Holland America's Neiuw Statendam: our home for a while!
If you're outside the path of totality eclipse, if there's any way you can get into the path of totality for the eclipse, do it. Take the day off. Take the kids out of school. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most people to see a total eclipse, and it is one of the grandest sights in all of nature. It's something you'll always remember, and you'll pass stories of it onto your grandchildren.
Fred Espernak
I never met Fred Espernak, who was an astrophysicist at the Goddard Space Flight Center and published extensively on eclipses. But I wish I had. I wish I would have at very mininum, written this gent a letter to tell him how many times I accessed his website that predicted eclipses, their length and locations for totality. Let's just say, I did it a lot. When the New York Times and other media outlets published his death on June 1, 2025, I was probably one of only a few people I know who immediately recognized the name and felt a deep sense of personal loss-- the same kind my husband feels when members of famous rock bands of the 1960-70s or a storied jazz musician plays their final note. I have been following eclipses since my childhood. The first one I remember was in Warner Robins, Georgia in elementary school in 1968. The next, not too far from Mobile, Alabama in medical school in 1984.
Why did I become an eclipse chaser, you might ask? It is, after all, an expensive hobby that requires quite often a gargantuan effort to get to a remote location and stand in the shadow of the sun for at best six or seven minutes and generally far less. For those who know me best or even just slightly, I suppose they might say, "Because you are, if nothing else, weird." But the answer is much more simple: I have no idea. Is it because it is so rare? Most locations get an eclipse on average every 366 years! Is it the deep emotional component that makes you gasp when the light is eerily dark and the temperature drops, birds start chirping and everyone around you "oohs and ahs" uncontrollably? Is it because you feel like you are literally looking into the eye of a force so much more powerful and awesome than your small self? Or is the science--the chance to stare with your unprotected naked eyes and actually see the corona, solar prominences, Bailey's bead shining through the mountains of the moon or catch a glimpse of shadow bands? Truth is, I really can't say. Maybe it is all of those things.
I suppose I could go on and on about the absolute joy of eclipse chasing (as if I haven't already), but this paragraph serves as a lead in as to why I am on this particular journey. I will talk about all the places we visited at least briefly and share some beautiful views. Come along, if you like.
This was our itinerary, although you will see below that some stops were bypassed due to either weather or icebergs.
DOVER
We trekked from Heathrow to Dover. Paul had been before, but I never had. Of course, my dad who had all sorts of records while I was growing up would sing or play one about the White Cliffs of Dover. I thought it was a song about bluebirds and geological features and never realized at a young age it was one of the so-called "hits of the Blitz." We really spent little time here and I would have liked to delve deeper into it's wartime history which at minimum was an embarkation point for soldiers, a lookout for enemy submarines and aircraft and suffered greatly due to its proximity to France, clearly visible just across the strait. But that will have to be another trip..
I had seen similar cliffs visiting friends in East Sussex in the past, These were mimics and a continuation of the same, but in better weather than my last sojourn there. If you like to walk, there is a very nice loop trail on them and you can easily find it on All Trails.
The first look at the White Cliffs from the city below
Paul on our hike
You can see the hiking path running over the cliffs. It is mostly level although there is a bit of huffing and puffing to get up there from the town. There is, however, a paved path.
ROTTERDAM
Our first port of call was Rotterdam, a place both Paul and I had seen before, although admittely in my case, only a pass through when I visited the Museum of Photography. One of the reasons I don't generally fancy cruises is that at best, you just get a short time in many fascinating places that have much to offer. That is how I feel about our visit 8 hour visit to Rotterdam, Europe's largest port, home to over a half million people and over 180 nationalities. The city, founded in the 1200s, was pretty much levelled by the Germans in WWII, so nearly every building there is post- mid 1940s. It is a truly modern looking city and covers a lot of ground.
A look at the modern Rotterdam harbor
Although we think of tulips when in the Netherlands, Rotterdam has plenty of gardens.
En route to the art museum, we encountered this architectural curosity. Opened in 2021, it is the world's first publicly accessible art storage facility and holds over 151,000 objects from the neighboring Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.
Apparently, we also arrived on the day of Summer Carnival. Although we didn't attend, we saw folks colorfully dressed on their way to it.
In the time we had available, we were able to walk to the Kunsthal (art museum) and visit the Dutch Photography Museum which is very much larger than my last visit there 25 years ago (and I thought less interesting...)
The featured exhibit at Kunsthal was the American photographer, Helen Leavitt, known for her candid, unposed New York street scenes. We even found a "Knoxville connection" in that Ms. Leavitt produced a short film with assistance from James Agee in 1948 entitled In the Street. We were able to view it in the museum. They also collaborated on a feature film, The Quiet One, Agee writing the script and Ms. Leavitt the cinematographer.
