gregkoster

Thursday August 29, 2019 – Reykjavík (last time)

We disembarked from Le Champlain before 8:30 am and boarded the Backroads bus to the BSI bus station, where we hailed a cab that delivered us back to the Konsulat [where we had ‘second breakfast’ – getting ready for our trip to Hobbiton in New Zealand next year!]

The desk clerk said that the room they had designated for us was not ready yet but there was one with a slanted ceiling.  We looked and took!  DW just had to be extremely careful getting in and out of bed not to bump her noggin!

We bundled up and walked to the Miðbakki old port – no cruise yacht in port today, but we had the opportunity to read the large historical signs.  There were probably more than 20.  They were interesting but oddly were not arranged in chronological order.  We toddled on and revisited the Volcano House where we looked more closely at the items exhibited and we asked questions of the very knowledgeable young clerk [all geology Master’s candidates].  We continued on to City Hall to check out their big topo map to see exactly where we had been hiking the past week.  Surprise! It was gone.  The space was now taken over by rows of chairs for a private function.  So we walked near the City Hall lake and strolled through the sculpture garden next to a church that was hosting a lunchtime concert.

Back to the Konsulat to get ready for the Food and Saga Gourmet Tour https://www.seasontours.is/food-and-saga

Tyffi picked us up around 1 pm and drove us around for almost 3 hours, visiting out-of-the-way but very interesting sights in Reykjavík and suburbs. He pointed out the many churches, some fairly new and sporting avant garde architecture, but said no one went to services. However, Christ the King Catholic Cathedral has about 15,000 faithful congregants – mostly Poles who have relocated to Iceland for employment.

Tyffi first took us down to the commercial waterfront and pointed out the boats in dry dock, the whale watchers, fishing vessels, warehouses… He continued to the point, where the Viking Mound [a manmade grassy knoll] stood topped off by a small cod drying shack.  We climbed to the top battling strong winds and light rain.  Photo op!  Beautiful views of Engey Island in Reykjavik Harbor and back to Reykjavik itself.  [It was at this point that he said he would take lots of pictures and forward them to us. Made it a whole lot easier for me, especially since I had left my camera in the hotel room!]

He drove us to the Seltjarnarnes Peninsula, a ritzy suburb of Reykjavik with a small geothermal plant and a natural warm water pool where cyclists or hikers could soak their feet.  [The geothermal plants supply cheap electricity, heat and hot water to all the residents.  And it is now under consideration to try to build an underwater conduit to supply Scotland with electricity.]  At the tip of the peninsula we saw Grótta Lighthouse.

He took us to Nautholsvik Geothermal Beach, which has a sauna, hot tubs of various temperatures, and a sheltered sandy beach that is heated by a geothermal bubble pipe.  People were immersed in the warm water, and occasionally a few would get up and hurry down to take a dip in the bay.  [Icelanders are very big on these communal bathing spots. They can buy annual memberships.  It is a great source of socialization which is quite necessary in the very dark winter months.  Unlike Sweden, Iceland has a low suicide rate.]

Next stop was Bessastađir, which was one of Snorri Sturluson’s farms and later a royal stronghold.  It is now the residence of the President of Iceland.  We were able to walk up to the church, and right behind it the President’s house.  There was no fence, no armed guard.  Just an empty police car!  [Proving the stories we heard about Iceland’s very low crime rate.]

On we went and stopped at an electrified fence to pet two Icelandic horses.  [There are 80,000 on the island.]  They are used for companionship, riding, mowing the lawn, food, getting home from drinking parties [you can’t drive drunk, but you can ride drunk…]

Leaving the countryside, we entered a more densely populated area with stores, and Tyffi pulled stopped at a fish market.  The three of us went inside and agreed on four different kinds of fish to buy.  [We passed on the fermented shark…]

Our last stop before dinner was a lovely lake surrounded by a walking path and lush with trees.  One would think it might be Ireland rather than Iceland.

Tyffi drove us past the Hafnarfjörður harbor [with one last view of Le Champlain] to his house in a nearby suburb. It had clean lines, was uncluttered and very bright.

He started our gourmet feast with schnapps with caraway.  Then out came a couple of beers for me to sample along with a platter of hors d’oeuvres.  These ranged from lox to caviar to salmon smoked over sheep dung [a delicacy we had seen but not tried earlier – it tasted better than it sounds].  There was pickled herring, smoked whale, blue cheese, blood pudding, liver pudding, smoked lamb.

