Do you believe in elves? Maybe trolls?
🧌
Well, according to the internet, 54% of Icelanders do...
However, after chatting with the locals ourselves,
they admit the actual percentage is closer to 70%!
They have even diverted a major highway to skirt around where elves are believed to live.
True.
You don't want to anger the elves!
(A fun little read: The Elves of Iceland. )
Personally, I think it's adorable.
And harmless.
It's why I call it:
'NICEland'.
We are now on a 29 day Viking Cruise to Greenland, Iceland and Norway,
after sailing out of New York City.
Why I'm writing about Iceland before Greenland you might ask?
Yeah well, we'll get to that shortly.
Our adventure continues onto our next chapter of this 10 week holiday.
Three and a half weeks in the USA is now but a cherished memory,
and we are on track to make a whole load more.
(Love this kid.)
First, we have a day at sea to get to know this incredible vessel, Viking Star, and to prepare ourselves for what wonderful adventures that lie ahead.
Whilst sailing north towards the Arctic Circle,
we will make our initial two landings on the
far eastern coast of Canada.
Cool...lets stock the ship with locally caught lobsters, king crab and other tasty morsels! I'm not kidding...we were about to be super spoilt.
Check this out...and all this is just from the ship's buffet - not even the restaurant!
---
Today is the Canadian city of Halifax, Nova Scotia,
and as you'll see from the upcoming photos -
I'm a man down. ☹️
Trev's crook, 🤧 and needs some time to recover, so I'm continuing on -
taking one for the team per se,
and going solo on a privately booked tour of Halifax
and a trip out to their very famous, Peggy's Cove.
It is here, that Canada's most photographed lighthouse stands proudly.
(For those who have read my previous blogs, you'll know that makes me a very happy camper to add another one to my ever growing collection.)
Halifax is also well known for its connection, sadly, to the Titanic disaster.
The search and rescue operations were primarily conducted from this area and
it is also where the victims were brought for burial, unless their families could afford to transport them back to their hometowns.
Therefore, there are three cemeteries here with their graves,
and I'll be seeing one of those later.
But first, my lighthouse.
Peggy's Cove (who Peggy is by the way, no one truly knows...),
is this picturesque little fishing village,
mostly devoid of people apart from a few locals and fisherman
who have called it home for generations -
that's until a cruise ship is in town.
That's the one part of cruising I'm not fussed with.
The crowds, and the disruption to what would be a peaceful settlement.
That said, I'm sure the tourist dollars are appreciated, but it really is a double edged sword.
So, I quietly made my way around this gorgeous place,
taking an enormous amount of photos,
and possibly obtaining my cover shot for my
'Lighthouses Around the World ' coffee table book I'm enjoying compiling.
But first, a warning!
Ok, duly noted, and then it's onto the rocks for me...🫣
It truly was a photographer's paradise.
Thanks Peggy!
Love your Cove. 💙
Next stop is the Fairview Lawn Cemetery, where we were to visit and pay our respects
to numerous victims of the Titanic.
The location where they are buried, is actually boat shaped,
which I think is a little unsettling. Kind of trapped for all time in that blastard ship, in my opinion.
See below, it was hard to capture in a photograph, but it was wide at the bottom left,
then rose to a point at the top right.
This next one struck a chord with me.
The number at the bottom of the tombstones, is the recorded order that the poor dear corpses were retrieved from the ocean.
Then this poor family...Only one was given a number.
I'm assuming they didn't find the kids. Utterly devastating.
I can't even begin to imagine.
It was a sombre occasion, and it really brought the
ship's sinking into reality for all of us there.
It's not about a hit movie.
It was a tragic disaster.
We learnt a lot here from our very knowledgable guide.
Like the words of Bruce Ismay, the former Chairman of White Star Lines,
(who owned and built Titanic.)
He always sailed on the maiden voyages of all his new ships.
Oh dear. He also was the one that ordered the number of lifeboats to be reduced from 48 to 16.
Read that again - that's down two thirds!
And yet, he found himself on one.
Yes, there is a lot of conjecture about that, but fact is fact.
He survived.