An example to Ms. Leavitt's work which centered around less privileged neighborhoods. Still, the cigarettes were a surprise.
There were numerous great exhibits in this museum, including this extensive collection of kites by a British gentleman, Malcolm Goodman who collected over 300 of them, mostly from Asia.
There was also an extensive multimedia, multi-artist exhibit about flowers.
A floral sculpture.
Another large exhibit contained work from Woody van Amen, a Dutch sculptor, painter and collage artist.
This delightful "penguin exhibit" was the brainchild of Benedikte Bjerre. The paper objects are lightweight and follow you around when you walk amongst them. The Venturi effect strikes again. It was really fun and we saw a lot of children (some as old as 60+) running between them.
Exiting Rotterdam en route to Norway, we saw modern offshore wind farms in the North Sea featuring gigantic multi-megawatt turbines installed directly in coastal waters. Key installations include the Maasvlakte 2 wind project right at the edge of Rotterdam’s port, alongside massive regional offshore zones like Hollandse Kust supplying clean energy to the grid... although not without controversy surrounding them. We encountered mixed opinions about the presence of these giants in Iceland and Scotland as well. Greenland seemed exempt from the placement, likely due to sparse population, sufficient hydroelectric power and the challenges of maintaining a windmill in such a harsh, Artic environment.
Dutch offshore windmills
Wind farm off Scotland
KRISTIANSAND, NORWAY
Kristiansand is the largest city in southern Norway, famous for its coastal charm, historical architecture, and vibrant cultural scene. Located along the Skagerrak strait, it serves as the capital of Agder county and is Norway's fifth-largest municipality, with an urban population of approximately 68,000. Although this isn't a lot of people, it is one of the largest cities we visited on this Artic route [if you ignore Reykjavik and South Queensferry (Edinburgh coastline).]
Features of this town include the harbor areas (Kuntsilo) and the historic old town featuring one of Northern Europe's largest collections of continuous, traditional white wooden houses. The residents are not allowed to paint it any other color and the external appearances remain heavily regulated. We took a city and forest walk with a local young woman who told us that in times past these homes were inhabited by multiple families at one time and one home served as a barracks of sort for about 25 soldiers as well as the owner family.
The Kuntsilo harbor in Kristiansand
Another view. The harbor was empty at 9am but by noon it was teeming with people.
The typical white houses built in the Old City dating back as far as the 1680s. In the past, the houses were rarely occupied by a single family and were nearly all multi-family.
We were then treated to a forest walk in the Baneheia Woodland and Ravnedalen Nature Park which are just steps from downtown and provide some good views of town as well as small lakes and plenty of pine trees to make you feel like you are far from the city. Our guide told us many stories about: (1) mythical naked young men who played violins and lured children into the water to turn them into water lilies (theoretically something mothers told their kids to keep them from the drowning) and (2) the legendary Huldra who typically appears to human men—often hunters, loggers, or charcoal burners deep in the forest—as a stunning woman with long, beautiful hair, singing a mesmerizing song, but in reality is just looking to trap men forever in the forest and make them work for her. But she has a cow's tail which she desperately hides under her skirt, so she can be recognized this way. Not sure how many guys have been slapped for looking under girl's skirts in Kristiansand, but presumably, a few.
One of a series of lakes in a forest walk very close to the downtown.
Ravnedalen Nature Park in addition to being a green space, has a band shell!
We also got the treat of seeing the royal yacht docking there while we were in port.
The royal yacht. It is parked in from of an art museum made from old silos. The children's museum next door is also a nice piece of architecture in a relatively small town.
It's a quiet place and if you want a very chill vacation with some good walks away from summer heat, you can put this on your agenda.
EIDFJORD, NORWAY
Eidfjord is a small village and municipality world-renowned for its dramatic landscapes, massive waterfalls, and deep fjord valleys. Situated at the innermost tip of the Eid Fjord—a branch of the massive Hardangerfjord—it serves as a primary gateway to northern Europe's largest mountain plateau, the Hardangervidda National Park. Despite its tiny year-round population of under 1,000 residents, Eidfjord is a bustling hub for international cruise ships, outdoor adventurers, and nature lovers. For lack of any other transportation available, we took a bus trip and visited all the following sites:
Vøringsfossen Waterfall: Norway's most famous waterfall, dropping 182 metres down into the Måbødalen valley. A spectacular step-bridge suspended directly over the roaring canyon offers panoramic views.
The waterfall
There is a bridge across the river that forms the falls just before the chasm it occupies.
Sima Hydroelectric Power Plant: One of Europe's largest water-generation stations, built completely hidden deep inside the mountain rock face. It was a short stop and it seemed a bit odd to see such a large man-made structure pretty much in the middle of nowhere.
The Sima dam and the lake it forms.
