Tag Archives: Ísafjörður

1 August 2019:
Ísafjörður, Iceland:
The Ring Road by Sea

By Corey Sandler

Sailing out of the capital city of Reykjavik, we’re off on a partial circumnavigation of Iceland and from there to the islands of Faroe, Shetland, Orkney, and the United Kingdom.

Ísafjörður, the Ice Fjord, is the furthest north port we will visit on this cruise, at 66 degrees 4 minutes North, 23 degrees 7 minutes West. That is just 55 kilometers or 34 miles below the Arctic Circle.

It’s a pretty small town—most places in Iceland are—with a population of about 2,559 close friends and sisters, cousins, and aunts.

We arrived this morning to a glorious day under blue skies and a warm sun. Here is some of Ísafjörður without the ice:

Silver Wind at the dock
All photos by Corey Sandler, all rights reserved 2019.

Vigur Island and The Birds

I went with a group of guests on a boat trip deeper into the fjord to visit Vigur Island, a privately owned speck of land that is home to three families…and tens of thousands of birds.

We saw puffins and guillemots and eider ducks, who were quite well behaved. And then there were the terns, who don’t much like people or other birds; they are very protective of their nests. It was straight out of a scene from The Birds.

Alfred Hitchcock (and British author Daphne du Maurier, who wrote the novelette on which that great movie was based) would have been delighted, or terrified, or both.

Vigur Island
A well-behaved puffin, posing for us
And a pair of zealously protective terns coming in for a strafing run

We will cross the Arctic Circle—while at sea—on Thursday night after we depart Ísafjörður, and then drop below it to Akureyri. After we leave Akureyri we will go back into the Arctic for a few hours as we round the northeast corner of Iceland early Saturday morning.

A month from now, our plan calls for us to cross back over from London to the east side of Iceland and then to Reykjavik. In doing so, we will have accomplished an aqueous circle of Iceland.

All photos and text Copyright 2019 by Corey Sandler, all rights reserved. See more photos on my website at http://www.coreysandler.com

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE ANY PHOTO OR AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

6 July 2018:
Ísafjörður, Iceland:
The Ring Road by Ship

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Every year, thousands of people arrive in Reykjavik to drive the Ring Road, the only route that circles the island. It is 1,332 kilometers or 830 miles, mostly paved…of mountain passes, coastal chicanes, barren deserts of lava, huge glaciers, spouting geysers, and volcanoes at almost every turn.

The road was only completed in 1974, tying together some bits and pieces built during World War 2, and other stretches that date back many centuries.

It’s not easily accomplished— conditions are not often anywhere near perfect. There are not all that many places to stay, and as far as I am aware, the dormitory-like hotels do not come with a butler and room service.

We are setting out on our own version of the Ring Road, by sea, in great luxury.

Our first port of call as we head clockwise is Ísafjörður, the Ice Fjord, which is the northernmost place we will visit on this cruise, at 66 degrees 4 minutes North, 23 degrees 7 minutes West.

That is just 55 kilometers or 34 miles below the Arctic Circle. We will cross the circle—while at sea—after we depart Ísafjörður, and then drop below it to Akureyri.

Ísafjörður is a pretty small town—most places in Iceland are—with a population of about 2,559 close friends and sisters, cousins, and aunts.

Here are some photos I took today, once again under a startlingly blue sky and relatively moderate temperatures for which we are all grateful and more than a little bit surprised.

All photos and text Copyright 2018 by Corey Sandler, all rights reserved.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS