Sea Day Friday September 14

Woke up to a gorgeous sunrise out our back window on a placid blue sea. Another beautiful day; sunshine and smiles.

Professor Stooke mentioned that the perfect time to see Venus and Jupiter was shortly before sunrise. With the skies absolutely clear they appeared today as pinpoints of brilliance in a gradually lightening sky. My camera (or the operator) is not powerful enough to capture it, but it was exciting and beautiful. Brought back days of star gazing with mom – especially during those long lazy summer months.

At 10 the professor gave his final lecture on the future of space exploration at the Coral Theater pictured here. If you can make out the guy in a white shirt that would be the area reserved for the suites passengers, the only area in theater that can be reserved.

The Walk for Wishes occurred on the top deck. We bought the shirts; I did the walk, 6 rounds on the track, Deck 12 – perfect day for it. I started early since we were meeting the Mary’s at noon. Good thing I got in 4 of the 6 rounds before the rest started. It slowed from a walk to a crawl.

It was the final FORMAL DAY! I was able to wear one of those dresses. Terry was gorgeous in black. So was I. Lobster was on the menu; Terry ate two. There is no doubt it is way too easy to consume food on the ship.

The evening show was a singer with way too much energy, but he did get a crowd full of mostly old people going. Then we went to some silly show called Quest where the behavior of normally sane people was questionable; men running around without pants and/or dressed as women. The audience was devided into 5 different teams to perform challenges handed out by the cruise director. Thankfully they had no need for our services.

When I get a chance I'll upload the video. I'm sure the employers of these people would enjoy knowing what they are doing on vacation.

Then we FINALLY made it to the Solarium to swim in a salt water pool and enjoy the hot tub.

A last look at the stars proved to me that they are still there. We can't see them at home because of all the city lights. Wonderfully peaceful star gazing while sitting on the balcony as our ship churned slowly towards Boston.

It will be good to home, but this is trully the easier softer way to see the world.

Sea Days Thursday, September 13th

Today was supposed to be our last port, Newfoundland. Instead we are blessed with another Sea Day!

Pleasantly rocking last night, less today. Clouds last night, sunshine today. Calmer seas, warmer days.

Breakfast again at Chops by the amazing Atlantic while we discuss with the Marys the day’s activities. I will miss the view! And the service. With so much to choose from I tried almost everything.

I finished the book ‘Tom Cruise, An Unauthorized Biography’ by Andrew Morton, published in 2008, between last night and this morning. Out of its 323 pages a lot of it was dedicated to the history and evolution of Scientology, and Tom’s involvement in it. I have long been a Tom Cruise fan. I don’t really care what religion he practices, or for that matter, what religion anyone is.

It seems to me that the author thinks Scientology is out to take over the world, eradicate gays and psychologists, outlaw medicine for the mentally ill and physically ill etc. In general the author seems to think it is evil. It has long seemed to me that most religions are more about power than God, instigating more wars than anything else. They all have evangelical programs and most of them seem to demonize the opposition - religions that they don’t belong to. Morton refers to it as a cult, which indeed could describe most religions if you look up the definition in Webster’s Dictionary.

Tom is a gifted talented intense actor. I have seen just about every film he has been in and enjoyed all but one of them. His charisma is undeniable, so it’s not really a surprise that he has had multiple love interests. Who in Hollywood hasn’t? As far as people growing apart after marriage, that happens despite abilities and wealth. But Tom’s break ups, according to Morton, seem to be due solely to Tom’s religion - Scientology.

I am now acquainted with a host of new phrases like ‘supportive person declaration, Sea Org, Confusion and punishment, Operating Thetans and dropping the body… enough to intrigue me. I know research on the internet can be dangerous but I’ll be googling David Miscavige and Dianetics. I think Mom read that book when she was ill with cancer, thinking about alternatives to traditional religion and medicine, but maybe I am mistaken. At any rate, I’m not going to join, but I’m not going to bring in the SS either. I can’t imagine Morton would invent anything. According to him Germany and many other countries have taken steps to limit the impact of Scientology in their countries, comparing it to Hitler’s rise to power. Seems a little far fetched,

I enjoy anything that interests me enough to keep me awake at night.

Returned the book, returned the movie Moulin Rouge, went to a talk on the Apollo Voyages. A good reminder about what has been accomplished.

Warm enough to enjoy lunch by the sea - alternative seating at Windjammer. I’m not sure what Terry is saying, but it’s probably something like what is taking you so long to take the picture. That seems to be a frequent complaint. But despite the look we enjoyed it. Look at Mary A’s face for proof.

Kyle Knight and Misti, magic show from a few nights ago, taught the crowd a few magic tricks. We might be able to entertain the grandkids now. They swore us to secrecy, so despite the almost overwhelming desire to tell people, we can’t. Once they know the mystery is gone. Predictably, we bought the DVD.

One of our passengers, Ivan Trifonov from Vienna Austria, volunteered to talk about his hot balloon adventures. He just happened to have the power point and videos on his computer. Ivan was a chemical engineer for 25 years when he decided to go into the balloon flying business and has been doing that for 27 years. His wife and 3 children have also been involved in the enterprise. He has ballooned in Moscow, India, China, Japan, Jordan, Israel, across the Mediterranean Sea from Malaga Spain to Algeria. In the last case they refused to let him land so he had to land in the sea and nearly died. I think that would have persuaded me to look for other employment. The last video was about their trip to Antarctica in January of 2,000, where it can be -90 degrees centigrade, hostile environment, windy and isolated. He made the Guinness Records for being the first one to successfully complete a hot air balloon ride at the South Pole. He calls it polar ballooning. If you are going to the big balloon festival in Albuquerque he will be there.

