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.
Who could ask for more?
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