Mars in the Mist

The weather in Djupivogur was cold and misty and TSH and Diva stayed on the Silver Spirit. The Panorama lounge was only a few degrees warmer than outside and it stayed that way despite several guests (including Diva) and crew reporting the situation. They were told that it was equally cold on the Bridge. If the senior officers cannot keep themselves warm there is not much hope for anyone else.

Concerned about the North Atlantic crossing to Ireland, Diva consulted the Met Office shipping forecast. She has no experience with this information and does not really understand it but 2 large deep red rectangles right in the path of the Silver Spirit did not seem good. She considered informing Captain Ivo, just in case he was not aware of the dangers ahead but TSH advised against this, as he was sure that Captain Ivo would have his own sources. When the Captain spoke to the guests he indicated that the sea would be ‘moderate to rough’, so Diva issued Stugeron and they hoped for the best. The necklace that Diva chose for the evening was likened by one of the crew to one that was found on Titanic – not a good omen on a cruise ship!!  At the time of writing, nothing too bad has been experienced.

Here is a picture of Viking Mars – anchored quite close to Silver Spirit in Djupivogur. This is not a bad photograph, this is exactly how it was. 

Replaced by Regent

In Seydisfjordur, TSH and Diva were expecting to dock, like last time they were here a week or so ago. Instead, they were forced to anchor and tender because Regent Seven Seas Splendour had taken the only berth. As this is such an attractive town, they went ashore for a walk in spite of the inconvenience. In the tender on the return journey to Silver Spirit, they chatted to climate change deniers from Ohio. Fortunately everybody remained civil.

In Djupivogur, they decided not to go ashore because a long tender was involved and there is very little to see in the town. Instead they admired the magnificent views from the Silver Spirit of the smooth waters of the fjord and the jagged tops of the mountains. The sky is now blue.

TSH and Diva have some On Board Credit included as part of their booking. It has to be spent on board on this cruise or lost forever. So Diva decided to treat herself to an incredibly over-priced tinted lip balm. For which the ‘boutique’ had no testers or colour charts!! She did not purchase. Her pedicure went well in spite of an attempt to persuade her to move from ‘basic’ to something more expensive – unspecified, as price lists are not readily available. The woman who did the pedicure was kind and totally unlike the brutal one on Saga.

TSH had a lunch-time dessert immediately followed by 2 scoops of chocolate ice-cream. The server asked if he needed 2 spoons for ‘sharing’. The answer was a resounding ‘no’.

Most of the crew, including the security officer, are now addressing TSH and Diva by name and the restaurants manager regularly curtseys.

Initial Iceland

The excursion at Djupivogur, Iceland, was described as a ‘Culture Walk’. Diva knew it was only a small town but envisaged a main square, a church, a town hall.  Instead, they were guided round an industrial estate, and then up a fairly steep path. For Diva, this definitely fell into the mountaineering category. The interesting things they saw were the egg sculptures representing the eggs of local birds, the small houses for the elves (very important in Iceland) oyster catchers and eider ducks with their chicks. One woman asked if there was any connection with her eiderdown. The guide was very polite but, really, the clue was in the name.

Part way through the ordeal (for Diva), they were beckoned by a woman in a long skirt and a shawl , reminiscent of the woman in 73 yards – a recent Dr Who episode. They were ushered into an ‘arts centre’ in a disused fish tank. The door was closed to achieve total darkness and then the woman sang, in Icelandic (?) in the resultant eco chamber. TSH quite enjoyed the morning, which may be partly due to his use of his camera.

On return to Silver Spirit, Diva found the missing toothbrush head – tucked behind the spare toilet roll, where TSH had stored it for safe-keeping. $4.99 of on-board credit wasted.