Hardangervidda Nature Centre (Natursenter): Located in Øvre Eidfjord, this interactive visitor centre features modern exhibitions on Arctic flora, fauna, and climate, alongside a panoramic cinema. For us, it was a nice snack and restroom stop, but it also had some good exhibits about the area.
These cuties blocked a two lane highway, both lanes, for about 30 minutes.
One of my favorite things about this bus trip, was that sheep and goats are king around here and no one would dare run over one (you would have to find the farmer and then pay for the sheep who would definitely be claimed to be the best sheep ever or an opera singer or something of the ilk to drive up the price!). Thusly, the trip was delayed for a prolonged time period while the sheep wandered aimlessly all over the road across two lanes of traffic. Sheep are not "reined in" by owners and pretty much allowed to wander wheresoever they choose to graze. In the fall, the farmers and townsfolk all wander the hills and valleys to return them to their respective owners for sheering (and in some cases, slaughter.) The guide pretty much described this as "an excuse to get drunk every night for about a week."
After returning to Eidfjord proper, we had enough time to hike up to an old and expansive Viking grave yard. Although no one knows exactly why the Vikings chose this spot, it was on a large expanse of plateau on the mountaintop. Gooda place as any, if you ask me! The walk back down the mountain afforded some spectacular views, inclusive of our ship.
Eidfjord is home to the Haereid Iron Age and Viking burial site — the largest collection of ancient burial mounds in western Norway, with nearly 400 graves dating from 400–1000 AD. This was a beautiful site and I wouldn't mind "resting here" myself. The graves are beneath the mounds and rocks you see.
The view of the ship in the harbor on our walk down from the plateau.
Sandnes (Stavanger), Norway
We didn't have a long sojourn in this port, a growing area that represents the third largest urban area of Norway with about 85,000 inhabitants. Historically famous for its pottery and brick-making industries (earning it the nickname, Bicycle City, due to its classic bicycle manufacturing history), Sandnes has evolved into a major commercial, technological, and outdoor exploration hub. If you know Paul and I, you know we went the outdoor exploration route. We chose, wisely or not, to do the Dalsnuten Hike: One of the region's most popular outdoor trails, located just across the Gandsfjorden which leads to the 323 meter summit, offering panoramic views over Sandnes, Stavanger, and the surrounding North Sea islands. The actual vertical gain isn't too bad, but the upper section of the trail is rock-strewn, more vertical and difficult in places. Many a person attempting this hike from our ship predominantly populated by senior citizens would have been better off going souvenir-shopping! Maybe even me. Thankfully, I brought my poles which I really needed to get DOWN the slopes. But the views were phenomenal and it was well-worth the effort. We literally had no time left to do anything else there and cannot give much more in the way of suggestions other than if you are physically capable, climb Dalsnuten. There are other even more challenging hikes in the area.
A short distance from the port and on the opposite side of a fjord is Dalsnuten.
The view from the top of Dalsnuten. The whitish object on the opposite bank to the left is the ship.
See the wind blowing Paul's hair?
Paul hiking down from the summit.
Seyðisfjörður, Iceland
This is a historic town in Eastern Iceland, population 700 souls, world-renowned for its multi-coloured wooden houses, vibrant bohemian arts scene, and dramatic fjord landscapes. Nestled at the innermost point of a deep fjord under the towering peaks of Mt. Bjólfur and Strandartindur, it is widely considered one of Iceland's most picturesque settlements.
We opted to go hiking again and were treated to innumerable, beautiful waterfalls as well as legends about elves and trolls as told by our hiking guide. Elves and trolls are a BIG topic of discussion in Iceland. You literally can't go anywhere without someone telling you a story about them that has some important life lesson as the moral. Most elves are regarded as good guys or at worst, mischevious, whereas trolls are depicted as dangerous, destructive, and deeply hostile to humans. We didn't see either one, but we really enjoyed this hike. The town itself featured rainbow-colored streets. While Reykjavik has a similar rainbow street built specifically to celebrate LGBTQ+ pride, Seyðisfjörður's street started primarily as a creative DIY project to bring life, color, and community spirit to a quiet street that was in desperate need of a cosmetic lift. There is also a blue wooden church which had been moved from its original location. We had an Icelandic draught beer and a lamb burger in a local restaurant, El Grillo, which is named after a historic British oil tanker shipwreck from World War II that lies at the bottom of the Seyðisfjörður fjord. In fact, it is shallow enough that cruise ships have to avoid it.
We really liked this town and said we would love to come back here and hike some more. It is actually pretty close to the famous ring road of Iceland which goes all the way around the island.
The hike above this community had one beautiful waterfall after the next.
See what I mean?
The landscape along the fjord was stunning.
The rainbow street leading to the blue church.