When asked if he was going to retire he responded that he was retired. However when your vocation is your hobby, you never really stop it until you just can’t do it anymore.

I’m a big fan of So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing With Stars so it’s not surprising that I loved the evening performance entitled Tango Buenos Aries featuring Rocio and Luciano from Argentina.

Since I only got a couple of hours of sleep I actually had to surrender to my body and go to the room. We talked about a 3 AM swimming visit, but I slept right through it. Oh to be 16 again. Kidding. When I was 16 I was living in a 1 bedroom flat with my uncle vint, mom, dad and a rabid dog.

Anyway there is always tomorrow, until there isn’t.

Sea Day Wednesday September 12th

I have figured out how to add photos to the blog! kind of. This one is a photo of stairway art – meant to represent waves – brainwaves. I think I’m losing mine at an alarming rate.

The pictures don’t always appear exactly how I want them (like in the right place and with captions), but they are there. I try to post either early in the day (before 8) or late at night. Then we met the Marys for breakfast at Chops by the sea where the waiters now know what juice each of us drinks that I want oatmeal and will forget it unless they remind me, that we all want coffee and that I will invariably remember something else I want after Terry orders. I could get used to this.

After a leisurely breakfast we coordinate our schedules (like when we are going to eat next, that being the most important thing on my mind after just finishing a sumptuous meal) and then I went off in search of a Starbucks venti latte at Caffe-latitudes, Terry made futile attempts to get on the internet while strangers asked about his equipment (computer of course).

At 10 Professor Stooke lectured on Space Exploration. He offered stargazing at 10:15 PM if the skies were clear, but unfortunately they were not. Told us that the best time to find Venus and Jupiter was right before sunrise.

Beginning with Sputnik, October 4, 1957 and the Russian dominance of the early exploration years until President Kennedy decided the US should send a person to the moon. It was not really a scientific endeavor; it was competition with the Soviets. On 5/5/1961 Alan Shepherd was suborbital, on 2/20/1962 John Glen completed the first orbital flight to prove it was possible to control the spacecraft, navigate and land. The second step was Project Gemini a trip to the moon and back in two weeks. 4/21/1972 Neil Armstrong stepped out of the capsule and onto the moon.

Vision comes from the White House, funding from Congress, execution by NASA. The last vision was President Bush’s – fix shuttle, finish station, discontinue the shuttle, go back to the moon and prepare for Mars.

Economic conditions and the war interfered with the funding and execution. Professor Stooke seems to feel that we will eventually get to Mars, but it will be a really long trip. Perhaps 2020 the first human will explore an asteroid, mid 2030 first human expedition will head for Mars and later will land on the surface of Mars.

Currently robotic exploration is opted for as a cheaper alternative to manned space flights. Amazingly robots can be controlled long distance and pictures are sent back daily.

At 11 I skirted the frontier of a Powerful Posture seminar in the spa, decided I didn’t need one, and then it was time for lunch!

We headed for Sea View, a delightful café on Deck 13. Unfortunately on this particular day the aftermath of the hurricanes resulted in cold mist, that precluded the use of the outdoor tables and we got there just as the inside tables filled up. We asked Jo, manager of the Sea View and our waiter at supper, to expedite dinner that night so we could attend the Captain’s reception for suite passengers.

The Captain’s suite and that of the hotel manager were at the very front of the ship on deck 9. The Captain is from Norway. They also explained that the way the ship ‘rolls’ differs depending on the waves and the ship’s direction. It seemed to me it was more pronounced at the back of the ship.

I opted for orange juice although champagne and wine was offered, expressed thanks, said goodbye and headed for the theater to ‘reserve’ seats for the evening concert.

Terry went to the casino and won! But due to machine difficulty was late getting to the show so we were short a seat. I guess we made enough noise about it so the two people occupying ‘our’ seats moved elsewhere probably muttering something about rude Americans. I’m hoping they just didn’t like the seats.

Ryan Ahern, world championship pianist, performed a variety of songs from classical to country and blues. I managed to escape without buying the CD. Although I enjoy the music, I almost never play them once I get home.

Then it was a race to the Karaoke Super Star Competition at the Safari Club, other end of the ship to meet Mary P. who was reserving our seats, more successfully than I did. We listened to Jovencio Rosario and his band deliver easy listening hits. While their English was occasionally humorous with You becoming Chou, their delivery of songs in their native language was excellent.

Five contestants sang. The audience chose the best 3 by applause and the three ‘celebrity judges’ who were (I think) dancers from the show’s dance group judged and scored their second song , offering advice on how to improve. After the third song the judges compiled their scores and crowned a winner.

We have been to some karaoke contests where the range of performances ranged from abysmal to excellent. All of these contestants knew how to sing. One old guy (the ultimate winner) really surprised us with his performance as well as his vocal skill. But all 3 of the finalists did much better than I could have. I breathed silent thanks that I didn’t embarrass myself by entering.

