Klaksvik, Faroe Islands

Friday, September 5, 2014              Klaksvik, Faroe Islands

 

 

                                                              Waterfalls spotted from the ship.

West of Norway and north of Scotland, the Faroe Islands, 18 isles of North Atlantic archipelago, are one of the world’s most authentic island destinations belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark. It is very isolated, remote, and windswept with volcanic origins.

The Faroe Islands became self governing in 1948. Only 48,000 people live among the islands, outnumbered by the 70,000 sheep and 10 million sea birds. We were told it was a birdwatcher’s paradise.  95% of the population are fishermen with tourism and shepherding  the next top occupations.

 

 

 Faroe means island of sheep. The Vikings were the first to inhabit the area bringing the sheep that are now native to the area. Although speaking the Faroes language was forbidden in 1500’s, it is today the most widely spoken language along with Danish and English.  Treeless, only low growing plants survive in this remote windswept landscape.

We enjoyed a quick ride on a shuttle bus into the town and walked about the village seeing beautiful harbor seascapes, a lovely church, and a clean, quiet town with a mixture of local shops. 

 

 

                                                                Grass rooftops are popular.

The ship passed a lot of dramatic, amazing scenery. It was another wonderful day in a new unexplored part of the world for us.

 

 

A mystical long ride out of the harbor

 

Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Sea Cruising

Thursday, September 4, 2014    Day at Sea on the Brilliance of the Seas

 

Larry had a huge breakfast…while I had a quick dish of Bran Flakes with fruit  outside on the back deck. 

        Wonderful area to eat breakfast or relax the afternoon away with a good book

Dressed for a swim, we got into the outdoor hot tub and enjoyed the perfect temperature waters for a long while.

We went to hear an enrichment presentation called Death Takes a Holiday. Dr. Gary Fuller gave a lively talk about the growth of the world population from where it started during the Industrial Revolution. He was excellent and so interesting.  Then Larry and I hustled out to the track and walked for an hour. It was breezy but wonderfully invigorating.  We had a little lunch and then went to a lecture about the Faroe Islands.

Hanne Sampson gave a lively presentation that was fabulous. We learned so much about our destination for tomorrow.  Apparently in 2007 Travel magazine surveyed over 500 travel writers,  giving them 122 islands to pick from to find out which was the most popular to go to…Faroe Islands was #1. So we are excited to go there and see it!

 

We met Lindsey and Debi to listen to the Symetrix Band play dance favorites before eating dinner and watched the big screen movie, "Million Dollar Arm" under the stars

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Then we hurried off to see the comedy hypnotist, Christopher Caress. Unbelievable! 

Saturday, September 7, 2014     Day at Sea on the Brilliance of Seas

What a gorgeous day at sea!  Lindsey spotted dolphins off the  port side at 6:30 am….OMG….too early for us snoozers! There was plenty of sunshine but cool, cool temps of the 50’s. 

 

  The ship is full of amazing art!

                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                      Strange Art!

 

After breakfast we enjoyed a walk about the deck…almost too cool so we came back in to enjoy a presentation about Iceland by Mike and Hanne Sampson. We also enjoyed the music in the Centrum.

                                                             The Centrum

 

It was a formal night so we enjoyed watching the “Prom Participants” dancing and getting their pictures taken.  After a lovely dinner…lobster bisque, stir fry and Chinese delights, we went to the Classic Rock Name that Tune. Fun! Fun! Fun!  At 9:00 we went to the Pacifica Theatre to see the show “Tango Buenos Aires” with Mario and Daniel, dancers we had seen in Buenos Aires earlier this year.  EXCELLENT! We teetered off to bed to rise at midnight to watch our HOKIES win against Ohio State, 35-21. What a grand surprise! Way to go Hokies!

 

Tuesday, September 9, 2014     Day at Sea on the Brilliance of the Seas

What a great day at sea! We enjoyed fabulous meals. We spotted whales spouting today while walking the outside deck! It is always a remarkable sight to find sea life out here.  

We enjoyed the Schooner Bar and listening to...

 

                                guitarist, Pedro...He could really make that guitar talk! What talent!

The Headliner Show was a hilarious comedian, Steven Scott, known for his TV and stage shows on Broadway and Las Vegas using his unusual vocal talents.  This guy can make some remarkable sounds with his voice.

 

                                           The Brilliance is full of colorful spots!

Wednesday, September 10, 2014    Day at Sea on the Brilliance of the Seas

The ship was  rocking and rolling today. 24 foot swells and 40 mile an hour winds. It really wasn’t too bad….but we didn’t walk outside today.

                                              Brilliance of the Seas has won so many awards!


We watched the movie “Redwood Highway” and thought “there ain’t no way any old lady could walk 80 miles to her granddaughter’s wedding.” We also watched Martyn Dominique sing some great tenor tunes.  Larry enjoyed watching a presentation about the WWII Battles in the Atlantic while I attended a crafting party.  

The Rock Climbing Wall...that wasn't attempted!

