Baltic , Norway , Iceland and the U.K. on the Zuiderdam 2019 with photos

[scubacruiserx2]

10 minutes ago, swin26 said:

My picture from behind the falls from October 2017.  It was incredibly scary as after a certain point there is no railing and you are climbing on very wet rocks.  I would never do it again.  

 

Thank you for sharing your interesting photo and information . We each have a bad knee that we were nursing so we considered the risk/benefit . I wasn't how the water would affect my cameras since I didn't bring my dive camera which would have handled it . When we dive we don't do dives that we are uncomfortable with anymore .

[cat shepard]

Amazing pics & videos.  Did HAL offer any lessons on how to pronounce Icelandic names? 

Edited July 22, 2019 by cat shepard
Omitted word

[scubacruiserx2]

10 minutes ago, cat shepard said:

Amazing pics & videos.  Did HAL offer any lessons on how to pronounce Icelandic names? 

 

Thanks Cat , none that we went to . 😉

[scubacruiserx2]

The weather had began to clear on the way back to port

 

 

 

Dinner

 

 

And an overnight guest

 

 

The sky changed again before bedtime

 

 

 

 

 

 

[erewhon]

Thanks for the updates.

A friendly midge!!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Appreciate your reports and wonderful pictures.

[cat shepard]

The midge wanted his or her cameo opportunity.

[scubacruiserx2]

9 hours ago, erewhon said:

Thanks for the updates.

A friendly midge!!

 

 

But of course . All the midges that met were friendly .

[scubacruiserx2]

23 minutes ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Appreciate your reports and wonderful pictures.

 

Thank you for writing in as we do appreciate your support .

[scubacruiserx2]

7 minutes ago, cat shepard said:

The midge wanted his or her cameo opportunity.

 

Like Alfred or Alfreda Hitchcock .

[scubacruiserx2]

We were up early for the weather report and breakfast

 

 

We had slept pretty well despite this ship's noise all night 

 

 

 

We were doing short Golden Circle tour since we would leave port at 15:30 . Before that tour we were doing a puffin island tour that began at 0800 . It was cold and very windy in the parking lot at 07:30 .

 

 

We had a view while waiting

 

 

It's a short ride time wise but about a 3 mile walk and the ride was included

 

 

The harbor

 

 

The boat that we would be going resembled a Viking boat with it's lap siding

 

Edited July 23, 2019 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

On board the boat we had a nice look at the harbor before sailing 

 

 

 

 

Birds to look for

 

 

Rocking and rolling after leaving the harbor video :

 

 

 

 

With the strong wind and the boat rocking so much it was hard to take good photos especially of the puffins flying 

 

 

 

The king of the rock

 

 

On the windy side of the island they we swimming and swarming like giant midges

 

 

 

A fly by

 

 

Edited July 23, 2019 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

We had booked a less expensive guide for our 2nd day Golden Circle tour from Reykjavik . He met us at the puffin tour place and introduced himself as Fred .

 

 

We headed out to a geothermal area Haukadalur

 

 

 

This is it's main claim to fame

 

 

Not as active as it once was this is the new geyser to wait and watch for - Strokkur

 

 

 

 

 

Thar she blows

 

 

 

Fred gave us a hint of when it would erupt so we could video it

 

 

 

 

I took a screen shot from the video to show the dome

 

 

Taking a warm bird bath in the geyser stream

 

Edited July 23, 2019 by scubacruiserx2

[cat shepard]

The shot of the dome! WOW!

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, cat shepard said:

The shot of the dome! WOW!

 

I've tried to slow the speed of the video but no luck yet .

[scubacruiserx2]

 

 

The walk toward Gullfoss

 

 

Almost there

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 

 

 

 

Notice the mist rising over the cliffs

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

A stop for the Icelandic Horses

 

 

 

 

 

The Icelandic horse is a breed of horse developed in Iceland. Although the horses are small, at times pony-sized, most registries for the Icelandic refer to it as a horse. Icelandic horses are long-lived and hardy. In their native country they have few diseases; Icelandic law prevents horses from being imported into the country and exported animals are not allowed to return. The Icelandic displays two gaits in addition to the typical walk, trot, and canter/gallop commonly displayed by other breeds. The only breed of horse in Iceland, they are also popular internationally, and sizable populations exist in Europe and North America. 

 

Wikipedia

[scubacruiserx2]

Þingvellir

 

Þingvellir (Icelandic: [ˈθiŋkˌvɛtlɪr̥] (listen)), anglicised as Thingvellir,^{[Note 1]} is a national park in the municipality of Bláskógabyggð in southwestern Iceland, about 40 km northeast of Iceland's capital, Reykjavík. Þingvellir is a site of historical, cultural, and geological significance, and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Iceland. The park lies in a rift valley that marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. To its south lies Þingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland.^[2]

 

^Wikipedia

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

A view of the lake

 

 

 

 

 

It was still very windy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look , up in the sky , it's a bird , it's a plane !

 

[swin26]

We are planning our DYI driving tour of the Golden Circle.  I’m curious as to how much time you spent at each of the sites.  Thank you!!

[scubacruiserx2]

We thought that Fred did a great job and having shopped before boarding , we said goodbye to Fred , Reykjavik and Iceland .

 

 

 

Dinner 

 

 

 

a view

 

 

and a sunset

 

 

 

 

[cat shepard]

Spectacular pictures.

 

My only guess is some type of weird/unique helicopter. Or perhaps a piece of local flora? Technically that is two guesses.

 

Edited July 24, 2019 by cat shepard

[scubacruiserx2]

44 minutes ago, swin26 said:

We are planning our DYI driving tour of the Golden Circle.  I’m curious as to how much time you spent at each of the sites.  Thank you!!

 

Super ! We are also considering a visit .

 

We left near the port at about 9 and were back to the ship about 3 . We stayed at the geyser about 20 minutes and the waterfall about 25 minutes with a stop for lunch at Gullfoss Panorama Restaurant about 40 minutes . We liked the tomato soup and Black Forest Cake a lot .

 

 

 

 

 

The horse visit was about 10 minutes and the walk thru hills about 35 minutes for a total of about 2 hours and 10 minutes at the sites . It may be longer DIY because Fred would left us at the top of the waterfall and hill walk and we walked down to where he was parked waiting us .

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

1 minute ago, cat shepard said:

Spectacular pictures.

 

My only guess is some type of weird/unique helicopter. Or perhaps a piece of local flora? Technically that is two guesses.

 

 

 

We think it was a drone with a camera . I would love to get one but I know that many places are becoming increasingly restrictive .