Although there was still more we could have done, my ancient body was tired. We talked again about the Solarium at 2 or 3 AM. I knew I needed to submit payroll at some time when computer use was minimal to ensure connectivity. It was around midnight already. Suspecting that despite my best intentions, my body wouldn’t get up at 2, or even 3, I took my computer to the centrum (central part of the ship where there are hot spots for connecting to the internet). It took longer than I had hoped, but I finally got it done and played around some with my blog.

About an hour later I made it back to a grouchy Terry so I took advantage of our second bedroom and lulled myself to sleep with the Tom Cruise book.

Who says there is nothing to do on a cruise ship at sea?? NOT ME!

Sea Day Tuesday September 11

Creatures of habit, we met again for breakfast at our table by the beautiful sea. Terry and I tried Sit to Be Fit at 9 along with a contingent of deaf people who has a variety of questions and jokes. I noticed that it was not offered the next day, but they did have a stretch to be fit class in the centrum. That was a little too public for me.

After that it was another lecture with the Professor on the Solar System. He told us that shortly before the sun rises we should be able to see Venus and Jupiter rising in the east.

At 11 we watched the movie Super 8 in the same theater, that being a concession by management to the fact that there were more people wanting to see a movie than would fit into their smallish stadium seating cinema and in six days we would all be sea crazy. I’m not sure how sailors do it for months at a time. I hear words like confined, imprisoned, sequestered, and confined used to describe our condition and its only day 2. There may have been 10 to 20 of us that took advantage of it, so I guess we aren’t that desperate.

Next Joseph Condril, history lecturer, spoke on (the top) 25 Days that Shook the World (in his opinion). I knew most of the events and about two of the dates:

• 3200 BC – man created writing

• 752 BC --, founding of the Roman Empire - longest running government in history

• 5 BC - Hippocrates, birth of modern medicine

• 4-6 BC - Christ born –the monk who originally calculated his birth erred

• 1066 Norman Invasion/Battle of Hastings- Germanic English modified by French giving us words like buffet, RSVP, parliament (parli – to speak, ment – to meet). 30% of modern English derived from the French

• 1215 - Magna Carta - birth of English law where everyone is equal under the law, including Kings

• 1421 - year Chinese discovered the world,

• 1440 - invention of printing press

• 1492 – Columbus discovered America and Granada fell in Spain ousting the Moors (we saw Granada on our last transatlantic cruise)

• 1522 – 1st circumnavigation of the world by Spanish ship Victoria proving it was round and not flat – birth of cruising! My own irreverent comment. But I definitely wouldn’t be sailing on a flat earth. Of five ships, 1 returned. Spain became superpower.

• 1588 - defeat of Spanish armada by England – many of us wouldn’t be here if this had not happened – including the Salls (my family of origin)

• 1607- founding of Jamestown

• 9/14/1752 – British Empire joined the Gregorian calendar – King George advanced their calendar by 10 days

• 7/4/1776 – Declaration of Independence – birth of modern democracy (I got this one!)

• 7/1863 – Civil War

• 12/17/1903 – the Wright brothers first flight

• 6/28/14 – WWI – Serbian nationalist assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and within 5 weeks everyone was at war.

• 10/29/29 Stock Market Crash – worldwide depression

• 1933 – Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini (the real axis of evil?) and Roosevelt (knight in shining armor)all rose to power

• 12/7/41 - Pearl Harbor bombed

• 6/44- Normandy invaded by Allies, Saipan falls to the US which put us close enough for the final attack on Japan. We were privileged to visit Normandy on this trip.

• 1940’s - computer invented (without which I wouldn’t probably be on this ship or writing this)

• 11/89 - fall of Berlin Wall marking the end of the cold war. We saw it’s remnants

• 9/11/01

• 12/21/2012 End of World according to the Mayan Calendar, this is really just the end of the calendar. The Mayans had a number of calendars – 12 year, 52 year, 125 year.... This is just the end of the 500 year calendar. The Spanish took over the Mayans and they quit creating calendars.

Mark Merchant, The Comedy of Two Voices in One entertained us at 9. He has 3 puppets, one black, one old lady and one Hispanic. The target of his jokes was equally distributed between all races, all political parties and addictions. The old lady introduced herself as an alcoholic and in surveying the audience said she recognized her group.

We wandered through the Solarium, an inside pool area reserved for adults, and proposed the idea of getting up at 3 to enjoy it the spa, reminiscent of our adventure of the Blue Lagoon without the people, the hot springs and salt water. Come to think of it, it’s nothing like the Blue Lagoon.

Unfortunately due to hurricanes and cloud cover we did not get to see the real Northern Lights in Iceland. The picture is of the work of art created for the Jewel - Northern Lights in the center of the ‘city’, beautiful and ever changing at night.

At 2:59 AM I was awake, but Terry’s ankles had been swollen and blue, so we didn’t think it was a good idea to go out to play again so soon. Oh well there is always another day. Until there isn’t.

Sea Day Monday September 10th

My voyage pet, Fido, learning to read with my glasses perched on his cotton nose. Francis, our steward brings new towel creatures to life on an occasional basis. I think Fido is my favorite.

The day we left Iceland Captain Steig made an announcement that we were going to skip Newfoundland! Because of the weather…Hurricanes Michael and Isaac were combining and heading toward Newfoundland. There was a ‘troubling low’ between Iceland and us. We would take evasive action to avoid the storms and keep us safe. Hard arguing with that.

