Arrived to a very wet and misty Stornoway, an ancient island community in the Outer Hebrides. It is the chief town of Lewis and Harris and famed for its Harris Tweed.

We have to tender off the ship today and as the weather forecast shows improvement for later we are getting off after lunch.

So pleased we waited until after lunch as it turned out to be a beautiful sunny afternoon. We walked up to Lews Castle first and then to MacLeod’s butchers (famed for their black pudding) – it seemed like we were walking for hours!

We now have a couple of days at sea before reaching Southampton travelling at a low speed of 12 knots. We’ve had a really good time and seeing Iceland was awesome. Some wonderful sights. Good food, good drink and good company. Soon we’ll be back to reality and a detox!

We are now on our way to Stornoway, our last stop before home. It was a very rough sea last night. We woke up to fog and it has been thick fog all day with the continuous sound of the ship’s whistle. Had cocktail drinks with the senior officers at lunch time and there was a masked ball gala in the evening. It is now 11.30pm and still thick fog. Happy that we won the quiz again this afternoon!

In Reykjavík today. The northernmost capital in the world. It is a modern city in the Southwest corner of Iceland and has much less snow than the other places in Iceland we have visited. It was sunny when we arrived but soon clouded over. We took a cab with friends to the Blue Lagoon passing rugged volcanic scenery. The lagoon is very pretty but overly commercialised and busy. From there we went to see the geyser of the poltergeist Gunnuheva or Gunna in geothermal area with a temperature over 100c.

We then went to the ‘bridge between continents’ where the Eurasian Plate joins the North American Plate. The Eurasian Plate is the Earth’s largest continental tectonic plate.

After a quick lunch we caught the shuttle bus into the City centre and had a drink in the Hard Rock Cafe. It was quite a busy day so just relaxed in our room after dinner.

On our second day In Reykjavík we went in to the City centre again to see the Cathedral (not very inspiring) and to have a look around the shops. Only bought a few bits and pieces this time. A quick cocktail in Hard Rock then back on board for lunch on the terrace. The weather is much better today.

We’re leaving here about 5pm for a day at sea before arriving in Stornaway. Not really expecting good weather there!

We sailed back up through part of the Arctic Circle before arriving in Isafjordur this morning. We are at anchor in the fjord and the first sound I heard when I woke up was the noise of the tenders being lowered! We sat on the balcony enjoying the sun before going on shore. A very quite small town and probably quieter than usual as it was a Sunday. Not many shops open but we did find a small bar selling Icelandic lager. Not a lot to see otherwise. The sun soon disappeared and it was freezing cold coming back on the tender. In warmer climes the staff offer you a drink of water or cool hand towel but today it was a hot chocolate!

However we did win the quiz this afternoon 😊