Day 8 – An Emergency and Akureyri, Iceland
The storm was relentless, so our hope of landing at Grimsey Iceland vanished putting an end to my puffin quest. We continued to sail up north to Greenland as I felt like we were being tossed around by heavy swells and a fierce headwind. Rain lashed the decks and we were advised not to go out. It was preposterous to think we could spot anything in this weather. Most of us spent time in our cabins or endured lectures about climate crisis and a lighthearted game of “guess which animal makes this sound”.
After lunch, we were summoned to the lecture room where we were told something I didn’t expect to hear. The tone gave me “ICU emergency” vibes – when a doctor tells the patient’s family he has no time left. Anyway, one of the guests had fallen, knocking herself unconscious and breaking a few bones. Therefore, the ship had to do a 180 degree turn in the rough swells and cross the Arctic Circle again while she was under the ship doctor’s care, a General Practictioner. We were headed to Akureyri, the closest city in northern Iceland, sometimes referred to as “the capital of north Iceland”.
As we pulled into the fjord, it felt like we were sailing into another world surrounded by towering mountains brushed in white. We disembarked in the rain to explore the city center where all the buildings gathered around the dominating church, red heart installations dotted around. I check later, it’s something about spreading good vibes and also giving the masses a backdrop for selfies. Akureyri’s “vibrant cultural scene” turned out to be a global food tour, with Indian, Chinese and shawarma shops on every corner.
Day 9 – At Sea
As we were making our way back up north again, we continued to roll over large swells. Going outside was not advised. what so we hung out and sat through lectures about life below the Arctic Ice, photo editing and photo critiques. The only wildlife spotted in between crashing waves and white top rollers was a single northern fulmar gliding over like a grey ghost. There was life after all.
Day 10 – At Sea – En Route to Jan Mayen
It was going to be another full day before we saw the dramatic coastline of Jan Mayen. As time passed, the sea’s roughness began to chill but it was still too risky to go out on deck. We sat through a bunch of lectures covering a wide range of subjects. One was about Jan Mayen followed by a slideshow of beautiful landscape photography in UK and finally a talk about what it takes to write a field guide.
We got a special treat after dinner. One of our guests, an award winning producer, volunteered to screen his film. It was about a kid lost at sea during a storm because he wanted to save his dog who then reunited with his family. I didn’t expect to cry my eyes out.
CRAYSCAPE 