Voyage of the Vikings, Day 27 - Reykjavik, Iceland Second Day

6:30am - our first and only night in port seemed unnaturally quiet, without the bed rocking us to sleep.

Weather this morning is more of the same - overcast and threatening, temperature 51, barometer 29.0 and steady, wind calm. We are told that the name Reykjavik means hazy inlet. It seems to fit. This is the North Atlantic. Deal with it.

Kathy Stokes the Inner Woman

In Preparation for Another Power Tour

Today's tour holds a lot of promise. I hope HAL doesn't screw it up. Called the Golden Circle, it is a trip through the volcanic countryside outside of Reykjavik. I hope to confirm (or deny) what I heard yesterday about Iceland being the only place in the world where a hot spot exists under a mid-ocean rift. This interesting stuff! We'll see if it's 8 hours interesting.

8:20am, on another tour bus (our last!). Keith in the back seat (his preference). The good news is, this tour guide speaks very good English, and the PA system is working well.

First we hear the Icelandic view, which is that the British, then the United States invaded Iceland at the start of WW II, against the will of the Icelanders, who wished to remain neutral. In view of the islands highly strategic location, neutrality probably wasn't in the cards. It is rumored that a guy named Adolf had similar interests in Iceland, as a German naval and air base.

The tour guide points out a local empty distribution building, victim of the bad economy. I hope this tour improves.

Our tour guide has a British accent. She informs us she came to Iceland from Australia in 1994. Now I know why we can understand her.

Our guide points out a small suburb where a lot of people have lost their homes. Depressing.

We stop at a spot on the Mid-Atlantic Rift named Dingvellir. It's impressive in it's own right, but doubly so because of it's geological significance. This is what Keith came to Iceland to see, and to photograph! Please bear with me, as it is causing me a lot of anguish to avoid launching into a lecture on plate tectonics, one of my favorite subjects. We took lots of pictures, a few of which are displayed below.

Crack in the Bottom of the Atlantic Ocean

Emerges onto Dry Land in Iceland

Looking North, the Crack Widens

to Accommodate a Footpath

Kathy Joins the Hikers through the Crack

Keith Rides the Bus to the Bottom

And Pauses to Photograph the Pretty Flowers

A Pretty Babbling Brook

Descends the Into the Rift

The countryside is beautiful, but difficult to photograph through a bus window. Our driver takes us on a short cut over an unpaved, one lane road. Kinda sorta bumpy, sitting in the back of the bus. As are the numerous hairpin turns, where we get whipsawed at the rear of the overhang. The tour guide laments that the verdant green of summer is past, and the grass is already starting to show it's fall colors. Looks pretty green to us.

A Small Icelandic Village

Nestles at the Base of the Mountain

Camping is Popular in Iceland

A Small Resort Community

Provides Respite for Busy Reykjavikians

Next stop is a hot spring, with gift shop and hotel, where we are to have lunch. We hate to seem jaded, but having visited Yellowstone, the mother of all hot spots, this seems kinda plain vanilla. I hope lunch is good.

Icelandic Geyser

Viking Troll Guards the Lunchroom Entrance

1pm and lunch is history. On a scale of 1 to 4 COWS, we shall give it a 2.5. Decent cream of yesterday's vegetable soup, a nice size piece of somewhat fishy salmon, mixed veggies, and very good boiled new potatoes. A very small piece of candy for dessert.

After lunch we drive a short distance to Gulfoss Falls. If you believe the Google Earth map Keith printed and brought with him, there are at least four places with that name. Kathy hiked out the trail to photograph the falls, while Keith sat on the wall.

Gulfoss Falls

After stopping at the falls, we drive to another rest stop with opportunity for retail therapy. While Kathy shopped, Keith snapped a few pix of the quintessential Icelandic scenery.

Mt. Hekla, the most active Icelandic Volcano

Edge of the Icelandic Ice Sheet

On closer examination we discover that the balance of this tour replicates the tour we took yesterday. We inquire if we can get off at the boat, and are informed that we wren't going that way. Oh well.