The blue church had been moved more than once to finally sit at the end of the rainbow street.
Internal view of the church. Simple but really nice.
Akureyri, Iceland
This city is the second-largest urban area in Iceland outside the Greater Reykjavík region, famously known as the "Capital of the North. Nestled at the base of the spectacular, 60-kilometre-long Eyjafjörður fjord and surrounded by snow-capped mountains, it serves as the administrative, cultural, and transport hub for northern Iceland, housing a population of approximately 20,000 residents. (The vast majority of Icelanders live in Reykjavik.)
Paul and I had been to this burg before, and although we had some familiarity, we did a walking tour with a local lady who told us a lot that we had missed by walking about on our own in ignorance. We visited the town museum which had an informative exhibit about the occupation of Iceland by first British, then American troops, in WWII (unbidden but eventually tolerated by locals) that forged the last 80 years of military operations by predominantly the USAF in that region (watching the Russians.)
We also visited the home of Jon Sveinsson (1857–1944), a beloved children's book author and Jesuit priest who wrote under the pen name Nonni. He became internationally famous for his Nonni and Manni book series, which was based on his own childhood adventures growing up with his brother in Akureyri and the surrounding fjords. His books were immensely popular across Europe and were translated into more than 30 languages. He was born in a turfhouse near this city. At age 11, his father passed away and the family was left in extreme poverty, his mother struggling to support the large family in a small, traditional black-tarred wooden home. In 1870, a wealthy French aristocrat offered a scholarship to send a bright Icelandic boy to study in France. Nonni was selected, and at just 12 years old, he said a tearful goodbye to his family and boarded a ship, never to see his homeland again as a youth, but returning to write and find reknown later in life. His home in later life was shared with numerous other persons and families (as was typical of these far Northern lands in those days) and extremely humble.
A statue honoring Nonni outside his shared home in Akureyri
The humble house where he lived with several other tenants and families. It is now a museum.
Akureyri gardens
There are plenty of flowers, both native and non-native to Iceland.
Our hostess left us in the Akureyri botanical garden to peruse the offerings both Icelandic and beyond but not before telling us in most serious tones about friends of hers who have seen and spoken with elves who live on the other side of the fjord. (I don't know who invented the Chips Ahoy cookie brand, but surely they were from Iceland!)
If you visit here, please don't miss the beautiful central church which we had visited in the past, but was having a social function and closed to the public on this visit.
Main church in Akureyri. Usually open to the public.
Isafjordur, Iceland
Ísafjörður is the largest settlement and unofficial capital of the remote Westfjords region in northwest Iceland. Home to about 2,700 residents, this historic fishing town sits on a sand spit inside the Skutulsfjörður fjord and is celebrated for its dramatic mountain views, colorful 18th-century timber houses, and vibrant local culture.
This is a cultural center and I felt compelled to photo it due to a story a local person told us--for once, not involving elves or trolls. In its heyday, Grease was extremely popular, on reels, and this building held a cinema. It was so popular, the cinema asked to buy a copy from Reykjavik. However, they were informed it was the only copy in Iceland. Somehow, the reels were "lost." Since the cinema could not advertise when they were showing Grease without having their ruse discovered, they hung a flag out to whenever it played to let the locals know it was showing.
Examples of the colorful homes.
From here, we were able to visit Vigur Island, an eider down farm with only three year round inhabitants. Why? To learn about eider farming--a labor intensive endeavor for sure! I will never again complain about the cost of a down jacket! But just as important, it is wildlife preserve for puffins, guillemots and artic tern. We did indeed see these small tuxedo like birds diving for fish and sand eels and returning to nests in the high grass to feed the chicks. Many more were seen floating on the sea. We also learned that the island is nesting ground for the black guillemot whose numbers have severely diminished, but whose plight isn't well- known. And it ends up terns, the birds that fly the longest distance on the planet, are very aggressive during nesting season and do not mind pecking or crapping on your head. The owners gave us a stick to place above our heads to deter attacks and it seemed to work. Fortunately, they don't aim their excrement with much accuracy.
Puffins. Not unusual for them to catch several fish in their beaks at once.
Vigur Island, home to many birds, an eider down farm, and one family of three. In summer, they have visitors and an artist in residence. You can also volunteer to help out on the island.
Eider duckling
Black guillemot
The ruthless and long distance flyer, the Arctic tern.
Grundarfjordur, Iceland
Grundarfjörður is a scenic fishing town on the northern coast of Iceland's Snæfellsnes Peninsula, located about 109 miles (175 km) northwest of Reykjavík. Home to roughly 850 residents, it is most famous for being right next to Mount Kirkjufell—widely considered the most photographed mountain in Iceland and recognized as an arrowhead mountain from Game of Thrones.
Relatively speaking, Nuuk is a modern town , the capital and most populated city of Greenland on the less iceberg ridden Eastern coast. With a population of about 20,000--roughly one third of the population on the world's largest island-- it serves as the country's primary political, cultural, and economic center, uniquely blending modern Arctic urban life with deep Inuit traditions.
We walked around with a young lady who was in university there, but actually a native of a small fishing village further North. She seemed less excited about her studies than about her boyfriend and going on her first caribou hunt, but she gave us the information she could and talked quite a bit about the anorak and other native clothing which they would wear to weddings, funerals, first communion and other important social events. You can go to a specialized school to learn to make this clothing which is made from seal skin and fabric and has intricate beadwork. The coursework takes two years to complete, and the outfits typically take a year or more to make. There were many examples in the National Museum. In addition to other cultural exhibits, the National Museum is famous for its mummies. The Qilakitsoq mummies are 500-year old naturally preserved Inuit remains discovered by hunters in 1972 at an abandoned settlement in northwest Greenland. Four of these eight mummified individuals (six women and two children) are permanently exhibited at the museum. Sub-zero Arctic temperatures and dry winds naturally mummified the bodies, keeping skin, hair, nails, and facial tattoos remarkably intact.
As you can see there are very modern buildings here in the capital city. Also, there are a lot of sculptures and they all have a mythical story associated with them. The legend of Kaassaassuk tells of a bullied orphan who, after meeting the Lord of Power, gains extraordinary strength and embarks on a journey of trials and revenge. In modern Greenland, Kaassassuk symbolizes resilience, self-determination, and the will to overcome hardship. Thanks to the guide for explaining the legend!
Intricate traditional women's outfits that take at least a year to make. Our guide said, "It's expensive to be a woman."
The mummies. The nine month old baby in the bottom left is exceptionally well-preserved and poignant. Death by starvation in the winter was not uncommon in the past.
Seaside sculpture of the Sassuma Arnaa, Mother of the sea. There are numerous versions of the legend, but the one our guide gave was that when the families were starving long ago, it was acceptable to sacrifice a family member to save food. In this story, Sassuma's father takes her hunting and she is unsuspecting that her father doesn't plan to bring her home. When they are out to sea, he pushes her out of the kayak and when she clings to the edges, he chops off her fingers with an ulu knife. The fingers become sea creatures who comb her hair as she is no longer able. She gives abundance to the local fisherman when they return home empty-handed, if they placate her and starves them if they don't.
If you have a little extra time, this is the best spot in Greenland to find souvenirs. We also had a muskox slider and a beer from a Greenlandic brewery at Nivi restaurant.
Qaqortoq, Greenland
You might think this coastal town would be in competition for the least pronounceable town in Greenland, but far from it. This town is the largest town in South Greenland and the country's fourth-largest overall with a population of just over 3,000 residents. Known as the cultural hub of the south, it features brightly colored colonial houses rising up steep hillsides around a bustling harbor. There was a nice church there, some evidence of disdain for Donald Trump, and a big lake that we decided to hike around. Our guide was a very tall young man who came from Denmark to be a summer tour guide. He had a good knowledge of the local wildflowers which seem to be plentiful all over the North Atlantic.
Icebergs form from calving glacier activity on the east coast of Iceland. They then float out to sea or currents bring them around to the west side. We passed quite a few and kept a safe distance.
The Great Lake in Qaqartok
Angelica and rhubarb are about the only useful vegetables that will grow here.
Our 6'6 Danish guide.
I guess you see what the Greenlanders think of our government's highest office. This was in the middle of downtown. T-shirts stating Greenland is not for sale abound.
See? Qaqartok isn't really all that unpronounceable. This is a street sign.
Eclipse Day; August 12, 2026 at Sea, 65 degrees North, 026 degrees West
It's really hard to give someone a description of what this is like. So I am going to excerpt a quote from an article in Space.com:
"There was too much beauty. Too much scale. Too much happening at once. People use words such as "mind-blowing" and "speechless" so often that they begin to lose their meaning. But my mind was really blown. And I really was speechless. Perhaps the best way I can describe it is that my mind felt full, but quiet. Full because there was almost too much to comprehend, but quiet because for those fleeting moments, there was room for nothing else."
Grindavik, Iceland
When Paul and I visited Grindavik, a fishing community near the Blue Lagoon back in 2010, it was a sleepy fishing town with a few restaurants and a guy who got excited when he found out we were rom Tennessee, because he was taking guitar lessons on-line from a teacher in Memphis. You get an eerie feeling on the way there now-- giant earthen barriers are built up to protect the Blue lagoon, the odor of sulfa fills the air and on the horizon, smoke rises. Today, Grindavik is pretty much a ghost town. A 2023 volcanic eruption forced 3,700 residents to flee this village.
