Day 6 – Djúpivogur
The rest of the trip was a bust, at least as far as the shore excursions. The next stop, Djúpivogur, had only tender (lifeboat) access. The weather sucked and the water was so rough that several passengers, including us, turned our excursion tickets into Guest Services, despite being ineligible for a refund. One woman sustained a wrist injury on the return trip from Djúpivogur – she was proudly brandishing her soft cast later that day, telling anyone who would listen about her escape from near total catastrophe.
The top photo is what the Daily Viking promised, and the bottom was what we got.
We spent the rest of the day wandering about the ship, amusing ourselves with a game of Scrabble in the Atrium, reading on the couches in the Living Room and a break for cappuccino. I got on the guest computers, located beneath the stairs, just for the fun of it and discovered the browser defaults to Lands End UK.
Thursday Night’s Dinner Siege
Having free access to anything expensive or in short supply brings out the worst in some people, and the day’s poor weather probably didn’t help. The World Café featured all-you-can-eat lobster tails for dinner. People stood in line, demanding up to five tails as quickly as the kitchen staff could bring them out, and damn anyone who might be left empty handed! Peg pondered the strain on the ship’s bathroom waste disposal system overnight.
Day 7 – Heimaey
The last stop on the trip was supposed to be Heimaey but, like Djúpivogur, it is only accessible by tender and the water was even rougher than the day before. (If you want an easier way to get to Heimay, you can take the ferry from Landeyjahöfn on the southern coast, or book a flight from Reykjavik Domestic Airport.) The captain decided to head on to Reykjavik instead. Our cruise director broke the bad news during her morning greeting but promised the staff was “scrambling to provide alternatives guaranteed to delight and surprise.” They set up a seafood and pasta buffet in the pool deck, which we thoroughly enjoyed while listening to the pool loudly sloshing, like waves crashing on the beach, as the ship rocked.
Despite the rough seas, the day was mostly sunny and pleasant. Just our luck. We passed by several small islands, including Elliðaey Island, home to “the loneliest house on earth.” (I fail to see a downside to that.)
Heimaey is the largest island in the Vestmannaeyjar (“Vest-man-ah-ay-yar”, translation: “Westman Islands”) archipelago off Iceland’s southern coast. Vestmannaeyjabær (Vest-man-ah-ay-bar”) is the only town on the island The destination is known for puffins, beluga whales and…golf? Yep, the Vestmannaeyjar Golf Club is known as the best in Iceland, situated in a crater and bordered by the Atlantic.
Every year Icelanders celebrate Þjóðhátíð on the weekend before the first Monday in August. (The closest pronunciation I could find for Þjóðhátíð sounds like “throw-hor-teeth.”) Also known as Verslunarmannahelgi (“Veyrs-loo-nar-man-ah-hel-gi”) or Merchant’s Holiday,” this mashup between Woodstock and Burning Man (without the nudity, because it’s too damned cold!) features concerts, dancing, sports and, of course, alcohol. The locals set up tents for people to warm up and socialize. There’s a bonfire on Friday night and fireworks on Saturday night. The festival concludes on Sunday night with the crowd singing popular Icelandic ballads, followed by a recreation of the 1973 eruption of the Eldfell Volcano just outside Vestmannaeyjabær.
If you want an easier way to get to Heimay, you can take the ferry from Landeyjahöfn on the southern coast, or book a flight from Reykjavik Domestic Airport.
Dinner at Manfredi’s
For our final evening we had booked a reservation at Manfredi’s Italian Restaurant on the starboard side of Deck 1. (The Chef’s Table is on the port side), but instead of enjoying it at sea, we sat in Reykjavik’s Skarfabakki Harbor, looking at the Innnes warehouse.
I had Fritto Misto Amalfitano (crispy shrimp, calamari coated in flour & semolina, lemon zest, garlic aioli) for the First Course (a.k.a appetizer), Linguini ai Frutti di Mare (fresh linguine pasta, mussels, clams, langoustine; with a Pino Grigio & cherry tomato sauce) for the Second Course, Brodetto all’Anconetana (mixed fish and seafood stew with tomatoes, garlic & parsley, toasted rustic bread) for the Main Course, and tiramisu for dessert. It was quite a remarkable meal!
Peg had the Viking Bistecca, a thick cut rib eye coated in garlic oil and rubbed with porcini mushroom powder, kosher salt, brown sugar and red chili flakes, which Peg absolutely loved! I bought porcini mushroom powder soon after I got home and I’m waiting for the next grilling season to try this out! Here’s the recipe, Porcini Dry-Rubbed Ribeye, and all the choices Manfredi’s #5 Menu.
Three couples were sitting at a round table behind us; two who had traveled together and a third couple they had met on the cruise. One man said he didn’t like traveling and had agreed to this cruise just to appease his wife. Why one would spend several thousand dollars doing something one hates boggles the mind.
Two of the men were talking about guns; the one who I could hear was firmly against them; the other one was soft spoken. It was surprising to hear a civil discourse about a very polarizing subject.
After dinner we started packing for leaving the ship the following morning. The staff left us a color-coded disembarkation schedule, which avoided a mass exodus and bottlenecks, and corresponding colored tags (we were in Purple Group 3). Our tagged bags had to be outside our stateroom door by 11pm for collection and we had to be in the Star Theatre, the entertainment venue at the front of the ship, at 8:15 am the next morning.
Morning would come all too soon.
Photo credits:
Djúpivogur promotional photo and Disembarkation schedule: Viking Mars.
Djúpivogur aerial view: Eysteinn Guðni Guðnason. 11 July 2023 Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license
Vestmannaeyjar. Hansueli Krapf.25 May 2006. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
All other photos are mine.