Into Ireland

The crossing from Iceland to Ireland was via very rough seas, as Diva had discovered in advance. It was difficult to walk around without veering or staggering. Absolutely nothing to do with the wine. So it was a relief to all to reach the anchor point at Greencastle. This was nominally the port for Derry but after TSH and Diva had gone ashore via the tender, they discovered that the shuttle bus (which took about 45 minutes) did not connect with the tender timetable. They returned to Silver Spirit after buying plasters for TSH’s cut finger. Don’t ask.

Making a purchase was interesting. TSH and Diva know that Derry is in Northern Ireland – part of the UK – and expected to pay in UK currency. The advice in the Silversea chronicles was to use Euros. Which turned out to be correct in Greencastle itself, which is in the Republic of Ireland. Fortunately, TSH had both currencies in his wallet.

Whilst anchored, they were lucky to see three (?) dolphins just below their balcony.

When the technology started to reset, there were 23 messages from Silversea on the TV system all at once. Some relating to events from several days earlier.

For the first time in several weeks, there were a few hours of darkness.

Lerwick Lost

When the captain’s voice is heard on the public address system before 8am, it is never good news. Especially when he says ‘This is s very important announcement’. The Silver Spirit will not make the planned call at Lerwick, Shetland because of a threatened storm. If the ship were to dock, the chances are that it would have to remain there for several days. So TSH and Diva are heading straight to Iceland, with the estimated arrival time unchanged. With an extra day at sea, the journey is obviously expected to be slow. The crew are securing the large plant pots and safely storing the cushions from the outside chairs. TSH and Diva have taken medication and are wearing their wrist bands.

The last time TSH and Diva crossed from the UK to Iceland in 2013, the sea was sufficiently angry that they said they would never do that crossing again!

The Silver Spirit is now so far north that there is very little darkness in the night. Perhaps that is why the telephone rang at 1:30 am. Diva was asked if she had ordered ginger tea. She was reasonably polite to the caller but very annoyed. The next morning, an oblivious TSH asked if there had been a telephone call in the night and, if so, what it had been about. There was a verbal apology from the Head Butler, who blamed the disturbance on ‘a technical problem’.

The dinner reservation in La Terrrazza (Deck7) has been cancelled. TSH and Diva will eat in Atlantide on Deck 5. Lower down and more stable.

Two doctors

There were two doctors. The one who looks after any sick passengers or crew – TSH and Diva thought he was even more brutalised than most  (Diva has a medical phobia). So absolutely no plans to be ill. The other was an orthopaedic surgeon who lived in Brisbane but originally studied at Liverpool University, like Diva did.

The Denmark Strait between Iceland and Greenland was too choppy for Tai Chi but nothing like the early part of the voyage. Early on Saturday, exactly one day late, the coast of Greenland came into view. Snow-capped mountains. New territory, just as the early explorers saw. But their vessel was nothing like the Silver Whisper.  The Arctic Chard (TSH) and fragrant lamb curry (Diva) were especially good last night.

What itinerary?

Progress is very slow, so more time at sea. The captain gave a talk about the weather and its effect on navigation. He seems to know what he is doing. The cookery demonstration was given by an Indian chef, who showed us how to make chicken tikka massala.  The best question afterwards was: ‘I have never heard of fenugreek. Where can I buy it? I live in central Florida.’ Clearly never heard of Google, yellow pages or the information desk at the supermarket, either.

The continuing storm and strong head winds meant that Silver Whisper arrived in Iceland 12 hours late. It was so good to see the land and sleep through a calm night. So the visit to Iceland was one day later than planned. The next priority is that we get our days in Greenland, so to get the trip back on schedule, Anse aux meadows in Northern Canada has been cancelled.  That means missing the museum about the Vikings who are thought to have been the first people to cross the Atlantic from Europe.

Reykjavik is a small but pleasant city, with a combination of old painted wooden buildings and new glass ones. The new Harpa building, housing the Opera House,  convention space, shops and bars, is stunning and worth a visit inside and out. TSH and Diva didn’t feel the need for a visit to the Blue Lagoon, geysers etc as its only a few years since they did all that, so they enjoyed several hours walking around the city, without the time pressure of an excursion. Departure is late afternoon and the cushions are back in the glasses cupboard.

Dinner with the Doctor tonight.