A “Whale” of a time!

This morning (Saturday) we dropped anchor in one of the beautiful Western Fjords next to the tiny fishing port of Isafjordur.

The little ship’s tenders were lowered and soon they were clucking around the ship waiting for their payloads of tottering passengers to take to the mainland.

When we got ashore we soon noticed a very nice “big boy’s” toy! …

…… and, handing over the required number of Krona, we got suited and booted ……..

……. and, after getting safely aboard, ……

…… we headed out into the spectacular waters of the surrounding fjords.

With scenery to die for and water calm enough to see yourself in, this super powerful RIB  boat took us through mile after mile of the most stunning scenery.

A look backwards we could see our “home” fjord in the far distance on the left and the spectacular snow and ice covered National Park area on the right which holds one of Iceland’s biggest glaciers.

Further along we came across thousands of Puffins having their lunch …

…… and all around us the vast expanse of the Isafjaroardjup Fjord.

Then the highlight of the trip!  A couple of humpback whales!!!!!  and, at this point,  words are really not enough ……..

….. so here are the pictures …..

……. what more can be said!

After an hour of watching those most wonderful creatures, and having finally retrieved our breath, we headed back – just managing a glimpse of the glacier in the National Park ……

….. together with loads more Puffins (James’ favourite bird) on land …..

…… and floating about and looking cute. Meanwhile ……

……. “Siggy”, our captain, owner, and very experienced driver of the ‘formula one’ boat we were strapped into, was giving us the ride of our lives whenever he had the chance.

Getting back to a more sedate pace we approached the tiny island of Vigur where there were seals to be seen ……

……. and the only windmill on Iceland.

Another first for us today – as we edged quietly closer to Vigur we saw an Eider duck walking up the beach in front of us.

After almost three hours of the most amazing experience we were back to the lovely fjord at Isafjordur and jetting  past our “home” to arrive safely back in the harbour. We can really recommend this trip www.westfjordssafari.is

We had a quick look around tiny Isafjordur with fellow passengers Chris and Joy, who accompanied us on the trip and who kindly took this picture of us –ahh!

Back on board we joined the party for a classical sail away (classical music) with Des, Emma, (Doug), and Rupert.

Being the 21st June we can’t say we’re  sailing away into the sunset because there wasn’t one!  Tonight the sun will remain above the horizon for us and, frustratingly, we shall not be sailing into the Arctic Circle (as we’d hoped) as the Captain has decided to keep us just a few inches to the south. Oh well, that means we’ll have to make another trip one day so that we can say we’ve actually done it.
We now head eastwards towards our next destination, Akureyi on Iceland’s longest fjord Eyjafjordur. (Does anyone know how to pronounce these names properly!)  We’ve had a totally brilliant day.

The Land of the Midnight Sun.

We’ve arrived in Reykjavik, Iceland this morning – the weather being much better than forecast, but first here are a few pics of life on board “Arcadia”  over the last few days:

It’s all getting a bit strange now - this is 1:30 in the morning! – still daylight, and we don’t know whether we’re supposed to be asleep or not!

This is the glorious Palladium theatre on board (photo as promised).

Late one evening - Doug, James, Jess (gallery manager),and fellow passengers Des and Rupert after a terrific show in the Palladium by the Headliners Theatre Company.

So, this morning, in Reykjavik we first had a quick look around the town and some of our old haunts.  It’s a bit weird as we were here only a year ago! Here’s Doug in front of the fabulous Opera House.

We found this gem of a place last time – it’s the Stofane cafe in the main square (not granny’s siting room!) – very relaxing for coffee and cake or a simple meal.

The very dramatic cathedral dominating the city (which we visited before) but which was on our way to the bus station where we caught the bus ……..

…. and travelled through very typical Icelandic countryside ……..

……. and more Icelandic countryside (lava fields, thermal vents and volcanoes) ……….

…… until we reached the Blue Lagoon - where we met up with half the ship’s crew!

We came here to this thermal spa, about 40 minutes outside Reykjavik, last time but the weather was so atrocious (freezing, gale force winds in February!) and we had a job to enjoy it properly.  This time it was very pleasant and we spent a good couple of hours luxuriating in the very warm waters (from 1500 feet below the surface) and plastering our faces with exfoliating white mud.

After a great day out we arrived back home to “Arcadia”, soon to set sail for our next Icelandic destination of Isafjordur tomorrow and getting ever closer to the Arctic Circle – but that’s for another day.

Settling in on “Arcadia”– day 2.

The first three pictures of ourselves seem terribly self indulgent but we had our first formal evening yesterday…….

…… and as the shadows lengthened on the rear deck we asked our friend Dolreich (fortuitously on duty in the area) to take this one of us in all our finery.

Then, of course, we wanted one of each of us with him …..

….. which he was very obliged to do for us!

After our little ‘photo shoot’ it was onward to the Captain’s welcome party where we had a couple of glasses of Champagne, (courtesy of P&O) before the gala dinner which included Lobster, one of Doug’s favourites!  Followed by a very good and late evening out with some of the Entertainments Officers…………

Today a momentous thing happened – (the not very competitive) James won the shuffle board! and was presented with his first gold star of the cruise.  These little things in life DO matter! (He also enjoyed the second talk in the Concorde series while Doug was busy winning the deck quoits competition).

Here he is with his winning team mate (Chris P) and their prize winning “paddles”.

There are some very nice touches around the ship – this is the glass roof above the central staircase …..

……. and the staircase itself.  We haven’t yet got a good pic of the Palladium Theatre which is stunning and arguably the best on any ship.  We will get one so watch this space.

For those who love the sea this is the view along the ship from our balcony as we head towards Iceland – for those who aren’t interested in water it’s as boring as heck (sorry!).

Ship Fact: “Arcadia” moves 58 feet for every gallon of fuel.

Arcadia–our first day at sea.

We the left port slightly earlier than scheduled yesterday and made our way down Southampton Water. Once out in the Solent we steered, what we thought, was an odd course – first heading west then turning sharp to port to head east and around the Isle of Wight.

Travelling down Southampton Water and into the Solent  P & O’s traditional “sail away” party took place on the rear terrace deck and, although rain threatened, it all went off very well.

As is usual, Southampton Water is a very busy place and everywhere there is something happening.  Here we have a very speedy catamaran, bound for the Isle of Wight, creeping up on our blind side!

Our strange course took us close to one of the Solent forts –this one now being a hotel we believe.

All the while we’re escorted by the pilot boat ready to pick up the pilot when we reach the area around the Nab Tower.

Further out the Royal Navy, heading into port,  passed across our bows with our “homeland” of Selsey Bill in the far distance.

Today the weather has been a great improvement on yesterday.  We’ve played the odd competition of deck quoits and shuffle board and James enjoyed the first of six lectures on Concorde.  We’re amazed at the amount of space on this medium sized ship – both inside and out.  it’s a great contrast with “Ventura” which, despite its size, seemed very cramped.

The wonderful weather changed dramatically for a while this afternoon as we went through a fog bank.  It was a bit of an eerie atmosphere, with the fog horn sounding regularly for about an hour.  The weather has now returned to “normal” and this evening we are in the Irish Sea with gorgeous sunshine on our balcony and steaming in through the windows.  We’ll soon be dressed to the nines and attending the Captains ‘welcome aboard’ Gala party this evening.  “Et in Arcadia ego”.