Before we left on this adventure I was goggling hurricanes and pilots and ran across a pilot chat board espousing different opinions about flying and hurricanes. Some pilots are drawn to the danger and fly into it. Others prefer to put their passengers safe and fly around it. I’d rather be with Pilot B. Ditto for Ship’s captains.

On the 10th the captain held a meeting in the Coral Theater at 11 to inform us of the status. He, his engineer, and the hotel manager were in the hot seats. He might have diffused any possible anger by hiding behind a shield in case we were throwing tomatoes.

After 43 years in the business he said he still had not been to Newfoundland either. 50 percent of the time that port is cancelled due to weather. Someone asked why RC kept it on the itinerary. Of course September Is hurricane season, so we took our chances when we booked. I’ve heard from other passengers that Newfoundland is quaint, like a step back in time. We may have to fly in order to get there.

Since we had 3 sea days to Newfoundland, one day there, and then two more to Boston, the evasive action was going to put us on the sea for 6 days. When asked what compensation we were going to get for missing a port the Captain joked ‘you are getting an extra sea day’. One passenger’s suggestion was for each table to get a free bottle of wine. We actually did receive a bottle of wine, but when asked if we could exchange it for sparkling water the wine disappeared with the porter who brought it.

My favorite questions – one guy wanted to know if the ship carried a spare stack, another wanted to know if all the lifeboats worked. I just wanted to know why we didn’t have Big Brother updates, but I was too chicken to bring it up.

Caught another lectures by Professor Stooke on “The Latest News from Mars”. While it seems to be a strange series to be on this cruise, it was fascinating, especially to Terry. He referred us to the jpl website (jet propulsion laboratory’s) for the latest pictures on Mars, which evidently are updated daily. I learned that the Martian Canals are actually a spider web of lines, an optical illusion produced by our brains because our eyes are good at connecting the dots, that it is a 3 years trip to Mars and back (one I am not likely to go on) and that it gets it’s red color form the iron oxidizing in the rocks over 4 billion years. Probably everyone else knew this stuff but it has been years since I have been in a science class

. Learned a little more about my digital camera at the Photo Gallery Nerd’s seminar. Although I comprehend pretty well, applying that knowledge to my camera seems to be more of a challenge. Like where do I find the f stop? Etc. I need remedial tutoring.

Watched the movie Leap Year in the cute little cinema seated next to another passenger who advised me that Viking river tours with a passenger manifest of about 300 were the best she had been on. I’ve added it to my bucket list. That list just keeps getting longer, much to Terry’s chagrin.

Hanna Starosta serenaded us with her violin, which unfortunately put me to sleep, through no fault of Hanna’s. Something about the rocking of the ship and warm air rising to our reserved seats in the balcony which we insist on using because they are reserved especially for us…the only reserved seats in the house. They make me feel special.

We talked about a swim at 3 AM in the Solarium to avoid the crowds. In my case a crowd is more than three people. Although tempted, the lure of sleep was too great.

Day 15 Saturday September 9th, Second Day Iceland

The Blue Lagoon

Swafar picked us up at the ship for our second day in beautiful Iceland. We have been blessed with really great weather considering it is a September Hurricane Weather Voyage. Our destination was the peninsula and the Blue Lagoon but our first stop was a common area used by fisherman to dry out the fish in open air (see picture below – brought back too many memories to start off with it). We didn’t stay long, thank god, because the smell was overpowering through closed windows and stayed with us for miles. However, the finished product is an excellent source of protein.

We passed a number of geothermal plants responsible for getting the warm water to the customers who use it to warm their homes.

While the western part of Iceland we saw yesterday was covered by waterfalls, this section of Iceland is mostly lava covered. . There are two types of lava fields: ououlava (pointy) and pahoehoe (smoother lava). I wouldn’t google those words because it is just what it sounds like and not necessarily what it is. Normally I would google them and figure it out, but Internet is just way too expensive to waste it on being right. There might be some volcanic activity in the southwestern corner.

I decided to enroll in the University of Iceland - no tuition is required although there is a 60,000 Kroner registration fee. A private college can be between 6 or 700,000 per semester. Every foreign college looks good to me.

Klamama (?) Lake was a sea of blue surrounded by black lava, crevices on the bottom opened making the lake 114 meter deep. It was here they filmed Noah. In other places the hills have different colors depending on the minerals: sulfur causing an orange or green tint, silica blue, and iron orange.

The end of the peninsula afforded spectacular views of the sea, the cliffs, Fire Island, a huge rock (I think called Man Rock?) the lighthouse and my favorite kind of bird…the kind that lets you hug him and doesn’t peck you to death.

At Krysuvik we saw more geysers. That isn’t a low lying cloud. That is sulfur mist from the geysers. Although I tried to remember breathing sulfur is good for you, it was still an obnoxious smell until we got used to it. Terry is taking an itouch picture; Swafar is standing on the fence looking at the lighthouse, the geysers and the rainbow that often accompanies the mist. I think this was one of the few times he got out of the car to accompany us to our lookout point. That has to be the reason I don’t have a really good picture of him. Most of his narrative was delivered from behind the wheel.