Only to never speak of the disaster again.
Not for 25 years.
That is, until one of his innocent grandchildren,
(who didn't know the rule to not speak to Grandpa about Titanic),
unknowingly asked him a question, upon finding out he had sailed before.
"Granddad, have you ever been on a ship that sank?"
His answer: the first time in 25 years he spoke of it...
"Yes, I was once in a ship which was believed to be unsinkable."
Wow.
Moving on.
---
After another gloriously relaxing sea day, our last Canadian stop was the far outreaching point of Newfoundland,
L'Anse aux Meadows.
L’Anse aux Meadows was declared a National Historic Site in 1977, and, in 1978, it was designated as one of the first UNESCO World Heritage Sites recognized for its
“global significance in the history of human migration and discovery.”
Impressive! And historically valuable.
Wow, this tiny settlement of now only 28 residents, marks a very important place
in the time frame of human history.
It is here, where Vikings made it ashore and settled North America,
beating Christopher Columbus by 500 years.
(Newfoundland is also known as 'Iceberg Alley', as it's not unusual to witness colossal icebergs just floating past houses, simply dwarfing them.)
Images courtesy of BBC and Canada by Design.
We were taken by bus to the area where they have found many, many ancient Norse relics. Here, we had an easy stroll along an elevated timber boardwalk,
which protected the precious tundra
and what lies below it.
At the start, we came across this very interesting sculpture,
aptly named the "Meeting of the Two Worlds."
This sculpture represents the meeting of human migration from the East,
through Asia to North America; and from the West, through Europe to North America. The two groups met when the Norse landed here at L'Anse aux Meadows.
Personally, I can't quite see it in the design, but hey, it is an important landmark,
and art is subjective, hey?!
I loved this awesome silhouette sculpture at the top of a hill.
Can you spot the ring in? 😉 👀
This is so very...'us'. 😁
They have recreated an ancient Norse settlement here, complete with the sod built houses with the turf roofs; (which incidentally enough,
is a huge thing now in Scandinavia, the turf roofs...)
And inside, it was warm and cosy - out of the icy winds and freezing temperatures outside.
They have locals dressed in period attire, telling the stories of the day,
and giving displays of craftwork and life at the time.
Who wouldn't want a viking ship parked in their man cave? 😉
These guys legitimately look like their predecessors. And proudly so.
Then it was our turn for some fun...
This character we are here with, was so very obliging for photos. And I actually found someone I was taller than!
Surprisingly, with the brutal reputation the Vikings have had over the centuries,
they weren't a tall race of people by any means,
with men averaging 5 foot 6, and women only 5 foot 1.
Overall, a very interesting day where we learnt a lot!
And check out our blood red sunset, complete with giant iceberg in the distance!
Happy days!
This iceberg seems to be flipping us the bird! 🧊🖕🏼
---
Another sea day on our way towards Greenland,
but we are loving these down days on this ship.
They have an awesome spa area below deck,
complete with heated pool, alongside a gas/log fireplace,
a snow grotto, steam room,
hot tub and a cold water bucket plunge. Also, in both the ladies and mens change rooms,
they each have a sauna and icy cold plunge pool, with plush robes, towels and slippers, hairdryers and products, all you need to do is to turn up.
All complimentary.
We spent plenty of time in there, especially after long days of walking in the
freezing cold weather.
Just another highlight of a Viking ocean cruise ship.
(By the way, I'm not a paid Viking blogger...I just love this cruise line!)
The snow grotto was an interesting experience, as was the cold bucket plunge. And yep, we did them both! 💪
Not to mention their two top deck pools, the one at the back of the ship being our favourite, as its an infinity pool.
I can't believe we were lying around this only a few days ago, getting sunburnt! Now, we are looking at an ice sheet beyond the broken ice in the sea. Amazing!
Don't worry, there is a bigger pool midship, where you'll see later on,
in my upcoming Norway blog,
I survived a 'Nordic Plunge into ice, commemorating the 'Crossing of the Arctic Circle'.
This afternoon they called us all in for an important 'Port Talk'.
You see, we were 'supposed to be' arriving at Greenland in the morning,
to stay over two days, in two different harbours.
