here we could see that Akureyri was a more business or commercial oriented town than the others we had visited, with a more commercial, almost industrial, appearing downtown area.  Certainly nothing bad, just a little different than the other small towns.

View of Akureyri from the Star Pride

About 5:30, with everyone back on board, we left the dock and headed out to sea.  This was a change from the modified itinerary which had us staying in Akureyri overnight and departing in the morning.  Captain Rowden announced that there was another stormy area approaching and we would have a much smoother ride tomorrow if we got a head start by leaving Akureyri early.

Tug boat came out and put on a show.

On the way out of the fiord, the little tug boat again kept us company for a while.  This time, once we got in the open, the tug captain decided to show off the tug’s maneuverability by putting on a little dance.  You’ll see what I mean in this short video.

This evening we went to the Candles restaurant where the service was a little “extra good” and the food a little different from the main Amphora restaurant.  On most cruises, Candles would be an “al fresco” experience, dining under the stars, but that would not be a good idea on an Iceland cruise.  Candles was hosted in the Veranda restaurant so the atmosphere was a bit lacking and the tables a bit closer together to be really comfortable, but it was a pleasant meal.

This evening was the traditional “Crew Talent Show”.  True to normal form, there were some crew members with surprisingly good singing/musical talents.  I’ve heard some people say that the crew should not be required/expected to put in the extra time and effort to perform in these shows, but my definite impression is that they really enjoy it.  When you compliment any of the performers the next day, they just beam with pride and seem to have really enjoyed it.  After the talent show, it was on to the Compass Rose, music, dancing, and cognac.

Friday, Sept. 8: At Sea

Today would be a day “at sea” as we headed around the northwest corner of Iceland, then down the west coast, back to Reykjavik.  For much of the time it was a rather, er…  “interesting” ride.  For most of the morning we had basically a following sea, so the ship was mainly “pitching” up and down through the waves.   The ship was just slightly longer than the distance between the waves, so the ride was reasonably smooth.   You can see the swells lined up next to the ship in the photo below. 

Typical view during the day

About noon, I think we made the turn around the northwest corner and headed more southerly and now we encountered waves and swells crossing from multiple directions, causing the ship to more around quite a bit more.  You can get some idea of this change from this composite video:  the first part is from the morning with a reasonable following sea, while the last part is from the late afternoon with a mixture of sea conditions and lots of ship movement.

The only scheduled activity for the day was a mid-afternoon “Champagne tasting”.  (I put Champagne tasting in quotes because only one of the wines was actually Champagne: the others were a Prosecco and a French sparkling wine not from the Champagne region.)

Champagne tasting just getting started

There were only three wines, but the sommelier did a good job of presenting the wines and there were snacks (strawberries and several cheeses) that were well matched to show off the attributes of the different wines.   The tasting was somewhat lightly attended and I suspect that some of the passengers were beginning to feel the effects of the waves. 

Throughout the day there were quite a few people in the forward lounge, where we spent quite a bit of time.  It offered comfortable chairs, good light for reading, a nice little coffee shop, and a 180 degree view of the outside.  By mid-afternoon I was beginning to “notice” the ship’s motion: never getting really upset, but several times I did seek out seating toward the center of the ship to minimize the apparent movement.  As long as I was busy and not thinking about the motion, I was fine, so I tried to keep busy.  About 6:00 there was the Captain’s farewell reception in the main lounge and it was somewhat lightly attended and not quite as lively as such receptions tend to be.

This evening we had out last dinner in the Amphora restaurant and it was also lightly attended, probably only about a third to a half full.  We assumed that a significant number of people did not want to even think about eating. After dinner we headed to the Compass Rose but it was effectively deserted.  From a normal crowd of 40 to 50 people, we saw a maximum of 8 people (including us).  The band was playing, but with the movement of the ship, there was no way anyone was going to get up and try to dance.  We had our normal cognac, said good-by to the band, and headed to our cabin to finish packing.

End of Chapter 3:  Akureyri and At Sea

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