Hornbjarg seabird cliff and Reykjafjordur

And we roll on around the island of Iceland, clockwise. This morning we arrived at Hornbjarg seabird cliff. This is one of the biggest colonies of seabirds in Iceland with 100s of thousands of pairs of guillemots (Common and Brunnich's), Razorbills, Northern Fulmars and Black-legged Kittiwakes. We had two viewing options for the colony- either from Fram herself or from a hike up to the top of the almost 300 metre high cliffs. Either way, we got great views of the birds. From Fram, we saw many large flocks of guillemots (our Canadian and US readers will call them murres) flying in formation out to offshore feeding grounds. Here they feed mainly on sandeels and capelin- two small but energy-rich fishes. The light coloured kittiwakes and murres looked like a multitude of specks of sand on the cliff. The hike up on the cliff was strenuous but afforded great views. All through the visit our naturalists Sabine and John provided commentary out on deck and from the bridge.

As usual over lunch we repositioned to our afternoon destination of Reykjafjordur. The location is an abandoned farm where an extended family hosts small groups of travellers in the summer. It seemed like the whole family had arrived from different parts of Iceland to look after us. After all, they had never hosted a ship before, let alone 200 passengers! The area was rich in wildlife and landscapes. The human element was ably looked after by the very approachable family members who were keen to talk about their history at the location. It was a surprise to see large wood logs on the beach (there are very few trees in Iceland!) It turns out that they come from Siberia and get to Iceland with the ocean currents. The family showed us how they saw the logs and make use of them. A swimming pool built in 1938 was filled with 38 degree water and looked very inviting. The heat came from volcanic activity underground. Many of our passengers partook! The family hosted a super afternoon tea for us in one of the houses.

Hot water is never far below the surface in Iceland!

An old store house for vegetables and other foods over the winter

A female Red-necked Phalarope. The paler and smaller male was close by

A Common Seal - really interested in what was going on, on the beach!

A Ringed Plover feeding on flies in the kelp

Flateyri and Isafjordur

We continue our circumnavigation of this wonderful island country of Iceland. So far we have been sailing more or less north from Reykjavik and reached Flateyri in the morning. This community is the largest in Onundafjordur (although still small with a population of a little over 200!) and got that way on account of it being a centre for shark fishing in the 1800s.

A 100 year old home is now a living museum. The interior remains the same as it was and provides a great feeling for what it was like to live there. The rooms were small but functional. Your faithful blogger was reminded that we seem to have more room than we need in our houses these days, and definitely too many bathrooms!

It is after all, spring, and this is the Arctic. Snow is still around in the nooks and crannies where it built up over the winter. Understandably we are seeing more of the white stuff up north, than we did in Reykjavik or even Snaefellsnes.

In the afternoon we went off in different directions to discover Isafjordur. This area was considered to be the finest fishing grounds in the whole of Iceland, and that is saying something! Some of us took a boat ride to Vigur Island and had a wonderful time learning about eider "farming".. The quotes are there because the birds remain wild but every effort is made to ensure that the females are safe on their nests and able to produce the down that is so sought after, even in the age of amazing man-made fills. An eider down quilt for the bed may cost you $10000 these days!

A few of the historic buildings on the island, such as the windmill,  are owned by the national museum of Iceland.

The windmill used to grind wheat to make flour

Female eiders were on the nest and quite tame as they are used to people. We were careful to be quiet and make no sudden movements. Eiders have been fully protected in Iceland since the 1700s. There is written records of eider down collection dating from the 1200s!

Male eiders take no part in incubation or looking after the young.

Vigur was teeming with Arctic Terns. In fact the whole of Iceland seems to be covered with them! This is a male displaying to passing females.

As an aside, one really gets the impression in Iceland that wildlife, particularly birds are everywhere. For people interested in nature, there are few better places to visit in the Arctic than this incredible Nordic country.

