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Published: August 11th 2018
This morning we were still at sea in our way to Grímsey Island so I went to La Terrazza for the buffet breakfast. After breakfast I headed to the mud room to collect my boots as they needed to be returned this morning. This means we will no longer have any wet landings.
We arrived at Grímsey Island at 11:30am. Grímsey is the northernmost inhabited Icelandic territory. It is a tiny, charming island which is approximately 5km in size. Grímsey is a popular destination as the Arctic Circle crosses through it, so today we have sailed from the Arctic Circle and crossed the line but will have the opportunity to then walk back over the Arctic Circle on this island!
After a light lunch on board (trying to cut down!) we were scheduled to head ashore to explore. Today the seas were a little rougher than in the past so rather than disembark in our joint group (green & pink) they did one group at a time. This meant I was now scheduled to disembark at 2:45pm. The ride to the harbour in the zodiac was a bit of fun although I did get quite splashed - lucky I
was wearing the waterproof gear!
Once on shore we tuned in our Quietvox's so we could walk along and listen to our local quide. Grímsey has a population that fluctuates between winter and summer - it could be as low as 32 people and then in summer it might be closer to 70 people. Our quide is the local school teacher - there are a total of 5 kids in the school!
The walk along the island gave us a great opportunity to see the birds but today our mission was to get up close to an Atlantic Puffin. Grímsey is mostly made up of very steep cliffs and because there are no mice or rats (or cats and dogs) the eggs of the birds can be layed safely in the low grass so this island has become a haven for birds. There is also abundant fish is the waters - and you will see from the photo I took of the puffins, that they easily get mouthfuls of fish each time they dive.
I met up with a few people I knew and we bunkered in on the edge of the cliffs whilst the rest of
the tour group continued on. We were lucky to have the puffins come in close and I could have easily sat there all day just taking in the scenery and all the beautiful birds. After taking more photos of puffins than I will ever need in my life, Scott Cathy and I started to walk back, making sure we went along the path that took as to the Arctic Circle crossing sign. In actual fact the circle has moved somewhat so there is now two monuments. Eventually the circle will no longer be on this island, as it has been for the past 300 years. This is due to the earth being on a tilted axis so all these 'lines' shift slightly every year.
Another interesting fact - they need to drive a car along the runway before a plane lands or takes off, as there are thousands of birds all along it!
We continued our walk back down to the pier where the zodiacs were and I was just putting on my lifejacket when Cathy decided we should walk in the other direction to the little church we spotted. We checked what time the last zodiac was
going back to the ship and did a little breakaway. Scott & Cathy are really lovely and so much fun. They have both retired and they own a boat and also have a house in Vermont so half a year they are on the water and the other half they are in the ski fields. What a life! In between that they also love to travel, like on this cruise. Anyway, we had a lovely walk and explored the church grounds and in particular, the graves. Seems a lot of children died of an early age - it must have been the harsh living on this island. Even now there is no doctor or nurse. The doctor flies in every 3 weeks or so.
We walked back to the pier and were chatting to two of the Expedition team while we waited for the next zodiac. Turns out the people on this island are allowed to catch the puffins - which they then eat! These boys had just come back from the restaurant where they had sampled puffin. We asked them what it tasted like, expecting them to say 'chicken' but they said it wasn't at all pleasant and
tasted a bit like liver. Ewwww - I won't be sampling that!
Back on board it was time to get ready for the Recap and Briefing with the Expedition team at 6:30. A couple of days ago I was chatting to Greg and Anne about organising a night where we had dinner with Scott & Cathy and Paul & Cathy and we had picked this night. We all met at the restaurant at 8pm and we had reserved a table by the window. The food at this restaurant is always supurb and is the wines they offer to accompany our dishes. The sommelier Irina really looked after us - I think Greg has been one of her best customers, as he really knows his red wines. She even provided us with a really good Australian red from the Barossa valley which I really wanted my American friends to try. I'm pleased to say they all loved it! I also introduced them to Affogato - another winner!
Around 10pm the ship set sail for Akureyri, Iceland.
At the debriefing today, we had been told about a challenging hike we could go on in the next couple of days.
It was pretty much straight up a mountainside on a goat track to a place called the Trolls Throne. Over dinner and many red wines we all decided this would be a great idea so after dinner we went and signed up for that haha. Then Scott, Cathy and I headed to the Dolce Vita lounge for a nightcap. Really fun night with some lovely people.
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