Swafar told us that in 1627 Algerian kidnapped people from Iceland and enslaved them. The wife of Pastor was captured for one and a half years. She was returned after being sold and was never the same. The ghost of a woman haunts the geysers.

Our final stop was at the Blue Lagoon. As you know, I’m not much for swimming, lounging around in swimming pools, or lounging around at all. We had bought the executive entrance/lounge for a 3 hour stay and I could hardly see myself immersed that long. I probably could have spent that long in the dressing room. Two candles, soft lighting, soft music, robes and slippers were provided. Showering is required and I was advised to coat my hair with conditioner before entering the pool. While it is supposed to do wonders for skin, it is not kind to hair. Downstairs in the lounge Omar showed me how to make coffee and there was fresh fruit and Icelandic pure water to drink. We entered the lagoon through the indoor pool. The bracelets we wore opened the doors to our rooms and the regular pool area.

It was wonderful. Although I occasionally wondered what was on the bottom of the pool, it was impossible to see be. The Blue Lagoon geothermal seawater unique active ingredients: minerals, silica, algae. The seawater originates 2000 m/6560 ft beneath the ground where it is heated by earth’s natural forces. The lava surrounding the lagoon was formed in 1226 and is called Evil lava because it is rough and difficult to cross due to its porous surface. The lava to a great extent is covered with a fragile most which should be handled with care.

Although looking at the plants it’s difficult to know that all the hot water is located under it, going to one of the many geysers in Iceland made it real.

Sadly we had to say goodbye to the Blue Lagoon and head back to the ship since all aboard was 4:30. Since we had not eaten lunch we went up to Sea View on the top of the ship and ended up eating way too much since dinner was like an hour away. Nonetheless we went to our standard seating and left early to attend the magic show. After the show Terry and I watched the 2nd part of Big Miracle in the cinema. Terry went gambling. I caught a tiny bit of the 2nd show and went back to the cinema for the first half. It’s convenient being in close proximity to such varied entertainment - something for everyone. Who said cruising was entertainment at it’s finest? I DID!

pictures above - My Kind of Bird, Pennisula

Vieiw of Sea at Pennisula

Swafar and Terry at Geyser

Fish Hangout

Geothermal Plant

The Pennisula

Lava Lake

Day 14 Saturday September 8th Iceland

Although the waves were high, and our boat was slightly crippled, we arrived in Iceland without further incident. Neither impacted our appetite. Notice all the food Terry ordered for himself.

Around 8:15 we left the ship looking for our guide, Swafar (phonetic spelling), from the Eskimo tour company. Thanks to Mary we had a private tour in Iceland. Yeah! Swafar turned out to be a good looking 26 year old Icelandic native, born in Connecticut while his dad was studying medicine. He lived in Minnesota for a year before the family returned to Iceland. I know he was too young to pick up English, but he spoke it as well as we did.

Swafar is planning a route 66 motorcycle trip ending in Chicago (because he is a blues fan). I offered to introduce him to same-age-Jon, who is equally enamored of motorcycles, not so much blues. They are also both equally dissatisfied with the current politics in their countries. Our first stop was at this petrol stop (Nesti) for our guide’s breakfast and our coffee. Swafar eats while he drives, along with texting, talking on the phone and looking up pictures so we can see what various birds look like. Swafar is a multi talented.

According to Swafar, Iceland went bankrupt 2007 when 15 guys at local banks created ghost companies to move money around which made them rich at the expense of everyone else. Sounds familiar.

Course he also told us that a Viking had hidden 2 chests of silver in Mossy Mountain Valley and either no one found it or someone did and wasn’t telling and was unwilling to consider it might be more fiction than fact.

Farmer wrestling is the national sport. Pictures and videos decorated the restaurant. Cod and haddock are normal entrees, along with boiled sheep’s head; a delicacy being the eyes of the sheep. Yuck. I had fish stew for lunch, which was delicious and Terry had favorable reviews for the cod.

We stopped to look at some Icelandic ponies, sturdy, sure footed with a fifth step…not sure what that means but the result is the horse glides rather than gallops. Our guide being who he was pulled off the road and traveled on one not really suitable for travel to get us a closer look. Iceland is unwilling to allow any other kind of horse to be imported, even for temporary (i.e. movie) reasons because they don’t want to lose the purity of the breed.

The highest mountain is 6,927 feet. Thankfully that was not where we were going to snowmobile. It is the season for northern lights but the weather was providing clouds rather than clear skies, so I will have to be content with the ones I saw in Minnesota.

Because Iceland is a land of volcanoes with 200 degrees C superheated water available for heating homes and water. His electric/water bill runs about $50 per month. We saw some of the plants around the area. Swafar said they had one female president, in his opinion the best ever, but she opted out of politics. The current president had been re-elected 7 times, and our guide was slightly miffed there were no term limits. We traveled into nowhere land – the RIFT -the North American plate pulling away from the Eurasia plate and creating new land.

I heard that the first waterfall we saw was formed in 950 when a farmer chopping ice over the fault. His axe disappeared and water poured over the cliff, pictured to the left. I drank the water, which was clear and pure, and immediately became healthier. Swafar doesn’t drink anything but Icelandic water.

