More Randomness

Our 4th sea day in a row and everyone is anxious to reach Halifax! And we're looking very forward to celebrating July 4th in Charleston, South Carolina as well. Travel is fun, but it also serves to remind us that there is no country like ours. USA!! We are seriously blessed and we often take it for granted. 

 

Four sea days in a row is a little much. Since we left South Hampton, this last segment of the cruise has been completely full. A lot of ATW passengers got off in South Africa to go elsewhere, then returned to the ship for this last segment. Others are new to this segment only. We got used to having about a third less passengers, so the ship feels more crowded now, especially around meal times. 

This morning started with breakfast in our room, then Ronnie's ukulele practice followed by Bible study. We only meet on sea days so we have only one more "Sunday service" and a couple more times to meet for Bible study. Below is a photo someone took yesterday after our time together. As with most group photos, some people are hidden. You can also tell that we don't know if it's warm or cold, as we're dressed for a mixture of seasons. ha! Do you see the blond in the front row (4th from left) wearing pink heels? Are you ready? She is 90!! She's the one whose birthday we celebrated recently. (I posted photos I took at the party, but did not include her in those). And NO, I am not lying!

 

 

Yesterday morning was another Sunday Brunch where the food and presentations were absolutely over the top. We've had several of these and I've posted pictures of them before. 

 

omelet station

making my veggie omelet

 

no brunch should be without a string quartet!

In the afternoon, the ship had a silent auction with the proceeds being divided up and given to the crew. These young people work so hard to take such excellent care of us - and always with a smile! Whatever they get paid, it probably isn't enough but they are very thankful to have these jobs and be able to help their families back home.

Liz, a friend from Canada who we know through our Bible study bid $400 for a cross stitch picture. It was made by various people on the ship (each person making a pattern to represent where they're from), and someone else stitching all of them together. She will have it blocked and framed when she gets home. It is definitely one of a kind.

 

Liz from Alberta with ATW cross stitch - 2026

Today the ship is collecting donations of shoes, clothing or anything else that passengers don't want to carry home with them. The donated items will also go to the crew members and their families. 

More randomness - Here's a random picture of friends who won the boat making contest awhile back. Each contestant or group had to 1) make a ship 2) from "found" materials around the ship or on land and #3 it had to float. These 2 couples from our Bible study group were the proud 1st Place winners! Here's a picture of them with their winning entry. Congratulations Kevin, Wendy, Diana and John! 

 

1st Place - Boat Building Contest

We don't plan to start packing until the day before we dock in Miami because our 4 large bags are still in storage. It's not the easiest task for the staff to fish out 4 specific pieces of luggage given the hundreds of bags being stored. And even if we had them, they would need to stay in our room until disembarkation, which would limit our floor space. So we will probably wait until the day before we leave to get our bags and pack.

This afternoon we went for tea and scones in the Horizon lounge. It was sunny earlier today; now it is foggy again. I snapped this photo out the window in the Lounge which is on the back of the ship.

 

scones, jam, clotted cream

solid fog

 

Randomness

I don't have much to say because we're only halfway through a long stretch at sea - 4 days in a row! The days are beginning to get a bit longer - no more nights with the sun not setting. The weather is still quite chilly, which prevents people from dining on the decks or outside in the Wave restaurant. The result is a very crowded Terrace (casual dining). 

Today we ordered burgers from the Wave and had a nice lunch inside visiting with our friend Tom Hanley from Ft. Worth. He lost his wife early in the cruise but came back to the ship, probably thinking it best for him to be around other people. His daughter Grace joined him in LeHavre, France and we got to meet her and help celebrate her 31st birthday at dinner a few days ago. 

 

someone making a nice toast to Tom & daughter Grace

a very fattening chocolate mousse cake

Our days are winding down now, with only 9 days left on the ship. However, we're looking forward to our next port in beautiful Halifax, Nova Scotia. From there it's on to New York, NY, Charleston, South Carolina and our final port in Miami, Florida where we initially set sail. We've begun making an effort to have lunch or dinner with most of the friends we've made on this voyage before we say goodbye in Miami. 

 

Ronnie and some of the men from Bible study group enjoying breakfast in Grand Dining Room

 

I learned this morning that we have another photo contest coming up. We can submit 2 entries - one in the Portrait Category and another in Landscape Category. The entries can be from this segment only, starting in South Hampton. Since I only learned about this today (the digital folks are not the best organized) I haven't taken any photos that would fit in the Portrait Category. I do have one cute one so I may enter it anyway, although it's not technically a portrait. Submission date is July 3 so perhaps now that I know I can come up with something else between now and then.

 

twin toddlers zooming by on scooters

 

I'm trying to select one for the Landscape category and this is where I need help again. I have it narrowed to 4, which I will post here and I appreciate any feedback. Please help by giving me your #1 and #2 choices. Thank you!! It really helped me the last time - you picked a winner!

 #1 Reykjavik, Iceland

 #2 Cork (Cobh), Ireland

 #3 Cork (Cobh), Ireland

#4 Falmouth (Cornwall), UK

Reykjavik, Iceland

What a beautiful view to wake up to! Thirty minutes later we were enjoying a room service breakfast. With a day in port and nothing special planned, we stayed on board and enjoyed a very lazy morning. We saw a lot of the countryside when we were here in 2024, so we decided just to take the shuttle into town and walk around a bit. The weather has turned rainy, cold and blustery, so I personally wasn't interested in spending a lot of time outdoors.

