Visit Iceland: Get ready, get set… get wet! (Part 2)

Iceland is a land of fire and ice.

Fire melts ice.

Ice is frozen water.

So, when you visit Iceland…

… you will get wet!

 

I visited Iceland on board Cunard’s Queen Victoria.

The jaw dropping beauty of Iceland

This voyage included 3 stops in Iceland; the first port was Akureyri (part 1), followed by Ísafjörður and finally Reykjavik.

Ísafjörður (that’s easy for you to say!) is the capital of the Westfjords and the name means ice fjord or fjord of ice. 

A very common sense name, that.

What isn’t common sense are some of the activities that Icelanders get up to, that invariably involve getting wet!

My husband, a non-Icelander, was inspired by seeing those adventure loving guys go over the falls at Godafoss in their kayaks on our first port at Akureyri and wanted to experience this water sport.

(Footage below, in case you missed the previous post),

So we booked 2 spots on a shore excursion that offered kayaking in a fjord.

As much as one should never let the truth get in the way of a good story, we had actually booked this tour online before we left home and I might also add that it was called “Calm Fjord Kayaking” because not too many Cunard passengers dream of flinging themselves over a waterfall, in a kayak or otherwise.

Obviously that doesn’t sound as impromptu as deciding to live in the moment and do what the Icelanders do.

So upon arrival in Ísafjörður we disembarked Queen Victoria and headed to our excursion meeting point, behind the Maritime Museum.

It’s a big building but an even bigger cliff.

On the way we marvelled at the sheer snow-capped cliffs that seemed to dwarf the town.

Those mountains go on forever.

I wonder if anyone climbs these mountains…

We weren’t armed with a great deal of knowledge other than we were going kayaking in the fjords,

not over a waterfall!

But regardless, we had paid to get wet!

First we had a safety briefing and then had to sign a waiver that said something about water and then something else about the hazards involved in kayaking in a fjord,

and that we wouldn’t blame them when we got wet!!!

Next we had to get the proper wet weather gear on, over the top of our clothes.

Does this make me look fat?

Then we had to choose a kayak and take it down to the water, and help others with theirs too.

It’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it.

And after some quick instructions about how to paddle, steer and stay afloat (and what to do if we did tip over….) we strapped ourselves into our allocated kayaks.

I’m wondering if I should have booked the puffin viewing excursion instead.

It looks like it’s too late to turn back now.

And we were off, into the fjord.

I guess this isn’t so bad.

There was some follow up on-the-job training,

If they can do it, so can I.

although we were free to take it at our own pace.

If it all goes pear-shaped, remember, it was his idea in the first place.

Despite the overcast weather, it was a breathtaking experience.

I could actually get the hang of this.

And yes, despite the wet-weather gear, I did get wet, but only from water running down the inside of my sleeves when I paddled.

Practice makes perfect.

“there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats”.

I was happy making my way around the fjord (not a phrase you get to use everyday) but I was even happier when the instructor offered to let us all go to shore a bit earlier than planned.

Time to head back to shore.

Not even the cold and the wet could wipe the grins from our faces.

Once we’d extracted ourselves from the kayaks and peeled off the layers of clothing, we headed back into the small town and rewarded ourselves with coffee and cake, as one must do.

All athletes need to refuel.

And where better than at a bakery.

We went to the local supermarket and bought a few souvenirs.  There are only a few shops in Ísafjörður but this is forgivable when you have a fjord in your town.

We all head to the shops to help the Icelandic economy.

We had accomplished our goal of kayaking in an Icelandic fjord.

Tick. √

We boarded Queen Victoria at the end of the day in Ísafjörður, most pleased with ourselves.

Overnight, Queen Victoria headed down the west coast of Iceland to our next port, Reykjavik.

Queen Victoria looks pretty good in a fjord too.

And we were ready for our next wet adventure.