Keith is anxious to return to the boat to spend some of our precious internet dollars to check up on Hurricane Bill. When I checked it this morning, it had sustained winds of 135mph, which a strong category three. The projected track places it just off of the east coast of Newfoundland Monday morning, then moving east northeast. We depart western Greenland Monday morning, headed southwest. Unless we change our route, we will brush the northern edge of Bill Monday night or Tuesday. We hope the captain is paying attention.

On our way back to town we stop to see a volcanic crater. Very deep, very steep sided, very impressive. Along the way, we see more truly impressive Icelandic scenery, and hear stories about how bad the snow is in winter.

A Volcanic Crater Near Reykjavik

Lava Field, With a Thin veneer of Greenery

Reykjavik Suburb

Then another stop for potty, ice cream, and more retail therapy.

Last stop the pearl, again, then a mercifully quick drive through town and back to the ship. We shouldn’t complain. This was a mostly very good tour. We just did not realize that the last part duplicated yesterday’s tour. Had we realized this, we would have saved our time, energy, and money yesterday.

It's 4:20pm and Keith is in the Crow's Nest, waiting for our 5:30 sail away. Kathy remained ashore to do more shopping in the terminal building. I hope she makes it aboard in time for sail away. I would miss her. The cocktail hour entertainment includes a female vocalist today. She sings mostly older songs, appropriate to the geriatric crowd. She is a pretty good singer.

Cocktail Hour Entertainment in the Crow’s Nest

Sail away tonight could be interesting. We are portside to a dock, with another cruise boat aft and a breakwater just off the bow. It's blowing about 20 off the starboard bow.

Our only option, as I see it, is to move sideways to starboard about a half a boat length, then go ahead like hexx out of the harbor. Hazzards, in additipn to those already mentioned, are an island about one boat length to starboard, and a narrow channel between rocks and an island outside the docking area. I shall be interested to see if the captain has tugs standing by for this operation.

4:50pm, and it is official. The captain has announced that he has two tugs standing by for our departure. Kathy is back aboard. She said that the local port security guy at the entrance to the dock said last week it was blowing like this, and a cruise boat was unable to depart. Apparantly our captain, or our vessel (or both) are more capable, or more daring. Whatever transpires, it is reassuring to know that the band will play on.

5:53pm, and we are under weigh. We had a tug shoving our port bow sideways to get us off the dock. He let the bow lead the stern, then sort of paused as soon as the bow cleared the green buoy marking the breakwater. Recall that the buoyage is reversed here; it's green right returning in this part of the world.

Right now we are headed for the opposite shore. I sure hope he kicks the stern to starboard, soon. We seem to be just about dead in the water just at the moment, but not pointed quite in the right direction.

It's five minutes later, we are pointed in the right direction, and starting to move at a pretty good clip. Right down the slot, with red to starboard and green to port. We are heeled about 10 deg. To port, with the wind on the starboard quarter.

We Head Out of Port,

Into a Choppy Inlet

As I've said before, it's the mark of a true professional that he makes it look easy.

7pm update. W have cleared port and the seas are kicking up a tad. Wind is on the starboard beam at 45 knots. Very little roll, a bit of bumpiness. We are not completely out of the northwestern Iceland wind shadow, so it could become a bit lumpier. The starboard deck is closed, and the barf bags are out. The best news is there is no swell running, so the boat isn't pitching or rolling appreciably.

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 26 - Reykjavik, Iceland

Another gray morning, 50deg. A few hardy walkers on the Promenade deck. Wind 15 on the beam. We are making 18 knots on our way to Reykjavik, with an ETA 2:30pm. We had better be on time; we have a tour booked at 3pm. Mercifully, the tour is only 2-1/2 hours. We love seeing stuff, but the European busses are just enough narrower to make us very uncomfortable, and bus (and airline) seats are killers for Keith's back.