Snaefellsness Peninsula and environs

Our first first day in Iceland on Fram, and we have lots of things to do! Overnight we sailed in slightly loppy water to Grundarfjorder on the north coast of the Snaefellsness Peninsula. By the way, apologies to our Icelandic readers but your faithful blogger does not know how to type the 'eth' letter, which is the final 'd' in Grundarfjorder. The 'eth' is an old letter in the Icelandic alphabet that is pronounced 'th' as in 'the'. It looks like a 'D' with a little line through it. There is another old letter in Icelandic 'thorn' which is a softer 'th' as in 'thought'. The 'thorn' looks a little like a 'P'. Maybe by the time our Iceland adventure ends, I'll be able to produce these two interesting letters!

So back to where we were today. Several excursions were offered in the morning and afternoon and almost all of us took advantage of one or the other. The weather was very fine! Some Fram guests made a beautiful hike up to an great vantage point which afforded tremendous views of the area around Grundarfjorder.

Others took a bus and walking excursion over the Snaefellsnes (literally Snow mountain point or small peninsula) Peninsula. It's hard to believe that all the spectacular scenery was crafted completely by volcanic activity.Birds were abundant around the coastline including Northern Fulmar and Black-legged Kittiwake. Any ponds we saw had eiders on the water and shorebirds around the margins.

A Northern Fulmar displaying

A pair of Black-legged Kittiwakes

Over lunch our Captain repositioned the ship to Stykkisholmur, a little further along the north coast of the Snaefellnes Peninsula. There we had more great activities with some going on a small boat cruise to experience a few of the 3000 islands in Breidafjordur (wide fiord) and others hiking in a lava field called Berserkjahraun.

All in all we had a fantastic first full day of activities and look forward to tomorrow, and the day ofter that, and the day after that ......

Land of Fire and Ice

From the title of this blog you may guess where the intrepid Fram is on this planet. The fire comes from volcanic activity and the ice from ice caps and glaciers. We are of course in Iceland! You are not supposed to modify the adjective “unique” but in the case of Iceland I will make an exception. Iceland is incredibly, hugely, amazingly unique in so many ways. Iceland is a relatively young country geologically, built by volcanic activity on the mid-Atlantic ridge, a spreading zone which has North America moving west away from Europe and the north Atlantic ocean getting wider every year.  Most of the country is just south of the Arctic Circle so the climate is cool, oceanic, but lucky for Iceland, the south and west coasts are bathed by the relatively warm waters of the North Atlantic Drift, which keeps the whole of northern Europe warmer that it “should” be base on latitude. Nevertheless, given enough altitude, the winter snows do not melt and build to for icecaps and glaciers. This “fire and ice” comes together in spectacular fashion in a few places in Iceland where volcanoes erupt UNDER a glacier, with results you can only imagine! Fram does not come to Iceland very often so this is a very special tour.

We started today in the country’s capital of Reykjavik- literally “smoking bay” in the Ancient language of Icelandic. The country was settled by Norse peoples over 1200 years ago. They brought with them the old Norse language from places like Norway, and the language has remained more or less true since then. And now a few images from our ship photographer Hilde, just to give you a flavour of the place.

Here is the Fram alongside in the port of Reykjavik.

The city is a nice mix of old and new.

An example of new architecture is the modern Lutheran Cathedral.

Another example of a very modern building is the brand new cultural centre with concert halls, meeting rooms and galleries.

As it is our Fram boarding day, most of our passengers had recently traveled to Iceland to join the ship. They usually arrive a little tired and bewildered, unless perhaps they have been on Fram before (many come back!). Nevertheless, we have to conduct the manditory life boat and safety drill, The Fram is safety first! After dinner our Captain invited all passengers to a reception in the Panorama Lounge on deck 7. Then most went for an early night to prepare for the next 10 or so days, which will be amazing!

“When anxious, uneasy and bad thoughts come, I go to the sea, and the sea drowns them out with its great wide sounds, cleanses me with its noise, and imposes a rhythm upon everything in me that is bewildered and confused.” (R.M.Rilke)

What is that noise in the middle of the night? Sounds like a mild form of scratching wood. I switch on the light and squint into the room until I find the source: It’s two spare batteries that roll back and forth on my cabin table. The ship is rocking. Now my body is awake enough to feel it, too. Up and down, heaving quite a bit, being lightweight one moment, and pretty darn heavy a few seconds later. It’s inevitable, but gentle, smooth. I stash the batteries away and go back to sleep, smiling.