Well, Mother Nature had a different idea didn't she?!
The heavy sea conditions and prevailing winds had packed both these tiny harbours with so much ice, that no one was going in, or coming out for that matter.
Our Captain himself hopped up on stage to explain it all to us,
saying he was going to head a lot further north,
to see if could swing us into a possibly more sheltered location.
Hopefully that would allow us safe passage in.
We were all of course disappointed, yet hopeful at the same time. At the end of the day, our safety and the ship's safety was paramount,
and our skipper has been sailing these waters for over 30 years,
so he knew what he could do, and more importantly,
what he couldn't.
They showed us and explained the detailed charts outlining the ice situation.
Remember, we were only recently all talking about the Titanic...just sayin'.
---
The new day dawned, and it was a solid 'yeah-nah' to Greenland.
That's Aussie for 'nope'!
Bugga.
So now we had an extra two sea days, on top of the scheduled one, to get to Iceland.
Good thing we LOVE this ship!
Oh and fun fact:
Iceland is greener than Greenland.
And Greenland has more ice than Iceland!
We'll never know for ourselves now, will we?
HAHA.
Excuse to come back?
Perhaps.
But to be honest, I'd rather miss these two small Greenland ports, than anywhere in Iceland.
Iceland seems to be on a lot of people's bucket lists these days, and we're no exception!
Soooo, here's where our wonderful Cruise Director, Cornelia, stepped in.
She suggested to some of the crew, that it might be fun if they lowered a tender boat,
and tried to haul in a 'chunk of sea ice', to serve with drinks!
As one would!
Brilliant!
The guys had never done this before, and I'm only disappointed I wasn't privvy to this activity, otherwise I would loved to have tried to video it as they were on the water.
I honestly have no idea how they secured it, and brought it on board.
Once they had it all hosed down to get the salty water and goodness knows what else off it, they had it around the pool and were serving shots of Aquavit,
complete with iceberg ice!
Genius!
The Aquavit I could give a miss, (tooo strong for me),
but I was happy to have the ice in my white wine.
Sorry to wine connoisseurs, but I like mine super cold!
Drinks on the house, again; Thanks Viking.
Great fun, and the crew loved it too.
What else are you going to do on an unexpected sea day?
Well done Cornelia!
With Trev still not feeling 100%, these extra sea days were a perfect opportunity for him to chill out and get better. He's pretty good at that - bless.
Rest up Hun, I need my wingman back for when we next go ashore, in Iceland!
By the way, he's not the only one napping in this photo... 😴
I utilised this time to write up my recent blog, our travels across the USA.
I just loved doing this onboard during sea days, especially whilst Trev rested. Beautiful people brought me drinks and food all the time -
It was brilliant for my creativity!
🍸🤪
Many of the crew got to know me, as I often curled up at a table for one,
to tap away merrily. At first they were sad for me, thinking I was working!
"Oh no!", I'd say, "If it was work, I'd be getting paid!"
LOL!
"Another espresso martini, Miss Amanda?"
"Oh, if I must! Thank you!😉"
One extra bonus on this cruise, is that we have run into acquaintances from many years ago, who still live locally to us back in Australia! What are the chances?
They were parents at our kids' school, way back in the pre-school days, like 23 years ago!
We had changed schools along the way, and naturally lost contact.
Not any more.
New lives, new friendships!
We spent many an evening enjoying the company of Bronwyn and Pete, had a ton of laughs,
ate plenty of lobster and drank more than our fair share of cocktails
as we watched the evening shows.
Mudslide, Pete? 😉
So good!
(This photo was actually taken on our last night, hence the city of Bergen in the background.)
This is such a benefit of cruising.
The friendships we have struck up over a week or more, have for us, lasted years,
and we now get to visit each other around the world.
Trev and Pete. Boys being boys!
Love it.
---
ICELAND!
Woohoo, we made it!
And check out the forecast - bearing in mind this IS summer...
Read it all...see the times for sunrise and sunset...
Yup, heading to the land of the Midnight Sun.
I also love the varied description for it being overcast. Too cute.
