Today I’m booked to go whale watching at 1pm, but before this happens I receive a response from Iceland Travel (they’ve reconfirmed all onward reservations) and the Grand Hotel. Luckily my sense of humour hasn’t completely deserted me yet, as their email of apology basically implies that the receptionist at the hotel mistook me for a tour guide or bus driver from Iceland Travel, and put me in one of the unrenovated rooms. Which allows me to add to my list of why you shouldn’t book package travel…and certainly not with Iceland Travel. Never again!
Reason 7: You run the risk of being mistaken for a tour guide or bus driver.
I’m not sure which I resemble most – a middle-aged tour guide or a middle-aged bus driver.
So time to go whale watching in Akureyri then. The worst that happens here is that the crew think I’m a middle-aged marine scientist with a long camera lens, which I can live with :-). We have a fantastic afternoon in the longest fjord in Iceland – 8 distinct humpback whales, with 5 distinct flukes identifiable. One humpback has black spots on the fluke, which I have never seen before…black streaks, lines and other disfigurements, but never dalmatian spots. This whale also has propeller damage to its fluke on both sides, more so on the right than the left. I travelled with Ambassador Whale Watching for about $AUD90, and thoroughly recommend them. Departures are usually by bus from the small wharf where the wooden boat Huni II is docked in the centre of Akureyri, and then down to the ferry departure terminal in a neighbouring village.
Swan Hellenic’s Minerva is in port…I travelled on her to Antarctica, the Falklands and South Georgia back in 2008-9. She is in port until tomorrow afternoon, and she’s a nice ship, well suited to this part of the world.
This evening it’s on to Lake Myvatn for two nights. It’s an easy 90 minute to the Sel Hotel on Lake Myvatn. It’s drizzling on the way to the lake, which turns out to be a portent of things to come…