A photo from the eruption exhibit in an empty parking lot in Grindavik.
It's hard not to be moved. Deep crevasses slice through smooth tarmac carparks. Houses with cracked concrete walls stand behind lines of orange flags and protective metal barriers. Swings in an empty kindergarten playground move in the wind. In a carpark outside an abandoned supermarket, a large-scale outdoor photo exhibition tells the story in haunting detail, starting with the first emergency town meeting held in the local sports hall when earthquakes started to shake the town. These photos capture everything: search and rescue teams working in full protective gear against a background of lava and fire; a man standing in his former kitchen with his wife, wiping away a tear, knowing it's unlikely they'll be able to return to their home. The eruption was the most extensive natural disaster Iceland had seen in more than 50 years.
Extensive work is going on to repair roads, fill in crevasses, and allow people to get back to their lives---although few have chosen to return. Although the volcano is not considered "active," if you take the hike up to the cooling (but still warm and smoky) lava lake, you would realize it's far from finished. We had a great guide, Oddi, who took us up to view the aftermath and walk on the lava lake. He even cooked us an Icelandic hot dog in a vent which produced boiling water in a matter of minutes. In addition to getting a good look and good information about the eruption and how it impacted the area, Oddi told us a couple of elf stories (not surprising!). He was great guide and we would definitely would highly recommend taking this hike at Fagradallsfjall. It's safe, but you do need a good level of fitness as the ascent is challenging in places.
Panoramic view of the lava lake and area made barren by the volcanic activity.
Volcanic smoke still rises.
We went back to the ship that evening anchored in the Rejkyavik harbor and enjoyed a dinner at Vox restaurant, which was probably the first "fancy" restaurant we dined in while we were dating back in 2010. It was still open, although a bit less fancy, and it was closing for good at the end of August. I guess it was amazing enough it stayed open for 16 years and survived COVID epidemic.
RUNAVIK, FAROE ISLANDS
I know the first question for many folks is, “Where are the Faroe Islands”? The Faroes are remarkably isolated. They are about 220 miles northwest of Scotland between Norway and Iceland. It’s an archipelago of 775 islands and islets -- about 17 islands are inhabited (if you count the one that only has one person living on it) and has a population of 50,000. It’s a self-governing country within Denmark settled by the Vikings, Norse, Gaelic and all the other Northern invaders from this region. In mid-August, the temperature was in the 50F and the wind was cold and blowing 15-20mph which is pretty much the norm there. Don't bring shorts and a T-shirt---ever. As inhospitable as this place may be in winter, it is green and beautiful in the summertime, the high cliffs rising up from the ocean. There are more sheep than people and so, we visited a working sheep farm. Really, the entire farm family's whole life is sheep that are absolutely essential to their survival. They state that they "pickle" the sheep, but to me the process sounded more like a dry preservation process sans the salt. They allowed us to taste it and it wasn't bad. The sheep provide the majority of their protein based diet, along with fish. The only real "vegetation" they can successfully grow there is rhubarb and angelica, although other products do come in by ship. Afterwards we visited a woolens shop and the house of a "real Viking" who of course has been long gone and it's doubtful the house was any more than the vestiges of the original structure, but it was still great to see typical houses. If you live here, you need to be very hearty and love either sheep farming, fishing, working to either produce woolens or entertain tourists. I think there is some good hiking through these islands, although even that wouldn't be enough to make me want to live there despite the stark beauty.
Various stages of making wool useable.
A statue (a bit askew) of the Viking chieftain, Trondur, the remains of whom's 10th century home we visited (in theory.)
The stove
The bedroom.
Rooves tend to be turf or tin. Turf is preferred but more difficult to maintain.
The fisherman's harbor.
A view of the fjord coming into Runavik. The town is under the largest hill and to the left.
Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland
The Isle of Lewis forms the northern two-thirds of the largest island in the Outer Hebrides archipelago of Scotland. Known for its rugged peat bogs (which we saw folks harvesting), rich Gaelic culture, and prehistoric sites, it features the main town and ferry port of Stornoway.
I visited here around 2000 with my secretary, Shirley and our trauma nurse, Shelley to celebrate my secretary's retirement (at her request instead of a party.) Paul has never been to this part of Scotland, and I remember the Callanish Stones and thought them well worth a visit. This formation is an awe-inspiring 5,000-year-old stone circle on the west coast that predates Stonehenge. The site consists of a ring of 13 standing stones—each about 12 feet tall—arranged in a cruciform pattern around a central monolith rising roughly 14 feet. All are formed from Lewisian gneiss, a complex crystalline rock estimated to be between 1.7 and 3 billion years old, making it the oldest rock found in Western Europe and among the oldest on Earth. The stone circle's purpose is a mystery, but you can't help but marvel the ingenuity of moving and placing these stones. There are some graves in the midst of the stone circle, but these postdated the placement of the stones by a significant interval.
