We are still savoring last night’s amazing stroke of luck – witnessing the Aurora Borealis! It was surreal and we are so fortunate that everything came together for it to happen – the weather, the new moon, no cloud cover, and being near a wide open space away from the city lights.

This morning, we had a cup of coffee and a just a little bite to eat for breakfast, as we had signed up to go on The Reykjavik Food Walk this morning. We checked out of the hotel and drove to the 10:30 meeting place in front of the Harpa Concert Hall, but the traffic made us late. I thought I spotted our guide, who would be wearing a blue backpack, so I quickly jumped out of the car and gave Allan my phone since I had downloaded the parking app he needed to park. We had no clue where the parking area was, so Allan went off to try to find it, and I went to find the group.

The person I spotted with the blue backpack had a few people standing with him, so I asked if he was leading the food walk. Nope. Then I went around asking everyone with a blue backpack if this was where I was to be. Nope! So now, it’s getting late. I have no phone, I don’t know where Allan is, and I can’t find my group. At this point, I assumed they left without me. I kept pacing back and forth, second guessing whether this is where I was to meet and I can’t check because…I don’t have my phone.

After what seemed like an eternity, a young girl came out and called my name. Thank goodness. I was just about to borrow a phone from someone to call Allan. Then, I see Allan approaching. Our guide Jenny had called my phone to see where we were, and Allan told her I was outside the building. So, it all worked out and we apologized profusely to the group for our tardiness.

It was interesting finding out where all the others in the tour hailed from. New Zealand, Texas, New Jersey, to mention a few places. One couple had been camping for the past week. We told everyone about seeing the northern lights last night, and they all said they hadn’t been lucky so far to witness them.

So off we all went and our first stop was Hressingarskalinn to enjoy a traditional Icelandic breakfast. We had delicious meat on bread, a thick and savory yogurt called skyr, and a very thin crepe with sugar. The skyr is delicious. We don’t have anything like it in the states.

After breakfast, we walked to a stand for an authentic Icelandic hotdog. Wow! They are delicious. The main ingredients of Iceland’s hot dogs are predominantly lamb, and the rest of the dog is beef, and pork. Lamb is the secret ingredient to the Icelandic hotdog, unlike the typical hot dog elsewhere, which uses only pork or beef.

Icelandic sheep is one of the purest domesticated breeds of sheep in the world. They graze on lush countryside farmlands and enjoy cruelty-free and hormone-free environments. This setup ensures their meat is organic, high quality, and healthy (for a hot dog!). 

Then you have the toppings that go on it. Raw mild onions, fried crunchy onions, ketchup (which is a thinner ketchup than we are used to and it has a little apple cider in it), a sweet brown mustard, (locally known as pylsusinnep), and finally, a remoulade, which is a mayonnaise-based condiment. It is by far the best hot dog I’ve ever eaten.

The picture doesn’t show all the delicious yummies that are underneath the dog.

Next on the food walk was a restaurant called Fjallkonan, where we enjoyed creamy lamb on bread and also Arctic char. The lamb was outstanding, but the char was a little fishy for my taste.

We walked the rainbow street where Gay Pride is celebrated. As our guide said, Icelanders are patriotic and celebrate their Independence Day, but Gay Pride is huge and it is embraced wholeheartedly. As our guide said, acceptance and love for all our fellow human beings is where it’s at, and I totally agree.

Sjavargrillid was our next stop where we enjoyed sweet, tender langoustine tacos. But before everyone dove into the tacos, Jenny brought out fermented shark and Brennivin, known as the “Black Death” because its consumption has caused many “deaths” of people passing out by drinking too much. It’s actually aquavit and Jenny encouraged all of us to try it. But first, we had to open the fermented shark jar and smell it. Then we put the shark on a toothpick and chewed it 10 times, swallowed, and chugged the shot of Brennivin and then slammed the shot glass down and yelled like a Viking “skál” (cheers). When I say “we”, I mean everyone BUT me! Fermented shark? I think not. Anthony Bourdain said, upon trying it, its “the single worst thing I’ve ever put in my mouth!”  Allan was a trooper and chewed and swallowed and said drinking down the Brennivin afterwards helped.

We weren’t able to go to the last place to taste some Icelandic dessert, as we had to leave to catch our flight. We bid everyone safe travels, and thanked our guide Jenny who really was very entertaining and a lot of fun.

Our flight was uneventful on Icelandair. The food was actually very good. They served duck confit which was delicious.