As we nibbled away, Tyffi was busy preparing our dinner.  He had owned a restaurant for 12 years.  He knew his way around a kitchen and his professional stove.

For dinner, he presented each of us with a large square dinner plate filled with cod tongue covered with curried onions, sole topped with tiny shrimp, tusk on a bed of Kimchi-flavored Icelandic cabbage, pink trout with creamed spinach, and a swirl of truffled mashed potatoes.

We thought we were done, but then he served the meat course!  Rack of Icelandic lamb, braised oxtail, and mushroom gravy. There was a large oval casserole of fresh broccoli, white potatoes, sweets and carrots.

Of course, there was dessert!  The famous Icelandic skyr.  It is a fresh sour milk cheese similar in consistency to Greek yogurt but with a milder flavor.  We each received two little pots of it—one flavored with fresh rhubarb and the other with a rich dark chocolate base layer.

Here’s the full menu:

Food and Saga Gourmet Tour

Chef Tyffi Tyffason

Menu

Starters

Liver sausage, Blood pudding, Sheep Head pate, Smoked lamb on flatbread, Gravlax, Caviar, Dung smoked trout and mink whale, two types of pickled herring-onion-vinegar and five-spice, Stóri Dimon white mold cheese   

Fish

Curried Cod tongue muscle, Sole in breadcrumbs, Panfryed Tusk, Arctic char and Icelandic shrimps with Kimchee white cabbage, Creamed spinach and truffle potato mousse 

Meat

Rack of lamb and Oxtails with mixed vegetables and wild mushroom gravy

Dessert

Skyr cake sitting on a French chocolate cake, and rhubarb skyr mousse 

Beverages

Icelandic fresh cold tap water, selection of beers and Portuguese white wine

We should have walked home! But Tyffi drove us—past his local communal pool where he is a member and then past the ‘elf hill.’  The Icelandic people claim they really don’t believe in these creatures, but when a construction project near one of these ‘elf hills’ ran into trouble, they detoured the road around the hill to avoid any more issues.  [Tyffi said, “We don’t believe in them, but you can’t be too careful…”]

We were dropped off near the Konsulat before 6 pm.  We walked by the famous BBP Hot Dog stand that Bill Clinton made famous.  [Their dogs are 80% lamb.  We wish we had known that sooner.  But it wasn’t an option at this point: with all Tyffi fed us, “we’ll never eat again!”]

I crashed early, because we had to get up early to pack and head for KEF.

gregkoster

Friday August 30, 2019 – Flyin’ Home

After a very early breakfast, we gathered our belongings and the front desk clerk called a taxi.  Traffic was heavy, but the woman driver drove like DW and got us to the airport with time to spare.

Security was tight!  We were grilled by a local Delta employee about where we had gone, with whom, the size of the ship, the activities onboard, the food we ate…  D’s carryon was opened and examined.  Other passengers were taken aside and frisked and their luggage was gone through at great length.All of the checking caused a delay taking off but we were only about 15 minutes late arriving at JFK where our local limo driver awaited our return.

gregkoster

Conclusion

This trip was a first in three ways:  our first trip to Iceland, our first cruise on Ponant, and our first hiking trip with Backroads.  And all three were very successful.

Iceland is everything you have heard about it:  amazing mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, and volcanoes; friendly people; a surprisingly warm climate given the location on the Arctic Circle.  You can get the flavor of Iceland in as little as two days [one for Reykjavik, and one for the Golden Circle of Þingvellir, Geyser and Gullfoss waterfall plus the Blue Lagoon] – but if you can go to all four corners of the country you will see a much more varied landscape and lots more of everything.

Ponant is a welcome addition to our list of premium cruise lines.  The ‘explorer class’ ships [Le Lapérouse, Le Champlain, Le Bougainville, Le Dumont-d’Urville, Le Bellot, and Le Jacques Cartier] are drop-dead beautiful from your first glimpse.  The most beautiful profile of any ship I have ever seen.  Very well laid out from stem to stern [the stern platform is used for loading the tenders, which is much nicer and more stable than the typical side-door].  The interior features tasteful luxury at every turn.

Capacity is 184 passengers [we weren’t quite full] with 110 staff and crew, for a ratio of 1.7 [similar to Azamara and Oceania].  The ships are rated at 9,900 tons, giving 53.8 per passenger [better than A and O].  This puts Ponant at the top of the Premium or Entry-Luxury class [with the smallest ships], but not at the level of true Luxury lines like Seabourn, Silversea, or the new Scenic Eclipse.