From this point, we visited a "black house," a preserved typical dwelling of this island. Any discussion of the Isle of Lewis demands at least a brief discussion of the Lord Seaforth, Francis Humberston MacKenzie, a British soldier, politician and landowner who basically bought and ruled the isle of Lewis. An additional description of the him would be "not a very nice man." Before the arrival of MacKenzie, islanders farmed under a traditional, communal Celtic system called run-rig. Lord Seaforth abolished run-rig and mapped out individual, small-scale boundary plots (crofts). However, this was not done out of generosity—it was a highly calculated economic move that deeply altered the island's way of life. MacKenzie wanted to force tenants onto small, low-quality coastal plots so they couldn't survive on farming alone. This desperate financial situation forced the new "crofters" into low-wage labor harvesting kelp (seaweed), which was highly profitable for the landowners. This model was probably exemplified in the USA by the "company towns" immortalized in the song Sixteen Tons (and what do you get? Another year older and deeper in debt.) When the kelp market collapsed, the landowner shifted his focus to large-scale sheep farming. This forcibly evicted thousands of families from the fertile interior of Lewis, packing them tightly into tiny coastal crofting "townships" or forcing them onto emigration ships. The black house we visited in Arnol was a traditional type of long, low thatched roof, stone cottage that was the standard dwelling of crofters across the Outer Hebrides, but particularly on Lewis. They were built to survive the fierce North Atlantic storms and were actively lived in right up until the mid-1970s. The staff had a peat fire going when we entered and you can just imagine that the smoke and smell weren't the healthiest way of living.
The area near the black house
The black house external view
Smoke rising from a peat fire.
Invergordon and the Black Isle, Scotland
The purpose for this port was so that guests could visit Inverness and Loch Ness (and the monstrous, Nessie.) I had been here in 2000 and took the lovely little boat trip up the lake complete with the lore about the Loch Ness monster and all the various attempts to capture and/or identify the beast. Paul has never been there, but I frankly would recommend this excursion ONLY if you believe in monsters and have never been on a boatride on a nice lake. It's one of the most creative, if pretty, tourist traps in the world. I was able to locate an alternative--- a 72 year old Scotsman who lives on the Black Isle (across the Cromartie Firth from Inverness) and spent 50 years as a country musician (his idol is Marty Robbins) and had even shared a stage with Porter Waggoner at some point. He runs a little trip around this peninsula (not really an island, but we have already established that imagination is rampant in these parts) to quaint locations that are a bit off the beaten path. So we said, "Why not?"
Our tour guide.
First stop was Regis Falls, a short hike through conifers to a pretty little waterfall where salmon jump! It sort of reminded us of home in many ways, sans salmon, add trout.
Regis Falls
It was a nice path to the falls.
Stop #2 was Beauly Priory, a building of the reclusive Valliscalian order from 1230 and visited by Mary Queen of Scots in 1564. Her comment was "beau lieu"= beautiful place, if it is to be believed she was speaking French. Most people say it means " a monk's place" in Gaelic. Either way, it was a stunning ruin. Much of the church was "recycled" into building materials by Oliver Cromwell. In more modern times, the area has been used as a graveyard.
Remains of Beauly Priory
Internal view. Apparently this site is featured in the Outlander series.
#3. Thompson Highland Cattle Farm. The best I could see, there were only two Highland cows, two goats and some alpacas, but it was close to the road and they let you take pictures. In addition, they had some nice local cheeses and were friendly.
#4. This had to be the most ATLAS OBSCURA stop in the hood- the Clootie Well. The clootie is a traditional rag and for centuries, visitors left offerings to the well in hopes of being healed of infirmaties. Theoretically, as the rag they left is absorbed by nature, so goes the illness. We hiked to the well and it's an interesting concept, although all the rags tied to trees, etc. aren't all that attractive.
People are still tying rags to trees at Clootie Well
#5 Next we visited the home of Hugh Miller in Cromartie. He was a Scottish geologist who gathered fossils from an early age and made many paleontological discoveries. His collection is still visible at the National Museum of Scotland to this day, as well as other prestigious locations. Another contribution he made was religious treatises that helped to form the Free Church of Scotland which was more attuned to the common man than the Church of Scotland which was perceived to favor the landowners and politicians. Unfortunately, despite Mr. Miller's contributions, he suffered from mental illness and died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest on Christmas Eve of 1856.
The Hugh Miller house and birthplace (the smaller whiter building next door.) It is now a museum dedicated to the achievements of the man.
The cloak he is wearing is on display in the house. Apparently he had red hair and cut quite the figure.
