Day 7
Well what a fantastic day and it isn’t finished yet.
We always knew we would be on tenders to the shore in Grundafjordur but yesterday we learnt that priority would be given to guests on P&O excursions. We’d booked independently so were a bit worried that we might not get off the ship in time so decided to go as early as possible. We really didn’t need to worry. The organisation was excellent. We had a quick and early breakfast then went to get tickets for independent travellers to disembark. We waited all of 10mins and then we were called for the very short tender trip to shore.
We were therefore early for our Kayak Adventure. Grundafjordur is very small so it only took a few minutes to walk to the meeting point and check in with the guys. We then went for a lovely coffee and a catch up on the internet whilst we waited. Then back to the kayaks for 10am. We were kitted out in dry suits, boots and life jackets. The process of putting on the drysuits was hilarious. I’m sorry but I was laughing too much to take pictures. Then onto the water. At first I would have sworn I’d been given the most wobbly kayak but soon got the hang of it. I wasn’t the fastest, but I wasn’t last either. Steve took to it like a duck to water. It was hard work on the shoulders and arms but we absolutely loved it. It was so beautiful and peaceful. We were also very lucky with the conditions - no wind or rain and very calm. The guys, Sonny (from the Czech Republic) and Greg (from Poland), were fabulous. They gave us a couple of talks about local legends - the troll who was walking up the hill with her child on her back but didn’t make it home before daylight and so was turned to stone and the elf stones - and pointed out the places of interest. Otherwise all was peace and quiet. We went a good distance - as far as the Kirkjufell mountain and back which all took about an hour and a quarter. Then it was all over too soon. But the compensation was the most wonderful cup of hot chocolate and biscuits. We can’t praise the trip highly enough. Loved it!
Then we decided to walk to the Grundafoss Waterfall on the other side of town. There and back was 7km and it was really worth it. The views were stunning. Iceland, or at least what we have seen so far, is so different from anywhere we’ve ever been before. There are 600 inhabitants of Grundafjordur. Most of the houses look like what we would call holiday homes. Many are clad in corrugated iron, some in wood. But the scenery is bleak as you would imagine. But really spectacular.
After the walk we decided on a cold drink in the same place we had coffee. We agreed that if there was something light to eat we would have that. We chose seafood bisque. Right! Light it was not. The soup turned up in washing up sized bowls (well almost) and a whole garlic baguette each. Delicious but not very light and pretty expensive at £46. But heh ho, we enjoyed it. They advertised fermented shark and I asked if it was in the soup. They said absolutely no way as it would ruin the soup 😂. We did a bit more internet stuff then back on the tender to the boat.
Relaxing now in the cabin.
Image gallery
You are heartier souls than I with wool caps in the summer, but the views absolutely pay off. x -Erin