July 23, 2017: Reykjavik, Iceland

Located on the western shores of Iceland lies the capital and largest city in the country, Reykjavik. Believed to be first settled during the 9th and 10th centuries by Celtic and Norwegian immigrants, it wasn't until the 18th century when a full fledged township was developed. Today, Reykjavik is teeming with life especially during the summer months, when temperatures are typically are in the low to mid teens Celsius.
Today was one for the books as it were, the day began early on our independently organized, Golden Circle Tour. This tour covers the three top sites starting with continental divide were we can place on foot on the North American and the other on the European plate, amazing as these two plates meet (or should I say, separate) here just outside of Reykjavik. The second stop was at the amazing Gullfoss (or golden) falls, a huge wow factor as we could pretty close to the crashing of the water - one must be careful here. The third stop was to the impressive Geyser in the Haukadalur valley, the oldest known geyser in the world. This was a fantastic 8 1/2 hour tour where we were so fortunate to enjoy a beautiful warm sunny day visiting all these sites.
Back to the ship for a power nap and quick dinner before heading out the the famous Blue Lagoon for a evening float in the natural springs. The last picture in our sequence there is from the bus taken at 12:30 am, truly the land of the midnight sun. A few pics of our day yesterday, hope you enjoy… late as we didn't get back to the ship by about 1:30… a later start today

July 22, 2017: Isafjordur, Iceland

This historical town is the capital of the beautifully rugged Westerfjord region and the birthplace for two of Iceland's presidents. For centuries Isafjordur was a major centre of commerce and trading for the fishing industry. Today, the fishing industry is second to none. However, tourism is also a growing economic force. Isafjordur was our first tender port of the cruise, although a bit slow the process was well organized with the emphasis on safely (and so it should be - we could see some changes have been made). Once ashore we strolled the town, visited some shops found some excellent free internet and ended our visit spending almost two hours in the excellent maritime museum. We really got the feel of the fishing industry from a bygone time, again well done. Fabulous sail away as we head to our overnight port of Reykjavik. A few pics of our day, hope you enjoy…