13 - 17 July

Friday 13 July   Reykjavik – Iceland   Currency – Icelandic Krona

Iceland is set in the North Atlantic near the Arctic Circle and it a very dry, green country with very few tree and they are very short and stubby.

What an amazing country, deep below the ocean is the Mid Atlantic Ridge, a juncture point between two tectonic plates, the European and the North American.  As they slowly move and grind against one another, they release vast quantities of geothermal energy and volcanic activity.  Iceland owes its origin to volcanic eruption, which continues today.  The union of the cold northern climate with the explosive fire from within the earth produced this land of fire and ice, glaciers alongside volcanoes.

I was rugged up when I left the ship this morning; I had no intention of getting cold this time.  I had a long sleeve thermal spencer, jumper, tights, socks, long pants, scarf, hat, sneekers and carrying my jacket.  The forecast was cloudy and a high of 11 degrees, sunrise  0333 and sunset 2331.

We drove through the township of Reykjavik and we went out into the countryside, once again rolling hills with very little vegetation as most of the soil is volcanic.

We stopped at an extinct volcano crater and walked around the rim and then saw some mountains that still had some snow visible even though it was summer.  

Iceland is totally ‘green’, using geothermal energy, they bore about 300 metres down into the thermal canals and the water is over 300 degrees with drives the turbines and return the cool water to the earth and also wind and solar.

The Icelandic ponies are beautiful, they are not allowed to be exported as they are one of the last horses who have never been used to pull wagons etc. and they gallop differently.  I will need to Google it when I get home. 

Gullfoss Waterfall is one of the most amazing waterfalls I have seen, thousands of litres of water flow every minute, I can not imagine what it would be like as the ice thaws.

Krysuvik Solfataras is huge area of boiling mud, steam vents and hot springs, it is similar to the hot springs in Rotarua without the strong stench of sulphur.

Stokkur Geyser erupts every few minutes shooting boiling water up to 20 metres into the air, we were standing down wind and got soaked with steam and hot water.

We then travelled to an area in the National Park where the two tectonic plates meet on land, one foot on the American and one foot on the European plates.

Lunch time saw us at a local restaurant where I bought a bowl of their special lamb soup and homemade bread, the soup bowl was filled as many times as you like for free.  Very nice.

 

We headed back to town and stopped at the Lutheran Church which was really lovely, it was plain especially after the ornate Catholic Cathedrals in Europe.  The church was very welcoming and it had a fantastic pipe organ with the pipes in the wall.  

We had to return to the ship and leave this lovely city; the people are friendly and proud of their heritage and the fact that they live in one of the last wilderness areas of the world.  The weather was much nicer that I expected or perhaps I was better prepared this time.

Well, we have travelled as far as we could and now have to come back down to the other side of the world.  From the mild winter of Sydney, to the ‘dry’ in Darwin to the start of the monsoon season in Singapore and Malaysia to the searing heat in Egypt and finally to the Arctic Circle.

Friday 13 July – North Atlantic Ocean.  The weather is flat, the outside temperature is absolutely freezing and only the tough and the smokers go up on deck.

We have been having huge health problems on board as a rotavirus is causing many of the passengers to be quarantined for days at a time and the poor crew are constantly wiping down rails, doors, and all areas that are touched.  They have to serve us everything as everything has been taken off the table including the pepper and salt.  Touch wood, I have only suffered a cold and really hope I escape this virus.  If it is not cleared up, we may not be able land in New York.

 Saturday 14 July – North Atlantic Ocean.  Another day at sea, the weather is still freezing and sickness is still rampant.  The sea is covered in mist and still very calm.

Sunday 15 July, Monday 16 July & Tuesday 17 July – North Atlantic Ocean.

Three more days at sea and although the restrictions are still in place, it seems that less people are reporting in sick.  I really love going offshore and seeing new places but I also enjoy the sea days as well, I read, go to trivia, chat and just enjoy meeting people and just doing nothing.

We had our last formal for this section and I wore my lovely green dress for the first time and I looked smashing.  No, I do not have a picture, you know me, I hate having my picture taken, I will have a formal one done before I leave the ship.  Promise.

The other thing I should mention is the constant changing of the clocks. We always seem to moving our watches as we pass through another time zone, it certainly knocks around your internal time clock, we lose a whole day on our way home.