Early Morning Power Walkers on the Promenade Deck

Our Route Around the Southern Iceland

I think we mentioned that we booked a Panama Canal cruise in October. We are both resolved that there is nothing in central or south America that we wish to see badly enough to get off the boat, so we are going to spend 28 days watching the magnificent central American seascapes, from the Crow's Nest. Sort of like that old sled dog I mentioned in a prior post.

On second thought, I might step off in San Diego, just to touch base with the Homeland.

Please do not misunderstand our comments. We are very, very happy we booked this trip, and we have been delighted to see things we have read of all of our lives. Just as we were so, so happy to visit China two years ago. But there is no question that one of is getting to be an old dog, and is loosing his capacity (not his desire) for adventure. I'm not sure I could do China again.

As much as I am trying to pretend it doesn't exist, I think that the recently diagnosed coronary artery disease is affecting my overall energy level, as well as my capacity to perform vigorous activities. That’s punch one. Punch two is spinal stenosis, which limits my mobility and makes me ache. Please understand, I'm not complaining, but it is what it is.

All the more reason to fill my bucket sooner, rather than later. The Panama Canal definitely is on my bucket list. But then, so are a bizillion places in the western United States. And Antarctica, and Australia-New Zeeland, etc., etc. The later is also on Kathy's Bucket list, as are the British Isles, Europe (particularly Greece and ancient Rome), a circumnavigation of South America, etc. Our lists intersect at Australia-New Zeeland, so that's probably where we will go next. Depending on what's on sale, of course. And right now, with the economy still in the "U" bend, the whole world seems to be on sale.

Our daily schedule lists an Icelandic entertainment at 8 (and 10), and an Indonesian cooking demonstration at 11. PM, that is. Kathy says she definitely plans to do the Icelandic show, and possibly the food thingy. Keith is betting she will attend neither, preferring to sleep. We shall see.

In the meantime we fill the morning (what's left of it) with puzzle making (Kathy) and photo editing (Keith), then lunch. There was supposed to be a BBQ poolside, but it was cancelled because the deck was moving about just enough to make it unsafe. The motion didn't seem all that bad to us, but we are all in favor of conservatism, at least where safety is concerned. Politically, ....

Moving right along, we are following with interest the track of Tropical Storm Bill, which is forecast to be off the coast of Nova Scotia by Sunday. We will be off eastern Greenland Sunday. Not close enough to be endangered, but we probably will encounter heavy swells on our passage from Greenland to Newfoundland.

Here comes the pilot boat. We must be in harbor waters. It's difficult to tell where we are going to land. Now we are approached by a tugboat, followed by two excursion boats, out to look at the big cruise boat, or whales. We're down to 6mph, so we must be on final. Oops. Back up to 14; the slow-down must have been to pick up the pilot.

Reykjavik Harbor Approach

Approaching Reykjavik

Reykjavik seems relatively flat, surrounded by mountains. It would appear to be a large alluvial fan.

Reykjavik, Iceland

At the last minute we realize that the captain is going to flip the ship and back in. Kathy rushes out to the rail to watch. Keith proceeds more leisurely, by way of the comfort station. The docking is very interesting. We back into the harbor, then move sideways a couple of hundred feet to the dock. A tug is standing by, but our practiced captain does not need it, in the very light breeze. Nonetheless, Keith applauds his abundance of caution.

Approaching our Berth in Reykjavik;

Another Shoehorn Job

We Line the Rail to Watch Docking

Our Crow’s Nest Cocktail Waitress

Joins Us to Watch the Docking

Alongside, With The First Line Ashore

Bring Your Child To Work Day

Dock Workers Place the Gangplank

2:55pm, sitting in the Rembrandt Lounge, waiting for our 2:50 Panoramic Reykjavik tour. We are told the gangway is very steep, and there is massive congestion.

Congestion Approaching the Gangplank

3:20pm and we are on the tour bus, finally, after a very steep descent down the gangway from deck 5. Just as we were reaching the bottom, the deck 5 ramp was closed, and a perfectly level gangway was opened on deck 3. Murphy reins supreme.

