Day 15 Thursday, May 25th Penzance to home

 The day was bright and sunny as we arrived at Penzance station.  We had had our breakfast, we sorted ourselves out in the confined cabin, collected the suitcase we had left with nice train manager and trundled our way towards the Scillonian which was waiting.

We had one further problem.  Our Scillonian tickets were for yesterday's sailing and not valid for today and the ticket office at the top of the quay was not open.  We spoke to someone at the head of the quay who was very helpful and took Christine to an office who issued a current day ticket and everyone was happy.  We checked in and boarded all in good time.  The moral of this complete story of this holiday travel is: Never travel with the Savills - it never goes to plan.  There was a fresh 

St Martin's

breeze and we were happy to

Middletown beach 

 settle in seats downstairs.  The voyage went well, we caught up with some sleep, had a coffee and were soon approaching the islands.  We were pleased to see St Martin's and our home.

We soon found the pleasure launch and were on our way to Higher Town.  Ben and Caroline were meeting campers there with a tractor and trailer and kindly transported our luggage to Lower Town.  We were pleased to arrive home and thus finished another enjoyable (mostly!) episode of savillstravels.  Many thanks to all who have followed and commented - we have no further travels planned at the moment. 

Days 13 & 14 Tuesday & Wednesday, May 23rd & 24th, 2023 Reykjavik

 Two days in one as we didn't achieve much on the Tuesday! The previous evening we had a text with a weather warning that our flight may not go. We awoke to a cold, grey wet day.  We breakfasted and packed to leave the room as required, checked out and as the weather was so miserable we decided to stay in the comfortable reception area until the weather improved or the time of our transfer pick-up (1300).   I had an unwelcome text on my phone to say that our flight to London later that day had been cancelled due to excessive high winds.  Icelandair would contact us when they had some news as to how and when we could get home - it wouldn't be today.

We went to the hotel lobby to see  if they had further news and if it was possible to stay an extra night.  Negative on both counts as the hotel was fully booked tonight.  We knew there was a sister hotel nearby and that we could walk there.  i booked in online.  The weather improved and we walked to the new hotel and checked in - not as grand as where we were.  We had eaten a good lunch and went to a local supermarket for a snack type tea.  A text came through that we had been booked on a flight to Gatwick via Amsterdam tomorrow, we just had to go with the flow.

Wednesday  Overnight we had another text telling us we would be on the same time flight as our original to Heathrow but a day late.  This pleased us, today was much brighter and as we had a free morning we decided to explore Reykjavik.  

Hallgrimskirkja

We were within walking distance 

view across Reykjavik

of the city and we first set out to visit Hallgrimskirkja the modern church that dominates the city.  There was a service in progress and so we decided to take the lift up the tower.

view across Reykjavik

view across Reykjavik

the church bells

view across Reykjavik

We spent sometime absorbing the different views, trying to locate where we had walked before.  The bells were also very impressive.  We took the lift back down and now that the service had finished we were allowed into the main body of the 

the organ

church.  It looked rather austere with the pillars reaching to the high ceiling but it certainly had a good feeling within it.  It had a modern organ with stainless steel pipes.  The pulpit, font and communion table were very modern but effective in conveying the atmosphere of a place of worship.

the communion table

the main nave

We left the church, again admiring the facade  which seemed to take the peak of the tower to the heavens.  We walked down the original shopping street avoiding 

downtown Reykjavik

the malls with designer shops.  We stopped at a bookshop/coffee house for a coffee and enjoyed the relaxed ambience of the place. We couldn't read a single word of the books!  We slowly made our way back to the hotel for the taxi pickup to take us to the airport.

We left the hotel, arrived well on time at the airport, checked in, went through security and were soon boarding our flight.  It took off approximately to time and we had an uneventful trip to Heathrow.  It was noticeably warmer when we landed 20C as opposed to 5C in Reykjavik.  We took the usual time to go through everything and collect our luggage but no hiccups. We caught the Heathrow Express, and at Paddington we were soon boarding the sleeper train.  We had been unable to book sleeper berths but a kind train manager did find us a double berth using tickets for the previous night.  That was a bonus at the end of a long day.

Day 12 Monday, May 22nd 2023 Iceland Interior

 Most of Iceland's population and most of the economic activity is concentrated on the coastal regions.  We have seen quite a lot of that but there is a lot of geological and geographic things going on in the interior and we decided to stay for a tour of some of these.  We booked for a tour called the "Golden Triangle" and the reason for this description will become self-evident.  It was an all day affair and we were picked up at 0930 after having breakfast.  We were soon on our way and stopping at the first venue.  It was still raining and there was a stiff breeze 

Pinvellir plain and the lake

when we arrived at Pingvellir, a historic site for Iceland.  There was a viewing platform looking out across a plain and Iceland's 