The morning starts with an announcement. Due to the strong movement the bridge visits have to be postponed to the afternoon. It is much shakier up there than on deck 4, so everybody understands.

Lectures, however, are being held, and the brave audiences cling to their chairs while listening. It’s actually quite funny when the whole group suddenly sways in unison to one side or another, many giggles are heard.

Not everybody’s stomach is up to the movement, many prefer to stay flat out in bed - which is actually the best thing you can do when seasickness hits you. Look at the bright side: One only gets sick on a sea day, and on a sea day you don’t miss much…

So, this is it, the final day of this voyage, huh? It’s incredible to remember the many different landscapes and places we have seen, from the various kinds of Norway’s paradisiac beauty to the barren hunches of the North Atlantic Isles. And now the windblown, wavy ocean, teeming with seabirds whose biggest pleasure it seems to be hovering around us. The gale takes off the white caps of the waves and blows them across the moving surface of the sea. It is a moving sight, and quotations of great poets spring to mind. See above.

A sea day is also the opportunity to finish up things on board, last chapters in diaries are written, books are finished, collections of photographs are ordered. It's also the time to visit the bridge, get a glance across the sea from the captain's point of view.

Karin’s embroidery class has the terminal lesson, and the ladies present their results with pride.

Unfortunately also luggage has to be packed, and the departure prepared. Tomorrow this journey is over. Shame.

But then again, many are looking ahead in excitement, as they have not planned to arrive in Iceland only to leave it already on the same day. Brand-new maps are unfolded and brooded over, addresses of rental car companies are verified, and of course the expedition team is questioned greatly about this amazing Island, born from the Earth’s molten interior.

Tomorrow Island, so not the end, but a beginning!
So many smiles at the Captain's Farewell toast. We will come back.

The islands of sheep

Better known as the Faroe Islands, this archipelago consisting of 18 major islands was our last stop on our way to Iceland. Located about halfway between Norway and Iceland, the islands are named after the Old Norse word of Færøerne wich means “sheep”.

A name that is still more than appropriate today as the first thing many of us noticed while driving out of town for the excursion, was the number of sheep and lambs that walk on (almost) every corner of the road! A very nice sight but quite dangerous at times. They also graze on tops of very high and steep cliffs which is a very impressive sight as well. One of our excursions took us to the other side of the main island by bus, to the village of Vestmanna. The bus trip to get there was very nice with stunning views over the fjords and mountains of which many tops were still covered with snow. Once at our destination, we boarded a little boat that took us along the cliff shores North of Vestmanna which was an incredible experience that amazed everybody including staff. Our captain sailed right between cliffs and we were surprised by his sailing skills as we got very very close to the walls. This also allowed us to spot nestling guillemots and the world famous puffins! They were sitting on the cliffs, flying over us and floating on the water! The landscapes we saw along the way were very Jurassic Park – like. Bright green cliffs rising from the water and surrounded by picturesque fog. Everybody had a smile from ear to ear once we got back on the bus to Torshavn. Definitely an excursion  to remember for a lifetime.

Our guided tour of Torshavn allowed guests to discover the city that is the capital of these islands and that has most of the architectural and historical highlights. The tour also included a visit of the southern village of Kirkjubøur which is the country's most important historical site with the ruins of the Magnus Cathedral.

We also had the architecture an wollen design excursion that took guests on a guided walk through the old town of Torshavn. Then they went to a shop where they were introduced to the traditional handicraft techniques of the wool and of course had the opportunity to buy something. Our afternoon consisted of a few lectures to enhance our knowledge about Vikings and volcanoes and the Hardanger embroidery group worked on their project again with our Expedition Leader. We are again heading for open sea on the way to Iceland.