Farewell Iceland - Watch out Greenland, we're on our way

Wednesday, July 26

Embarkation day.  It was a beautiful morning in Reykjavik so after packing up we went for a walk on the waterfront.  We boarded Insignia around lunch time and got settled in for our 15 day cruise.  We had time in the afternoon for a walk (Linda) and a run (Larry).

That evening we decided to eat in Toscana, the Italian restaurant on board.  We quickly found out that our love for the 7-layer chocolate cake had preceded us.  I won’t bother you with the explanation of how this all came about but we do have a reputation.  At dinner, three people, the Toscana maitre d’, the restaurant manager and the executive chef, each stopped at our table and mentioned the 7-layer chocolate cake.  Quite funny.  We decided to have Italian desserts in Toscana but when we got back to our cabin there was a piece of 7-layer cake waiting for us.  Nobody will confess to having sent it.

Thursday, July 27

This was Blue Lagoon day.  It’s one of the things everyone says you have to do in Reykjavik.  The lagoon was warm and not so blue.  The weather was beautiful, yet again, so it was enjoyable soaking and doing the mud facial thing.  We’re glad we did it and checked off our list of things to do but it definitly was not a highlight of the trip.

When we got back to the ship it was time for a highlight of every cruise - the lifeboat drill!

The sail out if Reykjavik was lovely.  Lots of birds, no whales yet.

Friday, July 28

Our return to Isafjordur, Iceland.  The last time we were here we hiked to Tungudalur waterfall.  We thought we would like to do it again but also had looked into other options like a bird cruise to Vigur Island.  It seemed that those were booked and when we arrived we found out why.  There were 2 other cruise ships in Isafjordur this day, both bigger than Insignia.  When you consider that the town has a population of 4000 it’s probable that the number of visitors exceeded the population.  So we hiked back to Tungudalur and loved it again.  We climbed up to a view point and sat there for 30 or 45 minutes, just enjoying the views and the sounds and probably ruining the photographs a few people who stopped down below.  The only downside was that, while there were some, the lupines were not as numerous or as spectacular as in 2014.

Back on board it was time to sail away from Iceland with 2 days at sea before reaching Greenland.  Iceland is a wonderful place and we’re talking about coming back to see the northern lights.