As Allan and I were driving to the airport, we both said we’d come back to Iceland. We’d love to live there for a few months and really immerse ourselves in the culture. The country is beautiful, with such diverse topgraphy. The people are kindhearted and helpful. It truly was a vacation we’ll remember for a long time.

And seeing the Northern Lights. (sigh!)

We are in a very nice hotel and the breakfast this morning was hearty. Waffles, hard boiled eggs, fruit, cheeses, meats, cereal, etc. We wanted an early start, so we ate quickly and got in the car to travel the Golden Circle.

Iceland has an amazingly diverse landscape. Sometimes we traveled along and all we saw was a vast flat landscape. Travel a bit further and we saw lakes with tall rock formations surrounding it. Most days, the wind is an issue and you have to remember to hold on to your car door when getting out because the wind will slam it open.

The roads are well marked and in great shape and the drivers are sane… no cutting anyone off or giving any finger salutes. Gas stations are not very prevalent once you get out of the city, so make sure you have a full tank as you begin your journey.

One thing to utilize when trying to get from point A to point B… Google Maps!!!! The maps are invaluable for finding the sites to see, that most times, are in out of the way places.

We enjoyed traveling along the Golden Circle and especially riding through the National Park. There are trees and vegetation all throughout and it is truly beautiful.

Our first stop was the Geysir Hot Spring area, with boiling pits bubbling along the pathway. We continued walking the path and came to the exploding Strokkur geyser, which spouts 100 feet in the air every 8 minutes or so. We got there just in time to see it. It was pretty fantastic!

The area became active more than 1,000 years ago and consists of more than a dozen hot water blow holes. The oldest account of the Geysir area dates back to 1294.

The next stop along the Golden Circle was Gullfoss Falls. There are two viewing areas to take in this magnificent force of nature. The first is a shorter cascade of 36 feet and the second drop is 69 feet. The canyon walls on both sides of the waterfall reach heights of up to 230 feet. Geologists believe that this canyon was formed by glacial outbursts at the beginning of the last age. The pictures really do not capture their power.

In the distance, we were able to see the Langjokull glacier. This mighty glacier is the second largest glacier in Iceland at 361 square miles.

The glacier

We drove back a different route and stopped in a restaurant to have a burger and fries which were delicious. Food is pretty expensive in Iceland and our burger and fries cost 50 dollars. By the way, there is no tipping your server in Iceland. They do not expect it and in fact our server today said “We don’t tip in Iceland.”

We drove back to Reykjavik and visited the Perlan museum. The Perlan has many wonderful exhibits, and one amazing one was experiencing the world’s first indoor ice cave, built with over 350 tons of snow from the Blue Mountains. It was pretty cold inside, but we enjoyed wandering through all the little niches and paths, ducking our heads to get through some of them.

We also went to the planetarium to see the Northern Lights display, and then we wandered through all the hands-on exhibits, learning about Iceland’s history and its geological makeup.

It is a very nice museum to visit and I’m glad we decided to see it.

Not too far from the Perlan is the Hallgrimskirkja Church. At 244’ tall, it is the largest church in Iceland and among the tallest structures in the country. It was completed in 1986 and has become an important symbol of Iceland’s identity. It took 45 years to build the church.

The church houses two large pipe organs. The larger of the two has 72 stops and 5,275 pipes and is 49 feet tall and weighs 25 long tons. Its construction was finished in December 1992.

We found out that tonight might be a good night to see the northern lights. According to the Icelandic meteorological site, it is a favorable night for viewing. It is a new moon, with no cloud cover.

We found out that the Grotta lighthouse would be the best viewing area, so off we went at sunset to find a place to wait for total darkness in the hopes we might be lucky.

I captured a beautiful sunset photo while we were waiting for the sun to set completely, and then I looked out the car window and I could see the northern lights slowly beginning to spread across the sky. OMG!!! And then the lights were everywhere. We just kept snapping picture after picture and remarking that we were so very lucky to be able to see this fantastic show. I’m amazed my iPhone did such a fantastic job capturing it.

This was a once in a lifetime and I’ll never forget it.

We were up bright and early for our bus transfer to the airport to pick up our rented car. Checkout from the ship was seamless, and we arrived at the airport around 8 am and picked up our car. We decided to drive the Reykjanes peninsula on our first day of touring, as I had already mapped out the sites to see.

Our first stop should have been the sheep shelter – round in shape and constructed from lava rocks. It’s considered to be a few centuries old, but alas, we weren’t able to find it.

