Montreal

Montreal, Day 1 RAIN 

We had lunch at Schwartz’s deli, the home of the original Montreal steak sandwich. It is brisket that is lean but not seasoned like pastrami or corned beef. This place is an institution and has been in business for 90 years, and the place looks like it.  We even did a little shopping at the dollar store.

It stopped raining long enough for us to do a walking tour in the evening to the Notre Dame Basilica where we saw a light show inside the church. It was very interesting and unique, but a light show inside a house of worship just doesn’t work for me.

Day 2 SUNSHINE:

We went on an excursion around the city, which was kind of boring because all our guide did was talk about this building and that building and she thought she was kind of cute making jokes but was really annoying.  We came back to the ship to have lunch and then Michael went out walking around the old city while I went to the spa to just float in the nice water and take a nap.

These housing units were built for the 1967 worlds fair and are very unique in that no one unit looks into another unit.  

Qaqortoq, Greenland

Qaqortoq, Greenland. Chilly temps, but NO RAIN 🌧  woo hoo

There’s not much here. Michael and I both escorted excursions to the Greenland Furhouse, a tannery (and the only one in Greenland), where animal skins, primarily seals, were processed for making into leather for clothing, slippers and accessories.  Seals are a large part of their diet, and so they don’t waste any part of the animal thus the tannery.  They also process sheep, muskox, and an occasional polar bear.  These products cannot be brought back into the United States or Canada. As the young guide said, it’s their culture and this is what they do.  It is the largest employer in town. No pictures were allowed in the factory.  I can say that it was quite interesting, but since it was Sunday, there was nothing to see except the equipment. And the smell was quite unpleasant.  

Qaqortoq is a seaport and trading station. The harbor is very colorful.  Fish and shrimp processing, tanning, fur production, and ship maintenance and repair are important activities, but the economy is based primarily on educational and administrative services. The primary industries in the town are fishing, service, and administration. 

Prince Christian Sound in Greenland

Today we cruised Prince Christian Sound in Greenland. We missed our port of call because of rough seas so we got scenic cruising instead.  The weather was cold and dreary, but at least no rain.  These pictures were taken from inside the ship; I apologize for the quality of the photos because the windows that we took them through were streaked from rain and salt water.  I was not among the crazy people who stood on the open deck to take pictures.

Tomorrow we anchor at Qaqortoq.  Yes, you read that right!  We are tendering to shore and both Michael and I will be visiting a fur house. This ought to be interesting.

Reykjavik, Iceland

Today we visited the Blue Lagoon in Iceland. We can now cross this off our bucket list. The day was dreary, rainy, misty, windy and generally depressing.  We weren’t sure what to expect given the fact that the weather was so crappy. Both Michael and I went as paying guests. We got there in the late afternoon and was pleasantly surprised because it did not rain while we were in the pool and the water was so delightful.  It was absolutely freezing as we got in and out of the pool.  As long as you stayed under the water, it wasn't too bad; but, boy that wind was cold.  My hair was sopping wet from the moisture in the air. Smearing the silica mud on our faces is one of the big reasons to go to the hot springs; we were hoping that it would improve our looks Ha ha ha ha 🤣. There was also a swim up bar.  Michael had a beer and I had a Diet Coke (what else!). This was the life.

Here is some information about the Blue Lagoon that I took off the Internet.

The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal pool, spa and hotel located in a lava field in Iceland. It is Iceland’s most visited tourist site.  The average temperature of the Blue Lagoon’s water is a gloriously warm 100°F (38°C).  The Blue Lagoon’s water temperature is so nice that you can enjoy it in freezing air temperatures and not even notice how cold the air temperature really is (it’s true). Honestly, your body is so warm from the water that you can even run across the outside of the thermal pool (quickly on a cold day!) and not be in shock.  Note that underground the water temperature starts off at an incredible 464°F (240°C). Thank goodness it cools down before it gets to you!  The 6 million liters of geothermal seawater in the Blue Lagoon comes from 6,500 feet/1981 meters below the surface.The water you are soaking in at The Blue Lagoon is technically waste water from the geothermal power plant that you can see from the Lagoon

Surplus mineral-rich water from the nearby Svartsengi Geothermal Power Station fills up the Blue Lagoon.  Yes, the water is natural but there wasn’t a pool here before some marketing geniuses decided to create one. Technically the Blue Lagoon is not one of the natural hot springs in Iceland. Moreover, the lava field surrounding the Blue Lagoon is 800 years old. The deepest the Blue Lagoon gets is 1.6 meters so for adults its standing height. The floor is natural rock but not slimy like parts of the floor at other hot springs in Iceland. The seawater contains algae, silica and minerals. On one side of the geothermal pool is a bucket of silica mud mask. You apply to your skin, leave it on for a few minutes and then rinse. it was nice but I can’t say it was anything as special as a proper facial. 

Faroe Islands, UK

The Faroe Islands are remote, green, treeless, rocky, mountainous, has thousands of water falls and sheep, grass rooftops, rains 300 days per year — and for us today, THE SUN WAS SHINING 🌤☀️

We docked in the town of Torshavn, where it was quite chilly. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faroe_Islands

The Faroe Islands (/ˈfɛəroʊ/; Faroese: Føroyar, pronounced [ˈfœɹjaɹ]; Danish: Færøerne, pronounced [ˈfæɐ̯øːˀɐnə]), or the Faeroe Islands, is a North Atlanticarchipelago located 320 kilometres (200 mi) north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway between Norway and Iceland. It is an autonomous territory^[8]within the Kingdom of Denmark. The islands have a total area of about 1,400 square kilometres (540 sq mi) with a population of 51,783 as of June  2019.^[3]

The terrain is rugged; the climate is subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc)—windy, wet, cloudy, and cool. Temperatures average above freezing throughout the year because of the Gulf Stream. As a result of the moderation and the northerly latitude, summers normally hover around 12 °C (54 °F). The northerly latitude also results in perpetual civil twilight during summer nights and very short winter days. 

We took a panorama tour by bus and saw beautiful scenery.  We came back to the ship, had lunch and then ventured into town. Small but quite charming. I came across a yarn shop ( hahaha not by accident 🙄), ok I admit it was my mission to find, and was surprised at how busy the shop was and how many different yarns and supplies they had. I guess with the long dark winters you have to have something to do and sometimes you need something different than just Faroe wool.  I did buy a souvenir 😍