July 18, 2024

We docked about 2.5 miles from the city. There were some cruise ships that docked in the city but they were smaller cruise ships. Turns out there were 5 cruise ships in port, 3 outside the city and 2 in the city. The city had a shuttle to take us into town but they also told us it was a nice walk so we opted to walk. We had a whale watching tour off TripAdvisor but it was not until 1:15pm and we were in port until 10pm. It was a nice walk into town and it went along the water front. They had several sculptures along the way.

The Viking boat sculpture and the path into town along the water.

The walk was easy but it rained most of the way so even with rain jackets and umbrellas we were pretty wet by the time we got into town. The temperature was low 50s but with the rain it felt colder. We walked around town killing time until our tour.

Rainbow street leading up to the cathedral and a rainbow building.

Our boat tour was on a large yacht and we had about an hour drive out to the whales. The water was very calm and we passed a puffin breeding ground so there were lots of puffins flying around us going out to sea and then coming back with the fish to feed their young.

Puffins

More puffins and a black guillemot. I loved the orange feet.

This was one of my favorites since it is a puffin following 2 ducks. Not sure if he just got in with the wrong crowd.

We saw some Minke whales but they were pretty far away. We ended up seeing 2 humpbacks. and one was very close to the boat.

Good tale shots

Humpbacks

The whales are busy feeding so unlike Mexico they don’t breach but they do dive.

Here was the humpback close to the boat and you can see it’s flipper underwater.

We had some great views of Iceland while we were sailing.

Looks like Hawaii except much colder

Iceland is very green

A storm came in while we were out whale watching.

The skyline of Reykjavik

We also saw a pod of white beaked dolphins and they were very active.

Lots of jumping out of the water

They stayed around us for awhile and we could see them going under the boat.

Another whale watching boat with a humpback close by.

After the whale watching trip we got some fresh fish and chips and then walked around town more.

They have a huge cathedral at the top of the hill. The rainbow road leads up to the cathedral.

Some scenes around town

Some of the buildings in the center of town.

Since we were in port until 10pm we stayed in town until after 8 and then decided to walk back to the boat. Of course it started raining as soon as we set off. We took a different route, one that left the road and followed the coast line. We ran into a house built out of recycled material. You can google the house and this is what you find.

“Tucked away in a secluded corner of Reykjavik, along the North Atlantic coastline, the Recycled House is probably the single most unusual site in the entire city. At first glance, this hodgepodge of rusty metal sheets, African masks, creepy scarecrows and every object you can possibly think of, might seem as if it’s simply a dumping site of wacky hoarders, and while to large extent it certainly is, there is far more to this place than what meets the eye:. It was created by the locally renowned filmmaker Hrafn Gunnlaugsson, who initially purchased the house while he was looking for a workplace to create all sorts of ornaments and objects for his movies.”

The recycled house

More of the recycled house

there were lots of things around the recycled house

A view from the coastal walk

We made it back to the boat around 9:30 and we were wet and cold and sore. We walked 11 miles.

View from our balcony.

We sailed away around 10pm and it was still light. I was able to look from the balcony and with the binoculars I saw lots of puffins flying to and from the island.

We have a sea day before our last port in Iceland. We were supposed to have a boat tour to see canyons and waterfalls but the tour operator called and canceled the tour. We are not sure why. There is not much else to do in port and it is a tender port so we will make our way into town and just wander around.