'Cloudy, with the chance of Meatballs...'
This Midnight Sun really messes with you. I honestly don't know how they do it. Especially the opposite - the Polar Nights. They don't see the sun out during winter for 2 months!
Not for me, Baby.
But we are on holidays, and longer days, mean you have more time to see stuff!
How eloquent of me - see stuff?!
🤷♀️
Our first Icelandic Port of Call,
is the town in the Westfjords region, known as Isafjordur.
At first glance, it seemed tiny, but we have to remember where we are now.
The whole country is only around 380,000 people.
So if the town has over 2000 people, it's considered rather large.
Surrounded by mountains that in winter are blanketed in thick white snow,
Isafjordur is also renown for the often incredible displays of
the Northern Lights they are treated with here -
unfortunately that is one thing we sadly will not be seeing this trip.
It simply doesn't get dark enough during these summer months. Towards the end of August, they will be visible, again, but not for us.
This is something we knew, and had planned for.
We really wanted to enjoy Iceland and Norway in the summer.
See the colours of the flowers, and enjoy the waterfalls.
And the endless sunshine - if you are lucky.
The Northern Lights will have to wait a little longer for us to witness them
Still on the list!
Yup, our list is still long!
Today was definitely a day for wearing layers.
And LOTS of them. I think we wore everything we had, starting with thermals, and ending in Trev's balaclava.
And this is the height of summer!
These neck warmers are a game changer!
Another cool offering from Viking Cruises,
is that at every port they give you a free shore excursion. Sometimes it can be as simple as a guided walking tour,
but when we were in Egypt a few years back for instance,
it was a full day's trip to the Pyramids!
They vary a great deal.
Today we explored on our own once we arrived after lunchtime,
before enjoying the free tour in the early evening.
This tour took us to the local waterfall, a sweet folk music performance,
then finally a visit to a traditional fishing village,
with the most authentic character I think we had on the entire trip!
You'll see...
First, the town and falls:
See the big 'dent' in the hills? That's known as 'Troll's Seat'
Of course it is!
🧌
The wildflowers were out in force.
The purple being 'Lupins' and the white being a 'Wild Parsley'.
The townships in Iceland are enjoying the few weeks where they actually can plant flowers,
before the cold sets in again.
Imagine that? Only weeks to enjoy flowers...
Then a quick visit to the first of many waterfalls we were to see in this amazing little country...
And now, my fisherman.
Isn't he just fabulous?
And I can rightly say, I think he was enjoying the cuddle!
He couldn't speak a word of English, but I think his eyes said it all! 🤭
Another tiny lighthouse photo (from our moving bus) and it was back to the ship.
We are actually coming back to this port in a week or so, and I have a full day's trip planned to head inland for the very famous and tall, Dynjandi Waterfall.
Today's visit was just half a day..
More to come!
---
Akureki was our next stop, as we circumnavigated this tiny island.
This time I had booked a private tour (as in, not a ship shore excursion), and we headed out on a bus tour towards what is considered one of the best waterfalls in the country. Godafoss Falls.
It sometimes is overshadowed by the more well known Dettifoss Falls,
which are the second most powerful falls in Europe,
and also the ones that were featured in the opening scene of the movie,
Prometheus, below.
Originally those are the ones I wanted to see, but most of the day trips visited Godafoss,
so that's where we went.
Happy either way - seriously, everything here is an utter treat to witness!
Godafoss not the tallest of falls, but the power and accessibility was impressive.
And yes, it was freezing and we were wearing everything we owned!
From here we travelled to Mÿvatn Lake, to see the unusual craters that feature in it...
So this is what the brochure showed me -
And this is what you see at ground (or lake) level:
Where's a drone when you need one?
(Just kidding, as much as I'd love to use one, I feel they are such an ugly detraction to scenery, and an utter nuisance for everyone else to have to put up with them.)
The boiling mud pools of Namafjall Hverir were next,
and I must say, wait till you see the cracker of a photo I took of Trev.
It was an opportunity just begging to be had!
Iceland truly makes you feel you are on another planet sometimes.
We couldn't resist...