At another water stop we tossed coins – it had to be from our country of origin - in the stream under a bridge along with a positive wish for good luck. Mary P had enough pennies to buy us all good luck. The sparkle of coins told us we weren’t the first. At a tourist bachelor party the guests threw the intended groom to be in the stream. Water is 2 to 4 degrees centigrade all year. Our guide mentioned that it took 17 years for the water to reach this ravine from the glacier.

It used to be normal for people to live in the caves in the mountains nearby. Swafar knew one 58 year old lady who was born in a cave and lived there till 6 years old. The thermal springs nearby were used for warmth and to bake food. They still bake rye bread (at least) in the thermal springs.

Iceland has no military, although they helped to start NATO. They do have a couple of coast guard ships to help out in event of a sea emergency. Norwegian air force takes care of Iceland because, according to Swafar, the Russians inv ade air space.

According to Swafar, there is not much crime in Iceland, with just one prison for 3 to 400 hundred inmates with internet, TV and some even some excused absences– depending on crime. Maximum penalty for 1st degree murder is 16 years. Drug trafficking gets 1 to 10 years. A member of Parliament served time for stealing construction materials for use at his house. Still serves.

With 130 active volcanoes, 1/3 of the lava on earth is produced in Ireland. The 3rd biggest glacier is in Iceland. Although I was apprehensive about snowmobiling on a glacier, we did it. I was afraid we’d freeze being unprepared for that kind of cold, but they gave us snowsuits, boots, gloves and helmets and then loaded us into a utility vehicle which bounced all

over the Road to Hell (the glacier). Actually once we were on the trail, and even though I worried some about the damage that ice might do to my body if I encountered it prematurely, and once I even considered that Terry might be trying to collect the insurance, it was decidedly a highlight of the trip. On the way back to the ship we stopped at Gullfoss Falls. Still pictures don’t do it justice. The videos are great but unfortunately difficult to share from the ship.

Snowmobiling on a Glacier in Iceland...Terry's Driving!

Day 13 Friday September7th Day at Sea

The Atlantic is still rocking and rolling. Despite that, a day at sea is perfect for being lazy and eating nonstop which I managed to do. Breakfast at Chops, lunch and dinner at Tides Dining Room.

At 10 AM I attended Joseph Condrill’s Port Enrichment Lecture on Iceland. He has a usual presentation style, but I learned something anyhow. For instance Greenland is really ice and Iceland is really green. Since we are snowmobiling in Iceland that might be a concern. Also that it is the least populated country in Europe – I didn’t actually associate it with Europe.

When Nick’s French friend visited us she laughed at our history because they have so much more of it. I understand why. Iceland was founded by Celtic Monks in 648 BC, their Parliament (the oldest in the world) was created in the 10th century; Christianity arrived peacefully in the year 1000. From 1262 to 1918 Iceland was a part of Norway or Denmark. It has been visited by small pox, the black plague and volcanic eruptions.

Keeping in mind this is information from a third party who is not an Iceland native - they have a multiparty system where the parties all work together, amazing if true. They have had female prime ministers. Their literacy rate is at 99.5 percent probably because education is free. They have government health care and rank 11th in health expenditures with the highest percentage of doctors/nurses to population. Life expectancy is 81.4, 4th highest in the world. 2 flags fly over Iceland, Denmark and Iceland although Iceland is officially independent.

Their names are Joanna, Katrina’s daughter, Ingor Omar’s son and listed by first name in the phone book. It explains all the Johnsons and Andersons we have in the states.

He had a picture of two polar bears on an iceberg. They arrived from Greenland in June of 2008 and were returned. They have Glacier Forests, Glacier Fjords, Glacier lagoons, which sounds suspiciously similar to snow so maybe we find somewhere to snowmobile.

The Captain announced that with two hurricanes in the Atlantic and a troubling low front between Iceland and Newfoundland (our next port) they were keeping a close watch on sea conditions and would take evasive action if necessary. Though meant to be reassuring it was a little anxiety provoking.

The crew member who was hospitalized when the ship hit the cable is doing well, although still hospitalized. I was reassured that the missing mast would be fixed in Iceland.

At 11 I tried to find the seminar that promised I could look 10 years younger instantly presented by Dr. Tankosic. Instead I found crafters finishing up their projects – there is a lot of that on this ship – and waited 15 minutes for the Dr. As I left noticed a rather dejected looking man putting up his screen and projector in room next door with maybe 3 people looking at the sea, not him. Poor guy. I will have to boost his attendance on the next sea day.

At 1 I checked in on The Adventures of TinTin at the cinema. There was standing room only. Unbelievable. It’s a CARTOON movie, but everybody else was apparently as willing as me to watch it. I hear tell there are less than 10 kids on board and they were nowhere to be seen. Checked again at 4 and found it packed again.

At 4:30 Professor J. Stooke did his best to explain ‘The Birth of British Astronomy’. I don’t know that it is a subject with wide appeal, but I was there in my formal dress listening to theories about the moon being a reflection or shadow of the earth and the possibility that Stonehenge was created to worship the moon, or maybe an astrological guide to stars or a way of predicting eclipses. If you are interested I his website/email is below (hopefully)

Email: pjstooke@uwo.ca http://publish.uwo.ca/~pjstooke/

There is plenty to do actually if I liked to gamble, knit, do crosswords, buy art, get punctured (acupuncture), have my feet analyzed, play bridge, table tennis or family Nintendo WII, remedy my bad hair, learn to salsa, play trivia, embarrass myself at karaoke, see what a self-lead Sabbath is etc. . Maybe I should broaden my horizons. If I was bold (or stupid) enough I could try Open Rock Climbing, but chances are I would be blown overboard. That almost happened on the way to the Dr.’s presentation.