Pingvellir plain

largest lake.  It was here that Iceland first had a settlement and parliament in the 10th Century. It is also a dividing       position for two tectonic plates 

typical earthquake result

- we were standing on the North America plate and soon we would be on the Eurasia plate. There were plenty of fissures, large cracks, crevasses and sudden changes in ground level as a result of the many earthquakes which have taken place.  After a walk and some refreshment we were soon on our way to the Eurasia plate and we soon crossed onto Europe with again large ground cracks.  We didn't drive long before we could see spurts of water shooting into the air and we 

geothermal activity

were approaching Geysir.  We stopped and there was an area of hot springs, bubbling pools and unpredictable  shooting geyser activity.  We walked and watched for quite a long time but did not catch on film a geyser erupting but there was a lot of sulphurous steam.  It had stopped raining and after seeing all we wanted it was time to move to the third part of the triangle.

the spectacular falls

We  drove on and arrived at the Gullfoss (Golden) waterfalls which was the attraction we both wanted to see.  The weather was now very good and the falls 

Gullfoss waterfalls

were spectacular with the spray showing good rainbows.  We walked to various viewing points and took lots of pictures and videos.  There were some access areas we did not venture to because people were coming away soaked by all the heavy spray from the falling water hitting rocks.  Again caused by the unique geology of Iceland and the effects glaciers have had on its landscape.  Certainly a not to be missed venue on a visit to this special country. 

We were soon on our way back to Reykjavik passing through some farmland with cows and sheep in evidence. Increasingly use is being made of cheap thermal power to heat greenhouses for growing more exotic fruit in this hostile environment.  We were told tomatoes are abundant and even someone had grown bananas.  Who knows where this story will end as power becomes more  expensive elsewhere.  We soon approached Reykjavik and were dropped outside our hotel at 1720.  It had been a good day seeing aspects of the country we couldn't enjoy by going round the coast.  We had a freshen up and managed to get a table to dine in the restaurant.  We had a good meal, were feeling tired and retired early. 

Day 11 Sunday May 21st 2023 Fridtjof Nansen to Reykjavik

Today we had to leave the place we called home for 9 days.  We had to be out of our cabin by 0730 and so we rose early and completed the packing to get out of the room on time and then went for our last on-board breakfast.  We ate and then had to wait until 1000 for a taxi to pick us up to take us to our hotel.  Unfortunately because of the bad weather the boat had docked at a more sheltered quay which probably upset the cab and he didn't appear.  We joined a shuttle bus to the other quay but that only took us so far.  We could not find any taxi but eventually found a group in the same predicament but who had just found a taxi. We asked that driver to find us a taxi and that duly arrived and all turned out well.

the pool

We booked into the hotel and 

looking out to sea

prepared for our next activity.  We wanted to do something different, something relaxing and typically Icelandic.  We had booked to go to a geothermal, coastal swimming pool.  It was still raining at this time but we went for it and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  We had been in geothermal pools in New Zealand

but this seemed better for temperature control and was just the right depth with some benches carved from rock in suitable places.  After being in the pool for about an hour we thought we had long enough, we then changed and went to the cafe for some food.

We later took a taxi back to the hotel and relaxed for the some of the afternoon before finding a supermarket to buy supplies for tomorrow.  A day which we did something a lot of Icelanders do regularly. 

  

Days9 & 10, Friday and Saturday May 19th & 20th Bakkergerdi and Heimaey

 This is two days together, rather belatedly because the weather has not been good on Saturday and Sunday.  Friday was beautiful as we sailed into Bakkergerdi and there were two options where we could spend time.  There is an outcrop near 

Bakkagerdi from the harbour

the harbour which is famous for puffins and other seabirds and also there is a small isolated settlement.  Many of our crewmates had taken the inflatable boat ride and had decided to take the wildlife option before we had got ourselves into gear.  There were so many humans looking at the birds, we decided to take the short coach trip and visit the quite ancient settlement which proved to have significant attractions.  

Bakkagerdi church

church interior

We visited the very small church 

which served the population of around 100 was built in 1901. It has an altar mural painted by a famous Icelandic artist and at the moment it all looks in good condition.  It was unlocked and we went in for photos.   i don't think I've seen the sermon on the mount depicted in that way before.

grass rooved houses

Carrying on into the hamlet there were two buildings with grass roofs which is the way the houses used to be.  We had seen crofts in the Hebrides with similar features.  Further

Bakkagerdi school

 along was the primary school which certainly had a terrific mural fora school and community that size.  Well                                         done Bakkagerdi!

The next part of the visit was a real highlight of our holiday.  We returned on the bus to the harbour and proceeded to do our type of birdwatching. There were now less people on the platforms and so we were able to climb up and move about freely.  You will now have to indulge me as I share a few pictures. 