The photo below was taken from our balcony around 7:30 this morning.  

 

Mount Esja in background

 

Reykjavik, Iceland's government seat is home to half the island's population. It is a colorful city with concrete houses painted in light colors topped by colorful red, blue and green roofs. Its name comes from the Icelandic words for smoke (reykur) and bay (vik). 

Iceland is known as the "Land of Fire and Ice" due to its landscape shaped by glaciers and active volcanoes. The tiny town of Reykjavik is surrounded by ice covered peaks, volcanoes and geothermal vents. Most of the homes here are heated by near-boiling water from the hot springs.

The majority of marine activities include whale and puffin watching. 

Here are some interesting facts about Reykjavik.

It is the northernmost capital city of any sovereign state in the world. Because of it's location, it experiences dramatic light shifts, from just 4 hours of daylight in winter to the near constant "Midnight Sun" during the summer solstice. 

Meaning of the Name: When the very first Norse settler, Ingólfur Arnarson, saw steam rising from the hot springs of the area, he named the bay Reykjavík, which means "Smoky Bay".

Zero Global Fast Food Chains: There are no permanent global fast-food franchises. The last McDonald's closed in 2009, making Iceland one of the few places worldwide without them. 

City of Puffins & Literary Greats: It is the only capital city in the world with a major puffin breeding colony (located on the nearby islands). It is also highly celebrated for its literary culture, earning the designation of a UNESCO City of Literature in 2011. 

The weather has been cold, windy and misting rain on and off all day. We took the shuttle into town and walked around so I could snap a few photos and then headed back to the ship. We are not cold weather people! I'll post some of the photos I took to give an idea of what we saw.

 

modern buildings, downtown Reykjavik

downtown Reykjavik

Hallgrímskirkja, largest church in Iceland

             

plenty of cafes and souvenir shops for locals and visitors

     

     

stainless steel sculpture "Sea Voyager"

rent a scooter

This afternoon the sun came out so here is the scene from our balcony before we sailed.

 

Isafjordur, Iceland

It was a chilly but beautiful today in Isafjordur! Here are the views from our balcony when we opened the curtains this morning - straight ahead and looking to the left.

Flanked on 3 sides by towering mountains, Isafjordur is a perfect natural harbor. Fishing is the area's main source of income.

Some passengers visited the Maritime Museum; others went to see the Dynjandi Waterfall, or to see whales or puffins. Still others hiked up a short way, while a few hiked really far up (on top photo) which looked quite scary. There would be nothing to stop them if they tripped and slid their way down! 

We saw a lot of this area when we visited in 2024, so we didn't get an excursion this time. Instead we just walked around the town for a couple of hours. Viking and Princess also had large ships in this port today, so it was a good business day for the local merchants!

I'll post some of the photos I took in the order taken as we walked toward the business area. 

 

Vista in Isafjordur

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

kayaking and cold water swims (brrr!)

Maritime Museum (background)

 

kids jumping off crates into icy water

  

older ships in dry dock

teens doing water "wheelies" in harbor

reflections in Isafjordur bay

beautiful stand of lupines

 

We were awake by 5 a.m. this morning, so we were back to the ship shortly after noon. Our afternoon consisted of reading, naps, Team Trivia and Mensa (Ronnie). We had a nice dinner with a couple from Nova Scotia. All in all, a very nice day!

Akureyri, Iceland - 31 minutes of night

I mentioned in my last post that the sun stayed up almost the entire night. Tonight the sun will set at 12:58 a.m. (tomorrow morning, actually) and will rise again shortly after at 1:29 a.m. Because the sun dips only slightly below the horizon during this time of year, it never gets truly dark. So that means we will experience just 31 minutes of twilight before the sun is back up. It feels really weird going to bed at 11 p.m. with the sun still shining brightly! 

Here was the view from our ship when we woke this morning.

  

 

We're in the Land of the Midnight Sun during what is called the summer solstice. The phenomenon occurs due to Iceland's location, just below the Arctic Circle. In contrast, the winter months are just the opposite, with December and January only experiencing 4-5 hours of daylight each day. Given that I have a touch of Seasonal Affective Disorder, I would have to move away during the winter months!

Here’s more info on the Midnight Sun. https://guidetoiceland.is/nature-info/midnight-sun-in-iceland

Akureyri is a town in northern Iceland in one of the longest fjords in the country. Surrounded by mountains, it is only 37 miles south of the Arctic Circle. However, it has mild summer temperatures up to 77 degrees F and winter temperatures averaging around 32 F. It is surprisingly green with lush vegetation. It was settled in the 9th century but did not receive a municipal charter until 1786. It was the site of Allied units during WWII. 

We’re in port all day so there was no big rush to get off the ship this morning. We decided to do a self-guided (with a map, of course) walking tour after breakfast. The town is very hilly and the walk was actually quite a climb. Of course I took lots of photos both ways. 

 

The church, Akureyrarkirkja (a mouthful!) is a regional symbol. Nicknamed the "ice cathedral" it dominates the cityscape from its hilltop. 

Hof Cultural and Conference Center

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We climbed the hill to the botanical garden and meandered around the gardens. After an hour or so, we walked back down to the town center and had lunch before heading back to the ship. Ronnie took a short nap and then went to run while I went to the Bistro and enjoyed an iced mocha latte while playing with my photos. As usual, I took way too many!  

        

                

lining up for a Volcano Dog

Mama, the water is cold!

goodbye, Akureyri

....and we're off to the next port