Reykjavik - July 20, 2021
Despite the COVID epidemic it has been only fifteen months since our last cruise. Priscilla and I cruised the Panama Canal and Costa Rica in March 2020. We are now embarking on a cruise on the same small cruise ship we traveled on in Panama. The ship is the French Ponant line Le Dumont D’urville. We were able to reserve the same upgraded cabin we enjoyed previously. This ship is more like a mega yacht and is only 430’ long with a beam of 59’ and a draft of 15’. She carries 160 passengers. This allows the ship to enter ports that larger cruise ships cannot enter.
We found that Iceland was the first European country to open up to tourism after COVID. We immediately booked with Tauck and were fortunate to get a cabin. Flying directly from Chicago to Reykjavik is a 6.5 hour flight with a four hour time change. We departed at 7:30 pm and arrived at 6:30 am the next day. Our arrival is one day prior to the tour so we can get over the jet lag. We will stay at the Hilton Reykjavik Nordica.
Iceland is 40,000 square miles and is 300 miles wide from east to west and 200 miles long from north to south. It is about the same size as the state of Kentucky. Much of the landscape is dramatic with volcanoes, geysers, lava fields, hot springs and tundra. The population is only 370,000 people.
Tourism has returned to Iceland. The lines at airport immigration were very long. Everyone entering the country had to preregister online. Upon arrival we had to show proof of vaccination. Everyone on our cruise has to provide proof of vaccination.
We checked into the Hilton at 8:30 am and were immediately assigned a room. That is the power of our tour company Tauck. Normally when you arrive early at a hotel you can leave your baggage and return at 3 pm to get into your room. After breakfast we took a four hour nap and then took a taxi to downtown Reykjavik. We had a dinner reservation at 6 pm at the seafood restaurant Sjavrgrillid. The food and the service were excellent.
Many of the streets are painted with bright colors and designs.
Our ship the Le Dumont D’urville.
On Wednesday we will go on a city tour and board our cruise ship at 5 pm.