Trying not to get discouraged that our first site couldn’t be found, we continued on to stop 2 – Kalfatjarnakirkja Church. This church was consecrated in 1893, and was the largest rural church in the country when it was built.

The next stop was the Stekkjarkot peat houses, fine examples of traditional turf homes. The houses were locked when we were there, but we were able to peek inside and see what life must have been like when people lived in these homes. The walls and roof are covered in thick turf which kept the relentless winds from blowing in. And believe me, The winds are relentless!!! Interestingly, only three families lived in the turf houses between 1855 and 1924.

Stop 4 was the Holmsberg Lighthouse, which was tricky to find as it is hidden behind a stone recycling plant. The bright orange color of the lighthouse must have been very visible for the ships at sea as they made their way through the crashing waves.

Our next stop was a fun and whimsical one. It’s where the Giantess lives. We followed the huge footprints, which brought us to her front door, where her rocking chair was perched outside. The Giantess was in the house, and we saw her bed, her dress, her shoes, and her toothbrush.

The 6th site we drove to was actually two sites in one. There were two lighthouses, one older than the other. The smaller lighthouse was often not visible in a storm, so a new one was built in 1944.

The church at Hvalsnes was the next stop. This beautiful church was consecrated in 1887 and was completely built of carved stone collected from the local plentiful area of rock. The church is still operating today and fits 100 people. There is a graveyard right next to the church and we walked through and saw many recent graves as well as graves from years ago. There was a little grave surrounded by a picket fence. I read the inscription on the tombstone and it was for a little one who has only lived one day. Very sad.

We then drove to the Stafnes Lighthouse which was built in 1925. The Stafnesviti lighthouse is a bright yellow lighthouse and stands amid homes and barns, where we saw horses grazing in the field. Right by the path to the lighthouse, there is a monument to a ship that ran aground in 1928. 15 of the crew drowned, but 10 were rescued. 

The Bridge Between the Continents was our next site to see. It is a symbolic footbridge across one of the fissures marking the boundary between the North-American and Eurasian tectonic plates. The wind was howling, but undaunted we walked over to the middle of the bridge to say we have stood on both continents at the same time.

Standing between the continents

Our next stop was to the Reykjanesviti Lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse in Iceland. It was first built in 1878. It was destroyed by an earthquake, and the current lighthouse was built between 1907 and 1908. Due to erosion, it’s expected that the lighthouse will be rebuilt in the near future.

The next stop was truly awe inspiring. The Brimketill Lava Pools, with waves pounding the shore and splashing to new heights, was unbelievable. The wind was blowing, but we still couldn’t help but stand in awe of how powerful the ocean can be. The cliffs are extremely dangerous as you could be swept away with the angry sea so we were warned to stay on the path. The folklore surrounding this lava pool is that a giantess used the pool to wash her clothes and to bathe in.

Above is a picture of the lighthouse at Hopsnes, an area that resulted from an eruption of a row of craters around 2,800 years ago. Today, the famous bright orange lighthouse is one of its main attractions. The bottom of the lighthouse is orange, while the tower is bright red, which makes it stand out as a vibrant beacon.

We saw shipwrecks lying on the ground near the lighthouse. They were abandoned during the 20th century. Hopsnes used to be a prosperous fishing village, but now only remnants of it remain.

This area, if conditions are right, is prime viewing for the northern lights. A lot of cloud cover was predicted for tonight, so we knew we wouldn’t be driving back to try to catch a glimpse of the aurora borealis.

The shipwrecks at Hopsnes.

We were getting hungry so we had a late lunch at Cafe Bryggihan. The cafe is known for its lobster bisque, so of course we had to try it. It was very good, with a distinct flavor that was hard to identify. We also had fish and chips and Allan also had the famous Icelandic hotdog. Apparently, Anthony Bourdain touted the Icelandic dog as the best one he’s ever eaten. Allan wasn’t as impressed. He said “Give me a good old ballpark frank any day!”

We finished off our tour of the Reykjanes Peninsula with a dip in the Blue Lagoon. You had to shower before entering the lagoon and they told us to put lots of conditioner in our hair at the same time. The lagoon was heavenly. At least it was while you were submerged in the waters!!! When you stood up, wowser was it cold!! The wind chilled you right to the bone!!!

We enjoyed a glass of beer and I had a mud facial. We lingered in the lagoon for about an hour, then quickly ran back inside (remember… it was really cold and windy, to say nothing of our soaking wet bathing suits), grabbed a towel, took a quick shower again, and then we drove the 45 minute drive to Reykjavik, to check into our hotel.

