Voyage of the Vikings-Reykjavik

Wednesday & Thursday, August 19th & 20th Port# 17 Reykjavik, Iceland We arrived in Reykjavik after 2:00pm and we immediately set out for the bus. Would you believe it was drizzling? It actually didn't rain for too long, so we set off to see some of the capitol city. We walked, rested, walked, rested for a while then we returned to the ship for dinner and an early bedtime. At 7:45am we met with our tour group and boarded our van of the day. Our driver/guide was wonderful and very informative about Icelandic culture and government. We visited an interior area where the land had separated and sunk leaving a huge beautiful lowland and lake. It was here that all of the original tribes met to hold councils and make laws. We next visited a thermogeo area that has geysers, or as they say, old geezers. Now on to the Gulfoss, or Golden waterfall. This was also a very beautiful place, but it was quite cool and the spray from the waterfall was really thick. Jack went on to take pictures while I returned to the van with the other women, trying to stay warm and dry! We ate a quick lunch of lamb stew, which was really good. Next we were on to a huge thermo-electric plant where they converted their "geezers" into heat and hot water for the entire city. There was one person on the bus who was "not feeling well" so our driver took her back to the ship and then took us for a tour of the city. It was terrific and we got to see everything that we couldn't walk to. We saw The Perlan (the Pearl) which is actually the water supply tanks for the city, all fancied up with a dome on top and a viewing walk. What a perfect way to hide ugly water tanks! We also went to the biggest church, which was beautiful and had a wonderful organ and the organist was playing while we were there. We also went to the City Hall where there was a large model of the country: very interesting. Then we were on to the modern stainless art piece of a Viking ship, in the harbor. We got back to the ship in just enough time and had a great day. Our driver liked us and took us on much more of a day than we paid for! We were so exhausted from the day that we were sound asleep before 9:30pm.

Friday & Saturday, August 21st & 22nd At Sea We slept in this morning and enjoyed every minute of it! I decided to go to the Mariner's Luncheon for our gift Delft Tiles and Jack just walked around. I went to lunch with him and then we were pooped, so we took another nap! Dinner was formal this evening, but we were not wanting to get "dolled up" so we put on our formal evening attire (black slacks, black tops) and ate in the Lido. Now we are settling in for the evening with a TV movie or some episodes of Boston Legal, which I brought from home! We received a note from the Captain tonight about hurricane Bill. He said that "they are reviewing alternate arrangements in case we need to revise our itinerary. The storm will not impact our arrival in Boston on August 29th." Last night was quite rock'n'roll, with a few big bumps and all day today we have had some sway. Jack and still haven't needed our bracelets, yet! We'll have to see what "Bill" does to us!