Lennon Link

TSH and Diva did not go into Reykjavik, as the Silver Spirit was docked some way out and there was no shuttle bus. So they enjoyed a few relaxing hours onboard until the next set of guests embarked.

They spent some time looking at a point on the southern horizon where there appeared to be a plume of smoke. This is a possible sighting of the result of the currently active volcano. In the Arts Café, they chatted with the on-coming Food and Beverage Manager, who is from Birkdale, near Liverpool. He now knows about the missing grilled peaches.

TSH and Diva are now very familiar to the crew and seem to have achieved celebrity status with some. The restaurants manager delivered a sweeping curtsey as they arrived for breakfast in La Terrazza.

Guests on this new leg, like the last one, are younger than the usual Silversea guests and sometimes this feels more like an expedition cruise.

Also in port was Regent Seven Seas Splendour.

On the way out of Reykjavik, Captain Ivo, in his accented English, pointed out something connected with John Lennon. Diva heard ‘tavern’ but TSH correctly identified ‘tower’. The connection is explained here: Imagine Peace Tower - Wikipedia

In Patreksfjordur for the second time, it was sufficiently cold that, on an open deck, TSH and Diva practised Tai Chi wearing coats. Also, for the first time ever, TSH wore gloves throughout.

From the middle of the volcano

The Silver Moon moored in the middle of where the volcano used to be. Modern Santorini is the part of the island which did not get blown apart three and a half thousand years ago. The archaeological site is like Pompeii in being a site of a sudden natural disaster. It also had expensive sophisticated art but experienced disaster more than 1500 years before Pompeii. The excavation has been covered by a complex structure whose foundations went down far below current ground level.

During the afternoon, Diva asked reception if she could have some face soap, as, unusually, there is none in the suite. She stressed that this was not a complaint – just that the butler did not understand what she wanted. This resulted in total mayhem in the suite after dinner. The butler manager, the butler and the cleaner all visited and it became apparent that there is no face soap on the Silver Moon (!!). Instead, they brought masses of other toiletries, a whole stack of facecloths and many apologies. But they forgot to replace the bottle of water or bring the flask of hot water which TSH and Diva had requested. This is not an experienced ship.

TSH’s bag, along with many others, is still with Fedex.

Train Spotting

TSH set off on a walking tour in the Onuma National Park for a walk which was said to be about 4.5 miles long. He hoped that it would not prove to be as perilous as the two previous tours.  It turned out to be largely on flat ground. Somewhat rough but not a danger to life and limbs.

The tour started with a bus drive of less than an hour after which everyone was invited to get off the bus. It turned out this was to provide a toilet stop before setting out on the walk. It also served to pick up the naturalist who was to be the guide on the walk.

After re-boarding the bus TSH was driven for another five minutes before leaving the bus at Konuma or small lake. The group of walkers were then taken across a bridge to Onuma or large lake from where there were good views of Mount Komag.

Mount Komag is a dormant volcano which rises to a height of about 1,200 metres. The top of the mountain is interesting in that it was once a normal circular crater mouth but at some time in the past the volcano exploded and much of the top of the cone was scattered over the surrounding area.

The bridge that was crossed at the start of the walk also carried a railway over the river between the two lakes. TSH was soon presented with an opportunity to photograph his first Japanese train.

The walking tour continued over a number of bridges connecting small islands in the lake. Frequent stops were made to admire various trees and birds. The birds which attracted the most interest were black kites and herons.

On the way back, the bus drove past a paddy field with rice which was yellow and ready for harvesting. In Hakodate the bus drove along an elevated section of road which afforded TSH with views of the railway station.

TSH arrived back on the ship just in time to join Diva for a late lunch.