The sun was shining brightly and the temperature was in the low fifties. A gorgeous day! We had breakfast and then went back to our cabin to pack because tomorrow we disembark in Reykjavik.

Packing our suitcases was very easy, because when we travel, we sort our clothing into mesh zippered travel cubes that we just plop into the dresser drawers. When we need to take anything out, we just unzip and remove the item. So all we did to repack was to plop the cubes back in the suitcases. Done!!!! If you don’t have these travel cubes, I highly recommend them.

Heimaey is the largest island of the Westman Islands and the only one that is inhabited. The huge rock formations are beautiful, and we were able to sit at the window and watch the arctic terns and the puffins fly to and fro. More puffins apparently nest here than anywhere else in the world.

The mother puffins have apparently left the nests and some of the babies were left behind. They now must learn to survive on their own. Unfortunately, the lights from the island confuse the puffins and they think it’s water, and so hundreds of them wind up on the streets in town. It has become tradition that the residents who live on the island, scoop them up and place them carefully back into the water, in the hopes that they will survive. Sadly, most do not.

We were all set to go on our walking tour, but the tenders were backed up so we left about 40 minutes late. And of course, since Iceland weather can change on a dime, the heavens opened up and it started to pour. Since we had been waiting in the theater to board the tender, we didn’t realize it was raining until we got outside. We were totally unprepared being sans umbrella, rain pants, and waterproof shoes. Once we got on the island, we just turned around and went back on the tender and back to the ship. Oh well, we’ve enjoyed all the ports so far, so not seeing this one wasn’t that disappointing.

We went to high tea and enjoyed some scones, sandwiches, and of course tea and then we went to see the ventriloquist show in the theater.

We had a quick bite to eat and bid goodbye and safe travels to the friends we’ve met, and of course to Lisa and John. We had a wonderful time sailing with them and hope to do it again someday. The cruise was stellar, the crew wonderful, the food excellent, and the shows very entertaining.

We have to get up at 5 am to get on the bus that will take us to the airport so we can pick up our car rental. We have a very busy day planned for tomorrow.

Afternoon tea

Before I tell you about today’s tour, I wanted to say that Viking gave us back half of what we had paid for the tour where we weren’t given the full experience. (We might also be receiving all the money back, but it has to go through corporate and they will let us know when we are back home.)

Today we sailed into the village of Djupivogur which lies on Iceland’s east coast and has been a trading center since the 16th century as well as being rich in the fishing trade.

Around the town, several cultural sights can be explored, which we saw with our guide, after tendering over to the little village. The ride in the tender was a bit rough, but we arrived safely and we met our guide for a walking tour around the town.

It was a beautiful sunny day, but extremely windy. Our guide said that they don’t get much snow, and the temperatures do not get too extreme due to the Gulf Stream that swirls around the area and keeps the waters warm, thus keeping the temperatures reasonable. That being said, the wind is intense, which brings the temps down in the winter months.

The first stop on the tour was a monument of an arrow pointing to the sky, which honored Hans Jonatan, who escaped slavery in St. Croix, and eventually fled to Iceland. Hans became the first known person of African descent to settle in the country.

Djupivogur is home to Langabud, one of Iceland’s oldest commercial buildings, dating back to 1790. Over the years it has served many purposes, being a warehouse and slaughterhouse. Today, it is home to a café, the heritage museum, and an exhibition by an Icelandic sculptor who was native to the village.

Our next stop was to Audun’s Stone & Mineral museum. Auden is a local man who began collecting huge rocks as a hobby. He realized that if he cut these stones in half, what was inside could only be described as beautiful, so he started polishing the stones, and eventually began putting them on display. It was amazing to see the outside of a plain ordinary stone become a dazzlingly beauty after it was cut open and polished.

We then walked over to a huge tank…known as … well…”The Tank”. Once used as a storage facility for fish-liver oil, this huge tank has been cleaned and restored and all evidence of fish oil gone. We entered into the darkness and found seats along the perimeter of the tank. In the middle of the floor, some candles were flickering and once we were all inside, our guide closed the door. We were engulfed in the eerie darkness when suddenly, a soloist began to sing. The acoustics in the tank made her voice ethereal and we all were in awe. It was absolutely beautiful. You can listen to part of her solo below.