 

 Thursday, September 11, 2014     Day at Sea on the Brilliance of the Seas

Foggy….yes in deedy! We could hear the ship sounding its horn many times while sailing through the water vapor.  We enjoyed a presentation called “7 Wonders of the Ancient World” by  Hanne Sampson. She is a remarkable world traveler, and it has been a joy to listen to her thick German/English accent. Debi and I enjoyed an afternoon movie called “Breathe in”.  We also went to the Tom Jones Memorial show that Martyn Dominique  presented for an afternoon matinee. Larry and I decided to skip the evening show and just relaxed by the pool and the hot tub in the solarium. We had it all to ourselves for the whole evening! What a treat!  

                                              One of two Buddas in the Solarium.

 

The Solarium is a heated indoor pool area that is delightful when it is too cool to enjoy the outdoor pool.

 

 

                                                               What a  stunning sunset!

 

Friday, September 12, 2014     Day at Sea on the Brilliance of the Seas

After breakfast in our room, we took a brisk walk on deck 5. I finished reading Shattered by Kathryn Casey, a true crime story. In the evening we watched a comedy movie under the stars called “Blended” with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.  Debi and I learned to play dominos and we all went to an “Elvis Name that Tune” event. What fun!

Saturday, September 13, 2014   Day at Sea on the Brilliance of the Seas

It can’t possibly be the last day of our cruise! After having breakfast in our room, we all went to a presentation by Hanne Sampson called “Surprising USA”.  The sun finally decided to give us an simply gorgeous day, shining the whole  day. Our walk this morning was on top of the ship on deck 12…simply outstanding to look out about the Atlantic Ocean’s blue waters.  At noon we watched the ESPN trailers for our beloved Hokies who were playing East Carolina. Luck was not on their side today. 35-28.... East Carolina pulled off an upset.

 

 

 

                                                 Sunny enough for Putt-Putt on the 13th floor!

Superb lunch on the back deck…warm and sunny with barbecue ribs. Larry was in heaven!  We all went to a Ariel Show in the Centrum at 8:00. Dazzaling watching those young folks flip and turn with the ship moving  down the Atlantic for Boston. We went  to the farewell show  in the Pacifica Theatre with comedian,  Steven Scott and juggler, John Udry. A   bunch of the ship's crew marched on stage to wave a final farewell to all the travelers! What a great way to end our  fabulous cruise!

                                                                 A fabulous sunset!

Sunday morning we woke up in Boston....USA!

 

                            What an exciting looking city and  we plan to explore it for three days! 

Reykjavik, Iceland

Sunday, September 7 and 8, 2014  Reykjavik, Iceland     Happy  SIX- OH  Birthday Kay!

We arrived at the world’s most northern capital, Reykjavik or “smokey bay”  around noon.  It must have been a stunning sight for the Nordic settlers to see…all that steam rising from the geothermal springs.

 

Rain, rain go away! It didn’t the whole time we were in Iceland. The first day Larry and I decided to lay low, just visiting the shop on the pier.  We thought that it would be not much fun to walk around in the rain so we had a wonderful quiet day on the ship.
        Lindsey and Debi took a bus tour going to the geo thermo plant and some geysers and lava plains. Icelanders take heated  waters from  the thermal hot spots  that are frequently found in Iceland and transport it to all the households.  Can you imagine having all your hot water coming from the thermal areas in the center of the earth? Amazing!  What an eco-friendly country using  hot water power!

Our second day in Reykjavik, we all took a bus trip through volcanic lava fields to the Blue Lagoon for a wonderful soak in the world famous natural warm mineral rich waters. So luxurious!

                                                      On the way to the Blue Lagoon

Yes, it rained the whole time we were there, but every minute was fabulous! The warm waters made this older ‘bod’ of mine feel pretty fabulous! It was an unforgettable experience.

 

We walked down a path through a deep, deep lava  field to the Blue Lagoon.

Quite an extraordinary sight!

 

                                                               Ahhhhhhhhhh!               

Debi, are you trying to start a new fashion trend?

What a unique place!

                                          My man took me to the Blue Lagoon for my birthday!

We had a blast, even though it was drizzling!

 

Afterwards the bus took us through the town of Reykjavik… all very modern looking buildings with very sleek looking architecture.

 

 We passed the impressive Hallgrimskirkja Church which resembled volcanic rock formations. We also enjoyed seeing the statue of Leif Ericson, Viking explorer who is now credited with finding the new world.

We returned to the ship at 4:30, just in time to watch the anchor being pulled out of the sea. We sailed passed Yoko Lennon's home where she had a lighted monument built in honor of her husband, John Lennon, called the Imagine Peace Light. She comes to  her Reykjavik home every year on John’s birthday in October to  light the monument flame in celebration of his life.  

Yoko Lennon's home

                                                                           What a beautiful setting!

During the evening Larry made arrangements for dinner in the Minstrel Dining Room to celebrate my birthday. Lindsey and Debi and another Florida couple, David and Nancy, that we had met on board joined us. I had a fantastic birthday!