Then my turn:
We're all class, aren't we?
I tell you, people were lining up to get their own shots like this after we left. 🤣
Last stop before returning the the ship, was the Dimmuborgir Lava Formations.
Here, the Icelanders have huge traditions regarding Trolls, as they believe there are many troll faces that have been turned into stone here. They celebrate 13 days of Christmas in these special lava fields,
and they all dress up according. So sweet.
If you can read the sign below, check out the cute names that the trolls have!
I'm only adding this next photo,
as we were told we had just walked through the tallest forest in Iceland!
😁
Only about 25% of Iceland has vegetation, so they protect it all fiercely. You are really discouraged from walking on grass or moss,
and you must NEVER pick the flowers.
Wow!
So what happens when we get back onboard?
A bar-tending competition between the officers was on!
We all had to sample the drinks, a few times, to decide the winner!
We were all winners.
Hic.
😵💫
I can't tell you how cool this Viking Cruise Line is.
Always above and beyond.
---
Next stop: Seydisfjordur.
After a stunningly scenic sail in, we arrived at this picturesque little town,
tucked right at the end of the fjord that shares it's name.
We were greeted with this fabulous view from our state room balcony. ❤️
See that slightly bent bridge halfway up the photo? That's got our names on it, I reckon.
(Too bad about the 'SS Minnow' in the front... 😉🛥 )
Yet another tiny town, only thing I knew was that they had a church which was
famous for its rainbow path,
but other than that, this was going to be a quiet day of self exploration.
Yes, we could've done a guided tour,
but sometimes it's better to follow the path least trodden.
This way, we found our way up to a gorgeous bridge by, yes, another waterfall,
and on our own which was even nicer...
then found some amazing reflections around the town,
at the end of yet another tranquil fjord.
Told you it had our names on it!
👍🏼
The lupins were everywhere, reminding me of the heather in Scotland,
and the reflections were glorious.
A nice casual day today. Strolling. Admiring.
Breathing in deep the clean, pure air.
Life is good.
---
Next stop was something I had scribbled down in my journal:
Stone eggs, and a lighthouse.
Guess what?
Got 'em both!
Welcome to the tiny port of Djupivogur.
With a population of just over 500,
this tiny little village opened its doors and arms to us in the sweetest of ways.
Trev and I first wandered alone, down one of its few, and yes, very vacant streets,
and found a house displaying all sorts of arts and crafts,
as well as having many hand collected stones and agates from the area, proudly on display.
Look, he made a lighthouse! You know what I've asked Trev to build for my garden now. 😉🛠
But the best part was the owner and craftsman met us and invited us in. He was so proud of his collection, as he showed everything to us,
as well as signing his visitor's book. He was quite the character!
He loved a chat.
As this village was tiny, most of us opted for the free walking tour, led by a villager,
which I must say,
gave us some absolute pearlers of info about the town,
and about Iceland on a whole.
First of all, did you know that 'most' Icelanders are related.
Really.
So much so, that they have an app that has all their genetic history on it...
so, you know where I'm going with this -
Yep, singles literally bump their phones together, before they bump anything else.
Just to dare to see how closely related they are.
Take a chance?
Or not?
Funny part of that conversation, as that they think this is completely normal,
and must happen in countries all over the world.
Ah, that would be 'no.'
Next little story was about the last local policeman they had stationed here.
He decided to not wear his gun, as that looked to rude and intimidating, and in the end,
he ended up resigning and moving away as he was bored because there was nothing to do.
No crime.
Apparently they reckon the worse they do is jump into friends' hot tubs and gossip.
And lastly, they were really excited as there are two new babies due this year.
Wow.
So cute.
So Iceland.
👶🏼👶
Now where are those stone eggs?
Found 'em on the way to my wee little lighthouse.
These granite sculptures are all individually shaped to match the eggs of each of the
34 birds that are indigenous to the area.
And last but not least, a nice little walk through some squelchy tundra,
and we got to the tiny lighthouse, and had it all to ourselves.
Perfect.
Isn't it darling?
Back to party onboard tonight, as its
'All you can eat lobster around the pool' night!