The tour guide tells a bit about Icelandic history and geography. Look it up, if you are interested. We are told that 60% of Iceland is a desert. Seems strange, in such a wet climate. Could be a rain shadow effect. Keith will look this one up when he gets home.

In an thick Icelandic accent: "It has been raining the last days, and it will be raining the next few days." This is the North Atlantic. Deal with it.

We drive by a group of new apartment buildings, empty because of the financial crisis.

We are passing pseudo craters, similar to the one we saw in the north. Some of the craters were desteoyed in the war when the dirt was excavated for building construction. We stop for a photo op. Kathy gets off, leaving Keith to compose.

Dirt Pile at the Lip of a Pseudo-crater

Our tour guide is soft spoken, with a pronounced accent, and the volume on the PA is too low. We ask her to turn up the volume; it helps, but it doesn't fix the problem.

We pass a large block of apartment buildings from the 1970's. A uniform gray color, somewhat drab. Some buildings have windows of different sizes, breaking up the monotony somewhat. Colorful roofs help also. Lack of trees creates building challenges.

We pass the pearl, named for it's funky shape. The pearl is a collection of humungous hot water tanks, heated with geothermal energy, and topped with a tourist friendly dome. We stop for 35 minutes. It has toilet facilities!

The Pearl

Statuary at the Pearl

Tourist Entering the Pearl

The sun came out, and Keith ascended the building to take photographs from the viewing platform. The sun obligingly came out, so I am hopeful about the pix. Kathy & I are both have sore legs. But then, at our age, those parts that don't hurt don't work any more, so we shan't complain. The point of this building is geothermal power, and we hear virtually nothing about this subject. Further, there was little interpretive displays in the building. Disappointing.

View From the Pearl

Neat Sculpture In the Pearl Lobby

Our attention is directed to the rugged mountains south of town. We are told these are volcanoes, part of the mid-Atlantic ridge. I don't think we are going there, so I'm glad I took pictures from the pearl.

Gasoline is $189.9Kr/liter. No idea what this amounts to in dollars. We inquired about the exchange rate at the front desk, and were told that the Icelandic Kroner is currently worthless. Go figure.

We stop at a picturesque lighthouse that is on a high tide island. We are told that a path to the island bares at low water. We also are told that the tide range is 18 feet. Another fact I plan to check.

Telephone Poles Line the Low Tide Path to this Lighthouse

Next we tour downtown Reykjavik. Here a house, there a house, everywhere a house, or a parliament building, or a supreme court building. Major retail therapy street. The bus driver offers to let people off here, to shop, and then to find their own way back to the ship. We stay on the bus.

Icelandic Government Building

Typical Reykjavik Street Scene

Our tour guide keeps promising to tell us about the Icelandic financial crisis. Now she is promises to take us through the business district, where she will tell us about the financial crisis.

But first, we stop to photograph the building where Ronald Regan met with Gorbachev. This meeting is said by some to be the beginning of the end of the cold war.

Historic Building Where Regan Met Gorbachev

We pass through a district with empty office buildings. We are told that the three major banks in Iceland speculated in the stock market with people's savings. We are told that there are about thirty people involved in this activity. Sounds like Bernie Madhof all over again. Greed and avarice are evils that are necessary to drive growth and development, but they must be carefully regulated to prevent such excesses. End of rant.

Our guide tells us that there is a mantle plume under Iceland, in addition to the mid-Atlantic ridge. Our resident geology professor later confirms his fact.

Back to the ship at 6pm. Keith was thinking of the taco bar for supper, but it closes at 6. Kathy remained behind in the information center, to shop. She hasn't shopped in several days, and is exhibiting pronounced withdrawal symptoms. Keith promised to wait dinner for her. How bad can it be, sitting with a cup of tea, overlooking magnificent Icelandic scenery.

7:15, and Kathy has made the fateful decision, that she is too tired to attend the Icelandic entertainment tonight.

Good night, Mrs. Calabash...

P.S. The chocolate éclairs tonight were to die for.