Sea days are perfect days for formal days. We actually got dressed for the event. At dinner the staff sang O Sole Mio to twirling napkins. Afterwards we scurried off to see if we could catch a glimpse of first time Arctic-line- crossers get their noses painted blue – we had already been initiated on a former cruise so we disqualified ourselves. I was disappointed it turned out to be only a dot. I was looking forward to seeing the whole nose blue on a formally dressed couple. They did put an ice cube down their back and made them wait in 30 degree C weather for the privilege. I guess that’s good enough.

I managed to stay awake (barely) through the song/dance show presented by the ship’s dancers and singers. Then collapsed.

What is it about a lazy day at sea that makes me lazier?

Scheduled activities occurred without us - a variety of music – guitar favorites by Jovencio Rosario in the Odyssey, night club dancing in the Vortex, Michael Jackson tribute, live paradise lotto draw etc., but unbelievably we were too tired to participate, maybe because we knew the next day we’d be snowmobiling over a glacier in Iceland. Who signed up for that??? I DID. Who brought winter clothes??? NOT ME.

Faroe Islands, on our way to Torshan, the Capital

We docked where the small red dot is. While sailing down the fjord to reach our port the ship radar and mast hit the power cable. We traveled via bus to Faroe Island's capital which is the large red mass using an underwater tunnel, land tunnels and bridges.

Day 12 Thursday September 6th Faroe Islands

Breakfasting at Chops and watching the Faroe Islands (I so want to call it the Favre Islands) as we slowly drift by, green covered mounds rising out of the sea almost close enough to touch, or at least for Terry to swim. It sounded like the engines were reversed and a few moments later the Captain made an announcement.

A power line that should have been 6 feet higher had encountered the smoke stack and the radar tower, cutting the power line and damaging the ship. We were wondering if we needed to get our life jackets and/or jump overboard. Remembering the recent mishap in the Mediterranean we didn’t want to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was hoping he would say something like ‘although there is some damage to the ship there is nothing structural wrong that would be a threat to your safety.’ He did say we were going to port as planned.

He also repeated numerous times that the wire was out of place, the ship had passed this way in the summer without incident and implied that someone or something moved the wire, or the sea, or both. He sounded like his career might have been passing before his eyes.

We did dock. We did tour; this time to Torshavn, with 17,000 residents the smallest capital in the world. The archipelago is composed of 18 islands roughly in the shape of an arrowhead. The earliest settlers were Vikings (my people, although Terry says I look nothing like a Viking) around 800 AD. The Vikings seem to have been really busy in this part of the world around 800 AD.

On the 1 ½ hour one way bus ride we passed a waterfall every 10 seconds or so in varying formats, from tiny thread like streams to gushing waterfalls, all ending in the fjords below. We drove through a tunnel under the sea (not my favorite activity) and over numerous bridges, one over the Atlantic, maybe the only bridge that could lay claim to that.

Our guide with an unpronounceable name (I’ll call him Sam) was a native whose father was both a priest and a parliamentarian (1 of 32). The Islands are a self governing part of Denmark. Taxes are high, but so are benefits: water is free, education is free to all at all levels, and health care is free. Sam had an emergency identified in the Islands. 1 hour later he, his wife, a nurse and doctor were helicoptered out to Copenhagen for surgery. No problem with insurance, no payment required first. It was taken care of by taxes, as are water and education.

Some of the fun facts: 4 sets of traffic lights on the islands, 16 tunnels – 2 of them underwater, 70,000 sheep and 48,000 inhabitants, still they import 40,000 sheep a year in addition to the 40,000 of their own they consume; no natural forests (very few trees), “drekkamunn” (tea with milk) is the most popular drink, soccer the most popular sport, all but one village by the sea. Sam joked that you could run over a person for free, but a sheep would cost you $400.00. They (sheep and people) roam the mountains at will. There are no fences. Owner specific marks on the sheep identify who owns it. They are gathered up only twice a year, once for the slaughter.

Stopped briefly at the Nordic Center but it was full of young blue eyed blondes evaluating which college they should choose to go to for free. I’m sure they were wondering why this horde of old people was invading their space.

The Islanders are famous for killing and eating whales, which may sound barbaric, but we might temper that with the amount of chicken and beef I eat daily. Sam claims it is socialism at its finest as everyone gets the same amount of the kill and uses it to survive. Sam said the total whale population is around 800,000 so the amount that they kill (around 2,200) is insignificant.

Fishing is their mainstay – 90 percent of the exports. The fjords are peppered with salmon rings where salmon are raised. They export dried cod heads to Africa for soup. At Torshan Sam pointed out wooden buildings with narrow strips of wood spaced a quarter inch apart so the air can blow through used for storing their meat in winter months.

The Gulf Stream winds keep the temperature mild, if cold. There is snow, but it clears off quickly. The water stays around 6 to 10 C.

Sam lead us around the charming little town with its own harbor of homemade and commercial boats, the biggest church looked like one of our smaller ones, the offices of the prime minister and the parliament and the site of the first parliamentarian meeting.

