Waterfalls and Whales – Akureyri and Husavik – Tuesday 4th August
We are now in north east Iceland having sailed just briefly over the Arctic Circle line in the night and once again the Icelandic mist is keeping the charms and views of this wonderful country hidden from us. Despite the cold, we board the coach in high spirits and head for Godafoss waterfall. Irwin our guide for the day entertains us with interesting insights into Icelandic life – widespread belief in trolls and elves, use of geothermal energy for heating, Christmas customs, preservation of Icelandic language.
Godafoss waterfall is spectacular even when viewed from a safe distance. For the more foolhardy (ie me, Paul and many others) we step on submerged rocks to cross a fast flowing stream, then clamber over wet and slippy boulders to get to the edge of precipices – just to experience the spray and noise of the spectacular downfall! Obviously the Health and Safety police have not visited this place yet.
We spy one of the ship dancers from the entertainments team picking his way across the rocks. We all shout at him to be careful and stand ready to catch him in case he slips – what will we do in the evenings if the dance show is cancelled because of injury?
After an excellent local meal in Husavik, we don substantial rubberised survival suits, followed by bright orange thick plastic coats and board a very old restored wooden fishing boat, these days used for Whale Watching trips.
We sail into the bay at speed for an hour, the sea is very choppy, water, water, everywhere, they should have provided wellies as well, as the boat is “rocking and a rolling” in the search for whales. We slow down as two Humpback whales are spotted basking in the sea – they are far more at home than we are. As people move around on board to get better views, cameras get as wet as their owners, people press shutters endlessly to record one of the great sights in nature. One of the whales turns over and waves his flippers at us. The boat keeps a very respectful distance as we circle these wonderful creatures of the sea, then with a few more waves of a flipper, they are gone. These creatures can grow to 18m and weigh up to 40 tonnes, they are awesome.
Hot chocolate and cinnamon buns are now available to collect on the main deck, provided you can carry them without spilling down your orange coat or worse still your valuable camera, on this see-sawing deck.
I gallantly offer to take a hot drink and bun to a lady who has mobility problems. I bravely stagger the length of the ship trying not to spill her drink and arrive in front of her at the same time as a crew member who has also brought her refreshments. Realising we have both completed the same mission, I turn around and stagger off again still clutching the drink and bun. I am later told, the crew member did the same thing, assuming I had delivered her refreshments. So the poor lady watched two lots of refreshments arrive and then disappear without being able to taste any!
Back in Husavik, we spend some time in a Whale Museum. It was inspiring to be so close to the enormous skeletons of various whales but nauseating and sad to look at how these creatures have been (and still are) slaughtered over the years – the equipment used to butcher these creatures is cruel, horrible and barbaric. Sadly, Iceland is still involved in commercial whaling, despite objections by an ongoing moratorium established by the International Whaling Commission.
On the journey back to the ship, Irwin tells us more about this fascinating country – the dependency of Icelanders on Cod Liver Oil – needed for individual well being when the sun disappears for months on end; use of geo-thermal power to maintain homes at 24C so cheaply, how the widespread belief in Elves and Trolls can effect national planning decisions. There are many abandoned buildings as most people cannot survive this wild environment and a trip of about 300 miles from North to South across the island must be one of the last true adventures, no roads, no bridges, no accommodation, just pure cold wilderness. Would require horses or good off road vehicle to succeed.
Why I allow myself to be taken to the disco yet again, I do not know. We head there again, just for a ‘nightcap’, just to see what is going on, etc. Several drinks later it is party time with Kath leading a Conga and myself being taught the Macarena by Entertainment Manager Daniel – he was very confusing because he kept jumping round the wrong way! Once again we stagger away wondering how can we get up early tomorrow.
Six Sail to Iceland 