After the concert, we walked down to the harbor to admire the “Eggs of Merry Bay”. 34 granite eggs line the harbor and are replicas in large scale of the eggs from the local birds commonly seen around Djupivogur. The artist is Sigurour Guomundsson and he placed the eggs on concrete pillars that previously supported a landing pipe at the pier. It was an ingenious way to use the pillars so they didn’t have to be discarded in a garbage dump.

Our guide was very informative and we enjoyed the tour very much. Djupivogur is a quaint village. Our guide said that he never worries about where his children are because it is a safe village and the children all know each other and play together. There are only about 400 folks that live in the village and everyone works together to make the village a wonderful place to live.

When we returned to the ship, we were surprised to learn that all the afternoon tours had been canceled due to the rough waters.

We had dinner at Manfredi’s with John and Lisa, and after dinner, as promised, Executive Chef Clifford made me chocolate mousse and because I had told him we were dining with friends, he made enough for our table. It was decadent, and when he came around to see how we liked it, I gave him a big hug and thanked him!

The show tonight was wonderful. They sang songs that were made famous by top country stars, some Tina Turner, as well as a few songs from ‘Phantom of the Opera’.

And then it was off to bed.

Our first glimpse of Djupivogur

Langabud

Audun’s Stone & Mineral museum

Inside the tank

The soloist in The Tank

The eggs

The chocolate mousse.

The village of Seydisfjordur is nestled between the mountains at the end of a fjord. It was settled In the early days by Norwegian fishermen and many stores were built and the merchants eventually made a living selling their goods. The town began to develop into a trading center when the townspeople found their wealth in “the silver of the sea” – herring.

In the late afternoon, we took a guided walking tour around the village. It was raining quite heavily but undaunted, we persevered, and I’m so glad we did.

The town has about 648 residents. We walked the Rainbow Street to the iconic blue church. The Rainbow Street was painted in support of the local LGBTQ community. It started when a resident couldn’t make the Gay Pride parade in Reykjavik, and so with the local authorities support, the people in the village now celebrate the day with their own parade. Every year, the rainbow path gets painted anew.

After the tour, we entered the community center where we were welcomed with a glass of champagne. We sat down to listen to a singer and guitarist as they played and sang some Icelandic songs.

While we listened, we dined on canapés of egg salad, salmon, and reindeer and finished off the repast with cream puffs and chocolate cake.

They also told more of the story I mentioned yesterday, about the Yule Lads. Apparently there are 13 mischievous pranksters and one comes to each home every night in the 13 days before Christmas. There is the ‘door slammer’ who slams doors at night till everyone in the house is awake. There is the ‘candle stealer’ who steals all the candles in the house. There’s the ‘sausage stealer’ who eats all the sausages. These pranksters leave a small gift in the shoes of the children, unless the children have been bad, and then they get a rotten potato in their shoe.

And if all of that isn’t scary enough, instead of Santa Claus, Gryla, a giantess with an appetite for flesh, comes around with a huge sack…not filled with toys, but filled with misbehaving children and she takes the sack back to her cave and eats them.

And it isn’t over. There is a Yule Cat who hangs around the countryside and eats people who have not received new clothes to wear before Christmas Eve. Whaaa?????

I wonder how many Icelandic kids are in therapy!!!!

Anyway, it is all in good fun (I hope), and we had an enjoyable afternoon listening to the music and the folk lore.

We had dinner tonight at the chef’s table. Dinner is served and each course is paired with wine. We enjoyed a sweet potato chip with apple, rosemary, and crème fraiche. Then we had crab cake with avocado, orange, fennel, and blood orange. A granita was next with vodka, ginger beer and lime juice. The main course was seared halibut with cauliflower and for dessert , ojai mandarin parfait with candied ginger.

We went to the show afterwards where Don Bryan performed his ventriloquist act. He was hilarious.

It was a wonderful day!

Seydisfjordur

Egg salad, salmon, and reindeer

Snow on the mountains

Dinner at the Chef’s Table

Last night, the seas were pretty rough and we bounced around quite a bit. Because of that, the captain had to take it much slower through the night and so we arrived in the Akureyri port much later than expected.

Akureyri is set at the foot of the mountains and is nicknamed the “Capital of the North”. They had to cancel some of the tours due to our late arrival, but fortunately our Northern Iceland’s Natural Treasures tour was a go, albeit a few hours later.

And what a tour it was! We had a wonderful guide who originally hailed from Hong Kong, met and married a man from Iceland, and became a tour guide.

