A Quiet Day in Ísafjörður

We took a casual stroll through town of Ísafjörður, the largest town in the Westfjords (a peninsula in northwest Iceland) today, with no real agenda other than exploring at our own pace. The town has several charming boutique shops featuring artisan pieces, including earrings, mixed-fabric creations, knitted items, ceramics, and art prints.

Justin was hoping to find bottled water to bring back onboard. Bottled water is limited on the Valiant Lady ship, especially in the casino, where bottled water is one of the “drinks” included with our fare. I will say there are plenty of water refill stations throughout the decks and if you ask your room attendant they will provide you with a caraf of sparkling or still water when they service the room. However Justin has a fear of water he hasn’t filtered himself hence the aforementioned scavenger hunts. Also, i’ve found these mundane tasks a charming errand for us to tackle together. It gives a morsel of satisfaction to check an item to check off the list, IYKYK. We stopped at a local grocery store hoping to find some large bottles, but unfortunately, we struck out. We did find Paprika Pringles, though. They’re my favorite flavor and one of those European grocery-store finds I always look for, so the water mission turned into a snack acquisition instead.

There were a few vendors set up near the port selling their wares, but we weren’t dressed warmly enough to spend much time outside. By around 1 p.m., we decided to head back to the ship for warm beve’s and snacks.

The scenery here is stunning. Low clouds seemed to brush across the tops of the nearby cliffs and stayed around for much of the day. By 4 p.m., they were still hanging around, so we decided to bask in the sun on the top deck and enjoy the scenery from there.

I purposely left today free of shore excursions. After several busy days of exploring, I wanted to build in a true rest day so we could recharge. Sometimes a slow day is exactly what you need during a long trip.

Iceland definitely gave us a reminder about prices too. Once converted to U.S. dollars, some of the prices were enough to make me pause. I spotted a beaded bracelet for my niece but put it down at $17 USD. A gorgeous wool sweater was priced around $269 USD. That particular shop, Icewear, was more of an upscale souvenir and cold weather base layer store than one of the small independent boutiques, but the price still gave me sticker shock. I also found a cute Iceland beanie and a puffin beanie. I liked it enough to consider buying one, but after seeing the price of the sweater, I decided I was too afraid to look at the tag!

For today, though, the best part of Ísafjörður was simply slowing down, enjoying the scenery, wandering through town, and giving ourselves permission to rest.

TLDR; Water was the Mission. Pringles were the Prize. Iceland prices are Painfully Steep.Read more