Day 25 Djupivogur, Iceland

Well…..let me tell you about my tour today. I had high expectations, who wouldn’t at $319nfor a 7 hour tour. Let me give you the summary first… Get on the bus, drive 2 hours, stop for 45 minutes to have a bowl of soup and piece of bread, drive 25 minutes to the glacier lagoon, get on amphibious boat and ride around icebergs for 30 minutes and go back to the ship with a restroom break along the way. Sound like a $319 tour? Nay, I didn’t think so either. So here is how the day went…. I went out on deck as usual for our sail into Djupivogur. It was pretty nice when I first went out but got increasingly colder as we neared the coast. I put on several layers of clothing including a hooded sweatshirt, a down vest and a jacket. I was not going to be cold!….. After taking my photos I went and checked in for my tour. We were on the first tender and got ashore fine after a fairly long ride. We were off and running…. The drive started out pretty nice, Iceland has great scenery. When we got to the glaciers I asked if we could stop for a photo and the guide said no, on our way back we would stop. Too bad we couldn’t stop because the weather was very clear. We arrived at a restaurant after a couple of hours and stopped for soup. I had the seafood soup, the other choice was carrot. We then headed out for the glacier lagoon as it started to rain. So much for my not getting cold plan!!!! We got on this amphibious vehicle amidst a torrential, freezing downpour. My upper body was fine with my waterproof jacket but my pants were soaked instantly and I was freezing. We were never informed that the boats would be uncovered and we would be susceptible to getting drenched with freezing rain…. I was so cold………. As soon as we got back on the bus I unzipped the lower end of my pants and removed them to get the wet, freezing material away for my body. Would I recommend this tour? At that price, no way would I recommend it under any weather condition. At a better price I would do it only if rain suits were available… I think it would be nice if Holland America would include a lot more detail for their tours. The descriptions are very vague and difficult to understand or plan for….. I did see some great scenery but it wasn’t worth the pain. I just pray I don’t get sick….. Tomorrow we are in Reykjavik, Iceland overnight. Her is my tour tomorrow: Reykjavik Highlights
Begin your tour of the world’s northernmost capital by heading for the Breidholt residential district for a panoramic view of the city. Your first stop is at the Árbær Open Air Museum, whose specific purpose is to preserve and show a selection of old Icelandic houses, furnishings and implements of ancient times. From Árbær, drive to Reykjavík’s largest outdoor swimming pool in Laugardalur which is heated with water from natural hot springs under the city. You will
drive past the sculpture garden by Asmundur Sveinsson museum. Short stops will be made at Höfdi House, where the Reagan- Gorbachev summit took place in 1986, and at Hallgrímskirkja Church (whose steeple is a Reykjavík landmark). Your tour will be complete with a drive into the charming city center, where you will stop briefly for photos at the House of Parliament and then drive west to the fishing harbor for a stop to see the fishing boats.