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Venture: Iceland & Greenland

luglio 2025
  • Lorna Spaas
  • Paul Spaas
Attuale
Un’avventura a tempo indeterminato di Lorna & Paul Leggi altro
  • Lorna Spaas
  • Paul Spaas
Attualmente in viaggio

Elenco dei paesi

  • Groenlandia Groenlandia
  • Islanda Islanda
  • Olanda Olanda
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  • 7,2kchilometri percorsi
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  • Nave da crociera2.615chilometri
  • Volo2.036chilometri
  • Autobus198chilometri
  • Camminare46chilometri
  • Motoscafo13chilometri
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  • 23impronte
  • 19giorni
  • 297fotografie
  • 45Mi piace
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  • Venture: Iceland & Greenland

    Umivik Bay, Greenland

    Ieri, Groenlandia ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

    There wasn't much hope for being able to get into Umivik Bay today, but as we got closer to Greenland late afternoon, the ice cleared.

    The weather had improved as we entered the bay, but sod's law, it started to rain as we did a zodiac cruise in the bay.

    We will be doing a bit of scenic cruising more into the bay this afternoon and this evening.    Leggi altro

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  • Venture: Iceland & Greenland

    Haimaey, Iceland

    27 luglio, Islanda ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We arrived at Heimaey at around 7am with a view to doing scenic zodiac cruising off the island and some small islands close by. Unfortunately, the winds were too strong to set the zodiacs in the water, so there was a change of plan.

    The ship itself did a bit of scenic cruising along the island coastline, and the strong powerful camera on board panned to the cliffs so we could see puffins and other birds nesting on the cliffs. The cliffs themselves were impressive.

    We were due to dock at a different pier because another cruise ship was going to be in port. They cancelled because the wind was too strong, so we were able to use the same berth as we used 2 days ago.

    The weather was absolutely gorgeous, so we were able to make the most of the good weather to walk up Eldfell volcano, which erupted in 1973. The wind up at the top was horrendous so we had to be careful we didn't get blown off.

    After climbing down, we had enough energy to walk up an older, extinct volcano, Helgafell. The path was steeper than that going up Eldfell. The path we took down was even worse with very loose lava gravel, so we had to make our way down very slowly. We were able to walk around the rim of this crater, and the views were well worth the climb.

     We continued our walk through a bit of a residential area and then along the outskirts of the very beautiful and scenic Vestmannaeyjavöllur golf course, and past a monument to the members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) on the island who moved to Utah.

    We passed 2 viking dwellings on the far side of the golf course and then wandered back through town to ship. To congratulate ourselves on our hike up the 2 volcanoes, we treated ourselves to a mug of hot chocolate.

    The ship is now heading towards Greenland, a day's sailing from here.    Leggi altro

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  • Venture: Iceland & Greenland

    Reykjavik

    26 luglio, Islanda ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Today was a turnaround day. Guests left the ship, and a new lot came on board.

    Paul and I had to move to another cabin. Only NEXT DOOR!🙄 Fortunately, it was next door.

    Guests had to vacate their cabins by 8am, and, out of curiosity, Paul put his nose around the corner to see if we could move in. Not only was it empty, but also the housekeepers had already cleaned and made the room for us. Wow! We quickly moved our stuff and then went back to strip the linen off the bed and put the towels and bathroom floor mats with the linen - just to help the housekeepers out.

    A bit later, we had a wander around town, getting some liquorice ice cream (yummy) and walking to a church, and then headed back to the ship via various shops. I managed to pick up a pair of children's pure wool socks for myself, UK size 2; merino wool thermals and a nice sweater - which looks like one of Paul's!

    Back on the ship, I got a new key card for the new room.

    The ship is now heading back to Heimaey for this new cruise. More of our itinerary will follow as I write my daily blogs.    Leggi altro

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  • Venture: Iceland & Greenland

    Heimaey, Westman Islands, Iceland

    25 luglio, Islanda ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Paul had a short callout for fog duty during the night, but it was short-lived, and he was back just over half an hour later.

