The first evening on the ship there was just the usual welcome meeting and life boat drill. I learned that I am one of about 10 people who is not either on the Tauck tour or on another French speaking tour. The boat is from France and most of the staff are French. I really don't mind - it is as though I am visiting 2 countries - France on the boat and Iceland off the boat. The first night I had a few sleepless hours - mostly because of jet lag I think but also partly because I was getting used to the rocking ship.
The first full day on the ship was Monday and I had signed up for a shore excursion. We docked at Grundarfjordur, Iceland which is one of the many dozens of small fishing villages along the coast of Iceland. Each one seems to have a population of between 800 and 1000 people and are incredibly isolated from the rest of the country and the rest of the world. My tour was of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula which was the area to the east of Grundarfjordur. Because I am English and not with Tauck I was able to ride in this small bus (everyone else was in giant buses) and had a very pleasant and informative tour. We saw waterfalls, an abundance of bird-life, lava foundations, the only yellow sand beach in Iceland and a glacier (from a distance). It was all very beautiful. We also learned a little about Icelandic culture from the guide. One interesting thing is that the last name of a person is not as important as the first name and the telephone books in Iceland and
At night, the captain threw a little cocktail party and then a formal dinner. We learned that the captain of the ship is actually part owner of the company, which was interesting.
All night the ship travelled
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