Iceland in summer

We left for Iceland on June 27 and had a bit of a rough trip of 38 hours, probably had too much sail up. David and Andrea (yacht Diomedea), an nice Australian couple we have met all over the place in the last 10 years, were next to us the whole way.... not that we could see them in the fog. We tied up to the public wharf at Neskaupstadur on the east coast and, even though it was very late at night, Thomas, the Customs officer drove 1.5 hours to do our paperwork. The police gave us a stamp and we finally fell into bed for a good nights sleep.

It was a great first stop. People were very friendly and we got to know a local family really well. They invited us to dinner, answered all of our questions about life in Iceland and drove us around. We hope to return the hospitality when they come to NZ.

 

 David and Andrea hired a car and invited us along for a drive inland, snowy mountains, huge lake, barren land and gravel roads, very beautiful...

 

 

 After 5 days we said our goodbyes and did an overnight sail, 174 miles up the east coast and around to Grimsey Island .

Grimsey Island has over 60 species of birds so walking around the island was a real treat, especially since it was breeding season. The top half of the island is over the Arctic Circle so it's very popular with the tourists although it didn't seem too busy on the days we were there, tied up in the snug little harbour.

Next stop was Husavik where we hired a car for a day and joined the hundreds of tourists driving the ring road circuit which takes in 2 waterfalls, mudpools, a crater lake, canyons and more. We are used to having places to ourselves so it was a bit of a shock having to struggle to take a photo without people in it, but well worth it. Absolutely stunning.....

 

Back in town we got a few jobs done on the boat. Somewhere, somehow, we had bent our anchor so Phil found a workshop where he was able to straighten it. The job took only took him a few minutes but he ended up chatting for an hour or two, something that happens a lot around here (or maybe it's just Phil)

We got to know the owner of a whale-watching company and were invited out one afternoon so joined 30+ other people and went out into the bay where we were lucky enough to see some action. Sometimes we sailed and the silence was so nice. Of course if a whale was spotted all the boats in the area rushed over. Watching the people was as much fun as seeing the whales. I think cruising spoils you for normal tourist activities. There is nothing like having a visit from a whale while you are sailing along or becalmed mid-ocean.

Before we went around to the west coast we stopped at Flatey Island for a few nights. Once again the birdlife was amazing and we enjoyed several good walks and chats with the locals along the way. The houses are only used in the summer but we met people who had grown up there so got some local history which always adds to the visit.

We didn't see anything of the north coast as we sailed then motored along in the fog. As we rounded the NW corner at midnight the fog lifted, and I got to see some of the magnificent cliffs (Phil was sleeping) as we found an anchorage for the night.

We picked up friends  Baz and Claire in Isafjordur, stocked up on fresh fruit, veges and fuel. There were 7 boats in the harbour so happy hour was very social that night. Most boats were heading to Greenland, some to make landfall more north than we are planning so we may not see them again. Baz and Claire are with us for 3 weeks and about to experience their first ocean passage. Weather looks good. Iceland was an easy and enjoyable place to cruise and well worth more than the 3 weeks we had. If only the summers up here were a little longer......