    The winds have been stronger overnight and seas rougher, too, so we have been rocking and rolling a bit.

    Once we reached the narrow but stunning entrance into Heimaey this morning, we were sheltered.

    Unfortunately, it was raining on arrival, and it was pretty much like that all day. Sometimes a light drizzle, sometimes relentless rain.

    While there was a light drizzle, we decided to get off the ship for a walk and followed a coastal path for quite a while. The path took us through lava fields, and at one point, the path disappeared due to a dirt road construction to the sea. The sides of the road were too steep to climb down, so we managed to find an alternative route down. When we found the track on the other side of the road, it was steep, and the loose lava was tricky to climb up. We made it, though, and continued following the path through the lava fields until we reached a tarred road.

    We could follow the road back into town or visit a volcano or follow tracks back to town. Despite rain gear, we were wet - the quality of the rain trousers are not good, and our trousers started to feel damp due to leaks through the rain trousers. My hiking shoes and socks were soaked through, too. The steepness of the volcano track and the relentless rain made us rethink about the rest of the walk. We decided to follow tracks to town. Unfortunately, quarrying had covered the paths that we were meant to follow, so we had to navigate our way across it until we hit a dirt road that that we would have met up with in the end. We followed it in the pouring rain and were glad we had chosen not to climb up to the volcano - visibility would have been severely limited at the top due to rain.

    The dirt road ended, and we followed a track back to town. No sooner had we got into town, the rain eased to a light drizzle. Sod's law!

    We made our way back to the ship, my hiking shoes wheezing with every step.

    It was good to get back on board the ship to dry off. Our clothes are in a warm wardrobe with a heater in it, drying off now.

    Departure on the way out of port was pretty as we sailed back out of the narrow entrance into open waters.

    We are heading to Reykjavik.    Leggi altro

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  • Venture: Iceland & Greenland

    Seyðisfjörður

    24 luglio, Islanda ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Paul and I took a lovely walk to the base of a waterfall not far from the ship.

    From there, we walked along a track on the side of a valley, past houses, and out of town. The track took us to the main road, which we followed back into town.

    There wasn't much in town to see, but it was a pretty place, and locals were friendly. We went past the church and past a few gift shops. We popped into the local supermarket, hoping to get liquorice ice cream, but there wasn't any. One of the shop staff surprised us with her very British accent. We should have asked how she ended up living in Iceland!

    Having wandered around the tiny town, we wandered back to the ship.

    We have set sail towards our next port, Heimay. We went to the hot tub to watch the beautiful scenery of the fijord. As we got to the open sea, the wind got up, and the fog set in. It was time to leave the hot tub as, by then, we were well bubbled out.    Leggi altro

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  • Venture: Iceland & Greenland

    Húsavík

    23 luglio, Islanda ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Paul and I took a walk into town and noticed tendering operations going on. The Volendam is at anchor, just on the other side of the harbour wall!

    We stopped where the Volendam tenders were docking and had a chat with the Chief Security Officer and another staff member who recognised us. As we were about to continue our walk, we also met Debbie, the Shore Excursions Manager, whom we have known for a long time. It was lovely to catch up briefly.

    We continued into town and made our way along the coastal road to the post office and then continued on a road out of town until we got to a path that took us back into town via a river and park. It was a pretty walk, but we were glad to have rain suits on because of drizzle and foliage being wet. My hiking shoes were soaked through within minutes and were wheezing every time I took a step.

    On the way back to the ship, we visited the Whale Museum, which was rather interesting.

    While waiting our turn to enter, there was a couple having a meltdown and letting off steam with a museum staff member. I gathered they booked a whale watching tour and were given clothes/suits prior to the tour. Apparently, they said that when they booked the tour, they were not told that they had to wear the suits they were given - otherwise, they wouldn't have booked the tour. Because she didn't want to wear the suit, she didn't go on the whale watching tour. Oh boy... those suits are a necessity when you are on the water. They are almost like survival gear for this part of the world. The poor museum chap... We didn't hear the outcome because we presented our ship cards to the museum chap's colleague and went into the museum

    After the museum we went to the local supermarket to look for liquorice ice cream, but the supermarket was very small. We should have gone to Netto near the post office. It's not the end of the world.