The cabins are not huge by large luxury ship standards, but are generous by yacht standards [most cabins are 204 sf, suites range from 291 to 484 sf; and all have balconies] and are very well laid out – we didn’t feel cramped, and there were drawers we never used.

Most of the cabins on deck 5 [including ours] are ‘connecting’ to allow conversion to two-bathroom suites – the only downside in the non-suite configuration is that a generous corner banquette is replaced by a chair.  [For our next Ponant cruise we have booked on deck 4 in a similar cabin which will have the banquette.]

The Theater is well designed for lectures and for the small-group entertainment they feature [I think – we didn’t make it to any of the shows with the three dancers and one singer].  There are two lounges, and an outdoor pool.  There was a rumor of a spa and fitness room – but the service is so non-pushy that I never had to say no.  [Like Mark Twain, when I get the urge to exercise I lie down until it passes…]

These ships also have the innovative ‘Blue Eye’ lounge on deck 1 – a multi-sensory underwater experience with windows that show the marine life swimming by and hydrophones that add the sounds from a three-mile radius.  They offered guided tours of the Blue Eye during our cruise, but we didn’t sign up – and the cold waters of Iceland were not the best environment for experiencing this concept.  [We will have to give it a try in New Zealand.]

The Nautilus Restaurant on deck 4 seats all passengers in one seating.  Service is very attentive.  The included wines are good and varied.  The food is imaginative, and might be better appreciated if were a little less so.  The four daily entrée choices always included one fish [almost always a white fish] and one vegetarian dish, but the other two didn’t add the expected variety [for our taste].  We rarely go to the ‘always available’ menu on ships, but tried the rib eye steak [cooked medium rare as ordered but tough], and the hamburger [strange].

There was also the option to dine at the Grill on deck 3, which has a carving station plus a limited menu – it got great reviews from some fellow passengers, but it is outside and it was too cold to consider on our cruise.

Breakfast and lunch were faultless.  Both had a nice buffet layout plus menu offerings, and everything we had was excellent.  Breads and boulangerie were terrific.  Eggs benedict was very good – until I discovered the fantastic French toast.  The luncheon menu offerings were all very good [we didn’t keep notes on what we had, sorry].

I would suggest offering the Grill carving selection on the Restaurant dinner menu[if they can figure out how to ‘plate’ it], adding more shellfish and red meat as entrees, and more Traditional French recipes – the cuisine was heavy on ceviches and carpaccios rather than cream sauces.

But that’s the only criticism I have of Ponant, and it reads more negatively than I felt at the time – I managed to gain 6 pounds despite hiking 6 miles a day, so I must have been eating something!  [Did I mention how good the breads were?]

I also want to praise their generous loyalty program.  You become a Major when you book your second Ponant cruise [that’s right: when you book it, not after you complete it].  That gives you a 50 Euro per person onboard credit, free laundry, and a 5% discount on future bookings.  That’s on top of the regular amenities: open bar and cabin mini-bar, free wi-fi, port charges and taxes.  The only thing that Ponant doesn’t include is gratuities [but on this cruise, Backroads took care of them for us].

Backroads is a top notch hiking [and biking] tour company.  We had 37 in our group [there was a 40-person limit], with four on-board Trip Leaders and six on-shore Support Staff – that’s an amazing ratio!  The passengers covered a wide range of ages and abilities [and foibles], and the leaders were always eager to assist and to modify routes so that every single person got the most out of their trip [even a few that probably shouldn’t have booked such an active trip].  Magdalena [Austrian], Svenja [German], Diego [Paraguay?], and Chema [Spain] blended into a well-oiled team – not an Icelander in the bunch, but they knew the territory and spoke flawless Icelandic [to my gringoears].  We never felt that there was any more they could do, or that we wished they could do.

However, we also realized that Backroads is focused on exercise.  The leaders were very apologetic about the missed port – not because we missed seeing Heimaey but because we missed our daily exercise!  But frankly, after 5 straight days of hiking [preceded by 2 days of extensive walking in Reykjavík], that Sea Day was a most welcome thing!The hikes on this trip are rated from Level 1 to 2, and some of them were at the upper limit of our abilities.  The climb to the summit on Heimaey would have been beyond us.  So as we look at other Backroads offerings, we are very careful to examine the daily choices – knowing that we won’t be able to do the more strenuous ones, and therefore considering whether we will feel shortchanged when we choose the easier options.  This is not a criticism of Backroads – a program like this can’t be all things to all people.  They have a very good program, it’s just probably a little too strenuous for us in our 70s.