We boarded our motor coach and journeyed along the coast and saw the beautiful scenery along the the Myvatn volcanic lake area, named after ‘midges’, little flying insects that are usually found all over the region. They don’t bite and our guide said if they happen to fly into the bus, please don’t kill them, they are perfectly harmless. We didn’t see any midges since the wind was blowing.

Our next stop was the Godafoss waterfall. What a powerful and majestic site. The waters of the river fall from a height of 39 feet and over a width of 100 feet. We were able to take photos from many viewing platforms and our photos hopefully captured the awe of this beautiful place.

Next stop on our tour was the Namaskard & Hverarond Geothermal area – a geothermal region with boiling sulfuric mud springs and steam vents. The hot springs, mud pools, and mud pots looks like a desert and because of the hot surface, no vegetation can grow there. The area was where one season of Game of Thrones was filmed. Interestingly, they filmed in winter and the steam from the springs made it seem like snow was falling. The smell of the sulfur was very strong and our guide said it might stay in our hair for awhile.

We then visited Dimmuborgir and its towering lava castles, that were formed in an eruption that occurred in the area 2,300 years ago. As lava flowed across the area, it passed over a lake, causing it to boil. The lake cooled the lava quickly, causing pillars of rock to form.

I am so glad we decided to tour Iceland in the early autumn, because the fall colors are absolutely beautiful. The lava castles were unbelievably stunning, with sheep tucked into the niches, autumnal colors of yellow and red flora surrounding them, and the different lava configurations so unique.

According to folk lore, this area is known for horrible little trolls, Yule Lads as they are called, who dwell there. These lads were known to terrorize Icelanders 13 days before Christmas Eve. According to ‘The Guide to Iceland’ site, “like most frightening Icelandic stories, the Yule Lads were most likely created to keep children from going out into the cold Icelandic winter nights, where many disappeared without a trace for centuries. As the nation modernised, they became mischievous tricksters rather than devilish monsters. Now, they have been ‘Americanised’; rather than traditional Icelandic garb, they wear Santa costumes, and although they still steal ‘skyr’, they now also bring gifts.”

We went to a hotel, and had a lunch of salmon, boiled potatoes, and slaw, as well as a glass of wine, and then we went to see Skutustadagigar, where the pseudo craters are. The craters themselves are not magma-producing volcanic vents, but rather were formed by gas explosions when boiling lava flowed over the cool, wet surfaces about 2,300 years ago.

Iceland’s terrain and weather is so unique and diverse, that many movie studios film movies here. And incidentally, many of NASA’s astronauts, including Neil Armstrong, first came to Iceland as part of the Apollo geology field exercises to study the country’s geology, the idea being that it would help them understand the Moon’s geology when they visited.

The weather here can change on a dime and many Icelanders say, “If you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes!” And it is so true.

Then it was back to our ship for a quick dinner and to bed. It was a wonderful day and even though rain had originally been predicted, it was another day of sunshine.

Myvatn lake area

Godafoss waterfall

Namaskard & Hverarond Geothermal area

Dimmuborgir and its towering lava Castles

Skutustadagigar Pseudo craters

This morning we sailed into Isafjordur, iceland. Fishing is one of the main industries, trout and salmon being the most popular catches, and the town has one of the largest fisheries in Iceland. Tourism is also a major contributor to the economy as well as ferry boat companies, that transfer people over to Vigur Island.

We had breakfast and then went by the pool to lounge and watch about 20 guests on The Saturn, who took the plunge into a pool filled with ice cubes, in order to become a member of the Blue Nose club. I can think of a million other ways to spend the morning, but I do applaud those brave souls dunking themselves amid the ice cubes. Brrrrr!

We have officially crossed over into the Arctic circle and we received a certificate to that effect. When we were in Antarctica, we received a similar certificate stating we had crossed into the Antarctic circle, so now we can say in one year we traversed both poles!

Our tour today was taking a ferry boat over to Vigur Island, which was absolutely a wonderful tour. We bundled up with our cold weather gear, putting on my Holebrook windproof sweater made in Sweden, and off we went on a half hour boat ride to the Island. It was a little breezy and chilly in the boat, but the guide on the boat was very entertaining and told us that her village had only about 400 people a few years ago, because many were killed or moved away after a terrible avalanche devastated their homes, as well as their lives.

She said in order to bring the population back, they instituted “Sex Week” and she was proud to say that she was the first child born in the first year of “sex week” bringing the total population to 401. Her father received a trophy, the only one he ever received, for his “sex week” efforts. Too funny! Her dad was the captain of the boat and she was his first mate on our voyage today.