    We had a pleasant walk back to the ship where I was very happy to take my wet hiking shoes and socks off where they are now drying in a warm cupboard with a heater.    Leggi altro

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  • Venture: Iceland & Greenland

    Akureyri, Iceland

    22 luglio, Islanda ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    Wonders of Lake Mývatn excursion.

    We are back in Iceland again, having sailed down Iceland's longest fijord, Eyjafjordur, to Akureyri.

    The Volendam is in Port today. It was good to see her again.

    We did a tour, so it was good to get off the ship and explore.

    We left town and crossed the Fjord via a bridge and followed the Fjord road for a while. We went up the Vikurskard Pass and could see Fnjoskadalur Valley, where geological remains of glacial and post-glacial times be seen.

    From there, we headed to the Godafoss Waterfalls, which were quite pretty. The Skjalfandafljot River falls from a height of 36 feet over a breadth of 100 feet. The waterfalls were in a slight horseshoe formation.

    From there, we visited Lake Mývatn with its small pseudo-craters, the Skutustadir Craters. The area is full of flies, so we wore headnets during our walk. The lake is quite shallow and, therefore, warms up very easily, and there is a lot of algae growth on the lake bottom. There are many duck species and swans that feed on the algae, fly larvae, and the flies themselves.

    We had a lovely but simple fish lunch at the nearby Lake Mývatn Hotel.

    After lunch, we headed to Dimmeuborgir lava labyrinth, where we walked on paved paths around some volcanoe lava formations.

    As the tour drew to a close, we did one last stop in the Jardbodin or Mývatn Nature Baths, which are filled withgeothermal water. After a thorough wash with soap, we could enter the milky blue warm sulphur-smelling water. There was lava gravel underfoot. The baths were about 1m deep only - quite shallow. One area was warmer than the other, and there was a pool bar that one could purchase drinks from.

    Why shower before entering the baths? They are natural and not chlorinated. The water comes from a hot spring, which feeds the baths and seeps away.

    It was sad to see quite a few, mainly female visitors (not from our ship) clutching their mobile phones, holding them above the water. Why, oh, why can't they leave their mobile phones in their lockers. They were glued to them! I know some places ban the use of phones in spas and baths.

    After nearly 2 hours, we headed back to Akureyri but first went around the rest of Lake Mývatn. Instead of going back over the pass, we went through a 7km tunnel through the mountains back to Akureyri.    Leggi altro

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  • Venture: Iceland & Greenland

    Denmark Strait - sea day

    21 luglio, Denmark Strait ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    We had a relaxing day, reading or listening to interesting lectures given by members of the expedition team.

    Fin whales were spotted, as was a blue whale, and some pilot whales. Every time they were seen, the ship slowed down and very slowly went in their direction for a better look. There were many happy guests!Leggi altro

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  • Venture: Iceland & Greenland

    Denmark Strait

    20 luglio, Groenlandia ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C

    This morning, there was a very early morning zodiac cruise between 2 islands off the east Greenland coast. Sadly, I didn't go because I slept in. I also knew that by setting the alarm clock early - it would have woken Paul up. He had got to bed after 4am. this morning.

    Many lucky guests got to see a polar bear and her cub. This was spotted by the Captain. He got the prize for being the first person to spot a polar bear on this cruise. The prize? Big bar of Toblerone chocolate!

    The ship set sail again, just after 9am and we have been heading in a north easterly direction through a "window of opportunity" in the ice rather than sailing quite a bit south to get around it.

    Progress has been slow at times as we zigzagged through sea ice sheets, sometimes down to 1 knot or less in speed. Once or twice, we were stopped by very thick ice until a path opened up, or an alternative direction around the ice was found, or we plowed through and knocked the ice sheets. We will eventually head south once we have got through the band of ice.

    Visibility hasn't been good either - fog and more fog.    Leggi altro

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