The Marys opted for a fast boat ride up and down the fjords. I was freezing on land, so I can only imagine how cold it was on the water. They were given wet suits, but fortunately they did not end up swimming their way back to the harbor.

The staff worked overtime putting the ship back together. The good news is that we left almost on time. When we got to the Atlantic the ship began its pleasant (to me at least) rocking.

English comedian/singer Hilary O’Neil performed at the Coral. Much of it was aimed at the opposite sex, so I enjoyed it. Then Terry and I went to see Sherlock Holmes II in the movie theater with stadium seating at 10 PM – every seat occupied. Pretty good for old people.

This is why I love cruising; intriguing ports, excellent food, entertaining artists, just about every need anticipated and fulfilled. A half moon cast romantic beams on white capped waves. The gentle swaying of the ship lulled us to sleep.

Who could ask for more?

Day 11Wednesday September 5th at Sea

Wonderful day at Sea! The waves picked up speed and strength and the boat started to rock. You know it’s serious when they hang barf bags on every staircase. I like the roll of the ship. I don’t know what makes the difference but I’m glad I am of the variety that enjoys it.

Hard to believe that as a young girl I was terrified of going out in dad’s boat on Big Stone Lake, but that rocking seemed a lot more dangerous. Maybe it’s more about the difference between dad and the ship’s captain. This seems like a ride at the fair.

They closed off the outside deck earlier in the day. After dinner I took a walk around it. Something about the waves and the sound of the ship crashing its way through (crashing is way too strong a word) thrills me. I was the only one on the deck probably because it was a windy 13 C, whatever that translates to. Cold, I think.

To avoid some of it the Captain took the channel through some Scottish isles. Infinitely better ride. . Once we were back in the Atlantic again the ship began its familiar rock.

The idea of a Sea Day is to relax and enjoy being on the ship. Nonetheless, the phone rang around 7 and the Marys were ready for breakfast. Then Terry and I attended the Explorations talk about Faroe Islands and Iceland.

After that it was the Art Tour of the Ship. I felt sorry for our slightly sea sick guide. Maybe it was that or maybe he just didn’t speak English as well as some, but he was having a hard time. I decided it could have been one of his first tours, but I have no basis in reality for that. He kept talking while we were wobbling behind him and unable to hear. He had to repeat a lot and he lost quite a few of his followers.

The Jewel has 5.3 million invested in paintings and sculpture. The centerpiece in the central lobby spans 7 decks. It’s an artistic rendition of the Northern Lights, which our guides tell us we may see in Iceland or we may not. It depends on the weather which right now is forecast as cloudy.

He introduced us to Lady Grace in the casino who is the patron of undiscovered fortune. Supposedly if you touch her your chances at winning are better. The forward staircase theme is art of light. Without light these works of art are simply black or dull and unattractive. One, a collection of individual points of light, turns out to be different cities from 10,000 feet above. The mid stair case has a landscape theme, one a painting from 19th century, the next a photo enhanced to feature clouds, fields, rain hitting the stream as a young lady arches her back over it. Not sure how she got up from that position.

The guide’s favorite was a computer enhanced photo of a deer in a forest. I’m not sure which part was enhanced, deer or forest. Who would have guessed that photographs could be so creative and expensive? NOT ME!

The spa has a Thailand theme. Deck 11 has 6 or 7 paintings of Thomas Kinkade, made more valuable by his recent death and on sale for up to 1700.00. An 18th century bell without the clapper hangs in the Solarium.

The Digital Camera Basics class was sponsored by the nerds of the Photo gallery. It was standing room only. They explained the difference between an optical zoom and a digital zoom and theoretically which selection was best for different subjects. However when I tried to put it into practice I’m not sure I did it right. One lady asked what setting is best for bus shots. . The answer was sports and action. One of the problems is their images don’t exactly correspond with mine.

However I take a lot of bus shots. Uncle Vint would be proud. He was the pioneer of the bus shot, much to our dismay and his delight. His videos were more likely to cause sea sickness than this ship – at least for me. But he was a pioneer. At least it got me to look at my camera more closely.

The rest of the day I spent on the back deck watching Scotland go by. Terry rested in what passes for a lazy boy here. Then it was time for dinner and a show, Livewire, Irish Celtic husband and wife team who play the guitar and violin and sing mostly Irish songs.

During the show I was seeing 4 of them instead of 2. Entertaining but alarming. We decided I probably just needed to get some sleep, as difficult as that was for me to accept.

Here’s another good thing about the two bedroom suite I like to complain about. Every, and I mean every, room has its own individual thermostat, including the bathrooms. Given my proclivity for cold when I’m sleeping and the narrow range of acceptable temperature when I’m awake, it comes in handy.

Terry actually got up this morning - 1:30 a.m. – to watch the Cowboy game. Funny how they can broadcast sports for the guys but they can’t figure out how to get our favorite reality shows. We are forced to depend on email updates about who is HOH in Big Brother and who is on the block. I know that probably doesn’t sound as important as a football game, but it is to some of us. Really football is just a reality show with different rules. It’s all about the guys.

Today’s events remind me that it was probably good things worked out the way they did. I would have hated for the relatives to be seasick. And that extra room has come in handy for writing blogs, watching late night TV and listening to country western music without bothering anyone else. If you know what I mean.

Bridge Girl

Sea Day