Another guide met us when we arrived on the island, a young Frenchman, who signed up to go to the island to learn about and help with eiderdown collection and to give tours. He was charming and funny and we enjoyed his talk immensely.

A woman named Felicity Aston and her husband purchased this tiny island a few years ago, and now she is the sole resident along with her husband Gizli and their six-year-old son, Thrainn.  Interestingly, Felicity was the first woman to cross Antarctica on skis, so it is no surprise that she and her family can survive the harsh winters on Vigur Island.

When we arrived on the island for our tour, we were given long sticks with a small flag on top. Our guide said that sometimes the Arctic terns who are flying overhead will dive bomb people if they feel threatened. The sticks therefore could be waved, not to injure the birds, but to keep them from pecking on your head.

One source of income for Felicity and her family is collecting eiderdown from the eider ducks that reside on the island. Our guide explained to us how eiderdown is collected. The mother duck, before laying her eggs, sloughs off the eiderdown from her chest on to the nest. She then lays her eggs and adds more eider to keep the eggs warm as she sits on them.

The family hired our guide to help with the down collection. They go to each nest where the mother is sitting. Sometimes the mother pretends she is a statue and doesn’t move, thinking this makes her invisible. The person collecting the down carefully removes the mother duck and then removes the eggs. They harvest the eiderdown and then add hay to the nest. They carefully place the eggs back in the nest, add more hay, and then they replace the mother duck. They have to do this because if they waited until the little ducks hatched and left the nest with the mother, the eiderdown would blow away with the wind and could not be harvested.

Ducks live a long time, about 30 years, and the same ducks return year after year to the same nest. We saw some ducks in the water and we were surprised because most of the birds should have migrated during the second week in August. Our guide told us that there was a terrible storm and the mothers fled the nest with their ducklings that were ready to fly. Unfortunately, some of the babies weren’t strong enough, so they remained and they are now swimming in the waters. Our guide says they will probably not make it thru the harsh winter.

After the down is collected, it has to be cleaned of debris, pebbles, poop, and other foreign matter. Antique machines do the first part of the cleaning, but then the finishing part is done by hand. The down they collect could weigh over 300 kilos, but by the time the cleaning process is over, they are left with maybe 60 kilos. That’s why the down is so expensive. Most of the down is sold to Germany and the Germans make winter clothing for scientists who go to the coldest parts of the earth to do research. Eiderdown is one of the warmest feathers, far surpassing goose down.

We saw the oldest working windmill in Iceland and also a boat that was made out of driftwood that was many, many years old.

During the tour, we were treated to some rhubarb cake called happy marriage cake, and we drank the most delicious coffee I’ve ever tasted. The rhubarb was grown right there in the island.

After our snack, we toured the two story Victoria House built in 1860, and is one of the oldest timber buildings in Iceland and a part of The Historical Buildings Collection. The family live in the house not too far from the Victoria House.

We were so lucky with the day. Not a drop of rain and the sun was shining thru the whole tour. We even saw a few rainbows.

We arrived back to our ship and has a delicious dinner of mussels. J.P. the manager, who we have befriended again since he was on our Antarctica cruise, asked if we would like a second helping to which we both answered yes!!!

After the meal, Allan ordered the apple streusel and I didn’t order anything. Chef Clifford, the executive chef (who remember took us on a tour of his kitchen), stopped by and asked why I wasn’t having dessert. I told him the only dessert I really love is chocolate mousse. He took out his pen and wrote down my cabin number, and told me that tomorrow night, he was making me chocolate mousse. I couldn’t believe it. I told him, no…please don’t make it since he was busy enough. He said no…tomorrow you will have it! Unbelievable!!

So all in all, the day was amazing!

Vigur Island

The boat made out of driftwood.

The rainbow

Rhubarb pie

The smallest post office resides in Vigur Island

The historical home.

Eiderdown being processed

Remember my blog yesterday about sailing through the majestic Prince Christian Sound? Well the cruise director today mentioned that we are only the second ship this year that was able to go thru the passage, because the other ships were thwarted passage because of icebergs! We were so lucky because it truly was magnificent!

We had a lovely sea day. Enjoyed breakfast with Lisa and John and then spent the day relaxing in the little comfy niches that are all over the ship, and read our books. We had lunch at the pasta bar, then a drink before dinner, and then we joined Lisa and John for dinner.

The show tonight featured the Saturn vocalists in a tribute to Old Time Rock & Roll singing songs by the Beatles, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, and other iconic groups. It was a fabulous show.