We had never seen so many puffins or got so close to them.  What a wonderful creature they are.  We never before realised how large they are (size of a small duck), how tame they are (at times we were within 2 yards and they stayed in position), how they like to show off to the cameras.  We spent a very interesting time there and can understand the primary school mural.  It was soon time to return to the mothership and she then weighed anchor.  The next 36 hours were not good cruising with the wind and wave heights increasing.  Not very comfortable for sleeping and impossible to write the blog.  The captain told us the waves reached 21 metres in height and so we had to abandon the Heimaey visit and make our way slowly to Reykjavik.  Will continue the story soon.   

the harbour

 

Day 8 Thursday, May 18th 2023 Grimsey Island and Husavik

 Today began with a disappointment but ended up not too badly!  We were due to land on the small island of Grimsey which is crossed by the Arctic Circle but when we woke there was quite a swell and a lot of mist making it unsuitable for tendering.  Such is life on a cruise boat and similar situations occur quite frequently in Scilly.  We circumnavigated the island and hence crossed into the Arctic Circle and it was good the captain had a Plan B.  He proceeded to take us to the small fishing port of Husavik on a fjiord on the mainland.  This proved a masterstroke as we were able to dock and walk straight onto the quay.

We were able to have lunch on board and then went to explore Husavik.  We walked along the harbour front where there was a lot of boating activity.  Whale watching activities seemed as popular as traditional fishing boats.  It was good to 

part of the harbour

Husavik harbour

the harbour

see so much commercial action.  Further along we found the pretty church set back from the front.  We went up 

Husavik church

io it hoping to view the interior but again it was locked.  We walked around the rest of the town and found a whale museum which we decided to visit. There was lots of information including the huge skeletons of several types of whale.  In a lecture hall a film was showing narrating the intellectual capabilities of whales.  It was narrated by David Attenborough and proved a very interesting watch for about 40 minutes.  It was now time to make our way back to the Fridtjof Nansen after a successful alternative to the original plan.  We now spent the rest of the afternoon reading and blogging.

We had dinner and later enjoyed another highlight.  One of the boat's crew had previously been a lead flutist in a Los Angeles orchestra and she gave a brilliant performance which was much appreciated.  So ended another good day.
 

Day 7, Wednesday, May 17th Norway Day and Akureyri

Norway Day

 Today is Norway's National Day and being a Norwegian boat we were decked with Norway flags and enjoyed champagne being served at breakfast!

interesting building

We arrived at the quay in 

the modern church

Akureyri fairly early and after breakfast went for a walk in this 20000 population town which is called the capital of North Iceland. The walk from the dock was not very inspiring but  we eventually found the shopping centre and some better looking buildings.  We saw the modern church but assumed 

cultural centre

that as we had booked a city tour in the afternoon we would get more details of it then.  We also found the modern cultural centre which we again assumed we would visit later.  We made our way back to the boat and had lunch.  We were excited to see a minke whale appear near our boat in the fjiord while we were eating.

We joined our organised walk at 1400 and our guide started with about 20 walkers but soon the number dropped as people struggled 

1st female voter & Chris

with the pace set and style of

arctic terns

presentation.  We were told a lot of the history of individual buildings and not much about the modern relevance of the town.  We visited the cultural centre and there was a carving  of the first lady of Iceland to have the vote.  We carried on along the fjiord hearing about history and buildings and eventually we were down to 7 walkers who were largely bored. We made our way back to the town centre and were told the church may not be open. Christine and I decided to leave the walk here and try to visit the church.  We climbed the steps but the door was locked!  We then went direct back to the boat for a rest and cup of tea.  

Farm along fjiord

We blogged and read and then it was time for dinner.  After dinner we went to the splendid observation lounge to watch the coast as

Fishing boat in fjiord

 the boat made its way out to sea.  At low level there were farms but the major industry after tourism is fishing.  We enjoyed quite a good sunset to conclude a good Norway Day.   

The good sunset

Day 6 Tuesday, May 16th 2023 Exploration Day and Hofsos

 Firstly an apology, the bird I photographed yesterday was a golden plover and not a grey plover!

Today we arrived at the sparsely populated northwest fjiord region and it was planned we would do some small boat exploring including a remote beach clean.

dramatic scenery

 

cruising the fjiords

The wind was quite fresh when we arrived on site and it was decided to look for somewhere more sheltered.  This took some time and the outcome was the beach clean part of the day was abandoned.  We were able to go  out in small inflatable boats to look for the local birdlife.  We did see at distance some puffins, guillemots, razorbills, gulls and kittiwakes on the cliffs (the only birds I was quick enough to photograph).  We commented that we would have had better opportunities on boat trips in Scilly. 

kittiwakes on cliff

our small boats

small & large boat

Hofsos village

We then left that area and headed for the small port of Hofsos which played a large part in earlier emigrations from Iceland.  We were tendered ashore where 

there were old buildings with lovely photographs and descriptions of the arduous stories that families went through in previous times.  A thoroughly good experience where we could have spent a lot  more time.  We returned to the warmth of the boat for the rest of the evening.