Day 20 - St. John's, Newfoundland

Home at last!!! This morning we arrived in St. John's where Linda and Ted met us and acted as our tour guides.


This picture was taken from our balcony. Graham had to yell at Ted so that they could find our balcony. Once he found us, he promptly lost us again.

Poor guys had to wait for us - first of all, there was a fence in the way and we couldn't dock until it was moved. Then customs and immigration took forever to clear the ship.



Finally we were off and the sightseeing began.

Our first stop was Cape Spear - the most easterly point on the North American continent and the home of a lighthouse at the top of a very long hill. The view was absolutely worth the climb. (The finger is Graham's).
Following Cape Spear, we drove through a small fishing village called Pt. Perry. We had lunch in an old home there that has been turned into a restaurant.






After lunch, it was off to Signal Hill.



We spent some time wandering Signal Hill and then it was off to downtown St. John's and a quest to find an "ugly stick". This is a uniquely Newfoundland musical instrument made out of a stick and beer bottle caps. Here is Ted standing on the street holding the "ugly stick". A little later he crouched down on the street with the "ugly stick" in his one hand while he held out his other hand. A gentleman who had been behind us promptly put a loonie in his hand. Then the two of them started talking and had quite the conversation as we walked down the street.

Sadly, it was time to leave. The entrance to the harbour in St. John's is extremely narrow and the day was extremely windy. Navigating out of the harbour was a challenge that our captain and crew met with apparent ease.











Time to say goodbye to "the Rock" (which is very aptly named) and to Linda & Ted. What a terrific visit.

Day 19 - at sea

Another relaxing day spent at sea - the spa for me; napping for Graham; the casino and the buffet for both of us. Thought that I would share some of the marvelous "towel art" that our steward left for us each evening.

Day 18 - Prince Christian Sound, Greenland

WOW!!!! We woke up this morning to the sight of a huge iceberg outside our window. This is officially an at sea day, however the weather early this morning was good enough for us to begin the transit of Prince Christian Sound on the southern tip of Greenland.


The scenery was absolutely amazing. Greenland is covered in glaciers which apparently are slowly melting. We saw several, including this one which came right down to the water's edge







and this one which is high up in the
mountains.

















The evidence of the glaciers melting is
everywhere - it shows up as streams running down the mountain side.












As we cruised through the Sound, the clouds seemed to fall from the sky and it became very foggy. The result was some very eerie cruising. Enjoy the show!!!

Day 17 - at sea

We really enjoy the at sea days. I can spend some quality time in the spa. Graham can have a mega-nap.
Leaving Iceland, we are leaving the "Land of the Midnight Sun". The complete midnight sun, of course happens during June - July, however, it is twilight here at 11:00 at night. These pictures were taken starting at about 10:30 pm.

Day 16 - Reykjavik, Iceland

This morning, we arrived in Iceland and while we actually docked in Reykjavik, our day was spent touring the island with an extremely brief tour of Reykjavik at the end of our tour.

Our first view of the island was a picture of craggy magestic cliffs.


Our first stop on our "circle tour" was at this quaint
church. The wall decoration was on the back interior wall of the church.





The next place that we stopped was at the "small waterfall" (as opposed to the "big waterfall" that we saw later in the morning). I was especially impressed by the salmon ladder on the left side of the falls.






Next, the "big waterfall". Not as big as Niagara Falls, but different in that there are two levels of falls. These falls then follow through a long, narrow canyon.

I discovered how to drive Graham crazy. He is afraid of heights; I am not. I spent some time at the edge of the cliff above the canyon to obtain some pictures. Graham went wild - he was quite convinced that I was going to end up at the bottom of the canyon.


Here is one of the pictures that I was able to get.








Probably the most spectacular part of the day was the time that we spent at the "geysir" area. Seventy percent of Iceland's energy is geothermal and this area certainly showed us why. Graham managed to get this perfect picture of the geyser that spouts on a regular basis (about every 2 - 3 minutes). We saw several spouts, but this is the best picture.




There were also hot pools, including one that was actually boiling.











We ate lunch at a restaurant in the Geysir area - salmon. I found it very good, but Graham, who we all know is extremely picky couldn't eat it.


After lunch we headed off to see Thingvellir. Thingvellir occupies a very special place in the hearts and minds of Icelanders. In 930 the Icelandic Parliament was founded there. Thus the medieval Icelandic commonwealth was established. Many important events in the history of the country have taken place here, e.g. the official adoption of Christianity in the year 1000. Late in the 18th century Parliament discontinued its use of this site and in 1845 it
was re-established in Reykjavik.

After some time spent in this amazing area, we headed back to Reykjavik and the Eurodam.

Day 15 - at sea

The Eurodam is a ship of flowers - large, beautiful arrangements are found throughout the ship. These are just a few of them.
Every table in the Lido Restaurant had a beautiful blooming orchid on it.

The Lysefjord

We wanted to share some of our photos from the Lysefjord cruise. The pictures do not convey the beauty and the magesty of the fjord.. We cruised very close to the foot of 2000 foot cliffs. In one place during the cruise we saw a plateau that people use to sit on – they sit at the edge of the “Pulpit” and dangle their legs over the side. Apparently Norwegians have no fear of heights.

Hopefully the pictures will give you an idea of the splendour that is Norway.