Before the show started, we were on the line to enter the theater, and we got to talking with a couple behind us. They mentioned they lived in Jersey, and when we told them we lived in Bethlehem, PA, they said they just met a couple from that area and they were the former owners of the Josh Early candy stores. Say what now???? Josh Early where we buy all of our delicious chocolates???? We love their candies!!!

And, as luck would have it, when we got into the theater, the couple pointed out the former owners to us and we ran over to introduce ourselves and we told them how much we loved their candies. They have turned the business over to their kids, and I told them how much my grandchildren loved the chocolate crayons they used to sell. Marcie Early (whose father started the company) said she’d talk to her children and she’d ask them to reintroduce the crayons!

Then Barry, her husband, gave me his business card and wrote on it that we were to ask for Alyssa, and she was to give us the big box of candies filled with our choice of candies, the next time we go to the store. Wowser! What a treat! It certainly is a small world.

Tonight, we set our clocks ahead another hour and tomorrow we will be in Isafjordur, Iceland. Just two weeks ago on the Saturn’s previous voyage, they saw the Northern Lights. We hope we will be as lucky!

This morning after breakfasting in our cabin, we tendered into the little town of Nanortalik, for a walking tour. With 1,185 inhabitants as of 2020, it is the 11th largest town in Greenland. The name means “Place Where the Polar Bears Go” and our guide said that sometimes they do come into the town, but it is rare. Crab fishing and hunting for hooded seals and fishing from small boats are the main sources of income for the area’s inhabitants.

There is not much going on in the town and we asked about where the children go to school and for how long. Our guide said the kids are schooled from first grade until the 10th and then they have to pass a test to graduate. If they don’t pass the exam, they have the option to go to another school for free tuition and they would also receive a stipend. Our guide has been to this school three times as he has not been able to pass the exam. Some of the kids who do pass the 10th grade exam will go on to high school which is for three more years and a few, after graduation from high school, will go to Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, for college.

We walked through the town, (where the cars speed by you and you have to practically leap out of the way), and saw the fish market, the grocery store, the church, and the cemetery. We were supposed to visit the home of a resident and enjoy the Greenlandic tradition of kaffemik – sampling local cakes and buns, plus dried fish and seal meat, while sipping on a coffee or tea while conversing with our host. Unfortunately, that never happened. I don’t know whether our guide didn’t know that was part of the tour or whether he just forgot. He said he hadn’t done tours in awhile. To tell the truth, Allan and I could have done the tour by ourselves and saved the $99 per person. The guide didn’t have anything to impart as far as history, life of the Greenlanders, or any insight into the area. He only gave us information when someone asked him a question, and many times, he didn’t know the answer. I would have spoken up after the tour and asked him why we weren’t visiting a home, but then I was thinking…maybe I read the shore excursion blurb incorrectly. So when I had the chance on the way back to the ship, I pulled it up and realized I was in fact correct. One of the crew from our ship was stationed at the road back to the ship and she asked how our tour was. I told her what happened and I said I didn’t want to get the young tour guide in trouble, but $99 a person for basically nothing wasn’t the greatest use of our money. She agreed and apologized and took our cabin number, so we will see if we are reimbursed.

Despite it all, I think I did capture some nice pics of Nanortalik.

This afternoon we cruised through the magnificent Prince Christian Sound, enjoying the scenery as we sailed between the mountains. It truly was breath-taking. The only human habitation in this frozen landscape is the Inuit village of Aappilattoq, home to about 100 people. Aappilattoq sits perched at the edge of the water with towering mountains all around, making the village virtually inaccessible by land. These rugged individuals mostly fish and hunt the harsh terrain as they live isolated from the outside world (except for the occasional arrival of a boat or helicopter).

After dinner, we enjoyed a phenomenal performance by the cruise director Damian Sollesse. Damien has performed in theater stages across the UK including the famed West End, London’s equivalent to Broadway, and he has performed on cruise ships around the world. He performed songs from modern day pop, opera, and musical theater with favorites from Les Miserables, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Frankie Valli. He also sang The Prayer with a member of the crew and he did a solo performance of Nessun Dorma from the opera Turandot. He is such a talented singer and the performance ended much too soon.

Tomorrow is a day at sea and we forward our clocks ahead one hour once again.

The cemetery

Love the laundry drying in the breeze

Fish market

Sailing thru Prince Christian Sound

Inuit village of Aappilattoq