Adventures of Beth and Dan: Midnight to 4 am!

Weather continues to be the topic for the passengers and the captain. The forecast for our next port, Akureyri, Iceland is 39 degrees and rain.....ugh! We docked at 8 and were to be all aboard at 4:30 sailing out at 5 pm. The captain provided a letter to all passengers saying that expected heavy weather on our route to Bergen, Norway would require us to leave earlier than planned thus allowing us more comfortable sailing. He hoped to avoid the worst of the incoming weather system. So....we watched the clouds get darker and the rain get heavier as we boarded our mini bus with 18 other passengers on a private tour. We were to see three beautiful water falls and also a local farm and museum. Well we were very crowded in the van with many older disabled passengers who refused to trade or switch seats periodically allowing for those in the back row who couldn’t see or sit comfortably to have a break. The weather was so cold, windy and rainy that I only got out at one stop. At one point we were going to offload a couple to another mini van with our same company but the passengers in the other van protested not wanting to share any of their seats! So one or two couples tried to switch back and forth. The trip was long, uncomfortable and we virtually couldn’t see much through foggy wet muddy windows. The driver had a heavy accent and his microphone kept slipping down his neck as he drove. After asking a few times for him to turn it up we all gave up.

When we got to the farm he told us you had to pay to go into it which housed the museum. We could use bathrooms without charge but if we went any further we had to pay. Because only one couple wanted to pay the group decided to go back to the ship! This probably would have been the best stop and if we had done this in place of a distant remote waterfall over rocky uneven dirt roads more folks would have had the desire to go in.

This port has been nicknamed the capital of North Iceland, and was originally settled around the 9th century. It wasn’t a city until 1562. Today it is a booming port town with their economy largely based on fishing.

There are a variety of hiking trails within the city limits and also a botanical garden founded in 1912! They say it has nearly every plant found in Iceland with around 450 plants and 7,000 foreign plants!

It. Boasts of several museums in town. Included the Akureyri Museum dedicated to the preservation and study of culturalistory sites. There is also. A Motorcycle museum. Covering the history of them in Iceland over the last century..

After our tour we hurriedly boarded the ship sopping wt from top to bottom.. After a hot shower and some dry clean clothes we headed up the pool deck area where we usually find a few folks to chat with or we head for a lounger and a book.. Around 5:30 we headed to dinner at a table for 6 where we met up with some friends.. We looked at the upcoming program for entertainment and saw that there was nothing interesting with no Mainstage entertainers.. They instead where showig the film “The Secret Life. Of Walter Mitty”! We chose to enjoy some of the blues from the BBKing band for an hour and then off to bed.

By the time we got to our cabin we had rough seas and understood why nothing on stage had been scheduled.. That night was the worst night I have had at sea in all my cruising. I got little sleep and kept thinking about the location on my life jacket!

In the morning the captain reported that until 4 am we had 63 MPH winds and 23 foot waves !