The last place we attempted to see was the Firth of Cromartie where dolphins play in the bay, and humans on the expansive seaside golf course, but unfortunately, we were there at low tide. No dolphins, lots of humans.
Overall, this was an interesting look at the Black Isle and we enjoyed it, our host, and the many views from the hills. If you are into the TV series Outlander, you can see various places of interest from the show. We are not very familiar with the series but we do know the abbey was a place mentioned in the program.
Panoramic views from a hilltop on the Black Isle
South Queensferry, Scotland (port of Edinburgh)
Street view of South Queensferry, so named after 11th century Queen Margaret , known for her piety and charity, who set up a free ferry service to assist pilgrims travelling to St. Andrews.
Since Paul and I had both seen the major sights of Edinburgh in the past, and the port for cruise ships is about 10 miles out and near the historic three bridges over the Firth of Forth (one is a UNESCO world heritage site), we thought it best to just stick close by, explore the bridges by boat and go out to somewhere off the beaten path and suitable for a good walk---Inchcolm Island. The boat tour passed under and described all three of these bridges which connect Fife to Edinburgh since 1890, 1964 and 2017 respectively.
A nice view of all three bridges. You can get a better close up by taking a boat tour that passes under all of them.
The railway bridge, crossing the Forth estuary in Scotland, had the world’s longest spans (541 m) when it opened in 1890. The Forth Bridge is a Scottish icon that is recognized the world over as the most famous of cantilever designs. The world's first major steel structure, the Forth Bridge represents a key milestone in the history of modern railway civil engineering and and for 28 years held the record as the world's longest span. A full-scale restoration project to return the bridge to its original construction condition was completed in 2012. It gained its UNESCO designation in 2015.
As seen from the shore in South Queensferry. Traffic is restricted to trains.
. The Forth Road Bridge, completed in 1964 is a long-span suspension bridge now restricted to public transport vehicles , cyclists and pedestrians. With a main span of 1,006 metres between the two towers, it was the fourth longest in the world and the longest outside the United States when it opened. In total, the structure is over 2.5 km long. A staggering 39,000 tonnes of steel and 125,000 cubic metres of concrete was used in its construction.
The Forth Road Bridge
If you are in a private vehicle, you get the Queensferry Crossing, a 1.7-mile (2.7 km) three-tower, cable-stayed structure, carrying the M90 motorway between Edinburgh and Fife and the longest three-tower, cable-stayed bridge in the world.
Queensferry Crossing also contains the M-90 motorway.
There is a boat ride that will take you around to all of them and explain their construction and significance. We took the ride that also gave us 90 minutes to hike and explore Inchcolm Island and its deteriorating abbey.
It also served as a lookout station in WWI and WWII and is a seagull nesting sanctuary. Seals are frequently spotted having a rest on the buoys bobbing about in the Forth, and large colonies of seagulls, fulmars, and the occasional puffin fly over the outcrops surrounding the harbour’s edge.You’ll find that the island is much bigger than you might be expecting after seeing it in the distance at South Queensferry, and there are more than enough activities to keep the you occupied for an entire afternoon once you get there.
Inchcolm Abbey as seen from the East End of the island. In 1123, King Alexander I is said to have resided here with his entourage in the company of a hermit who rescued them with milk (he somehow managed to get a cow here) and fish. The abbey was finished in 1235 and occupied by Augustinian monks. The abbey was attacked by the English from 1296 onward and abandoned in the 16th century during the Scottish Reformation.
A closer view
A fun place to explore. This was the dining hall. There is apparently a great view from the tower if you are brave enough to climb the steep narrow stairway. We were chickens!
It also served as a lookout station in WWI and WWII and is a seagull nesting sanctuary. Seals are frequently spotted having a rest on the buoys bobbing about in the Forth, and large colonies of seagulls, fulmars, and the occasional puffin fly over the outcrops surrounding the harbour’s edge.You’ll find that the island is much bigger than you might be expecting after seeing it in the distance at South Queensferry, and there are more than enough activities to keep the you occupied for an entire afternoon once you get there.
World War I and II era tunnels as well as pillboxes and other signs of military presence are encountered often as you hike around the island.
Seagull juveniles convene on the top of old military structures. We actually saw an abundance of decomposing young seagulls who we were told meet their makers due to crashes into various structures while learning to fly.
Paul gazing out from the west end of the island. The abbey is in the valley area between and only the tower is (barely) visible.
A panoramic view from the very top of Inchcolm Island.
From here, we enjoyed an early dinner at Thirty Knots Restaurant and Pub, and then back to the ship for a sea day back to Dover.
With the right seating, you can see the railway bridge from Thirty Knots. It wasn't that windy when we arrived in a mild rain, but apparently, it can be.
Overall, this was a long time to spend on a boat, despite reasonably frequent stops, but the trips to remote locations hard to otherwise access (particularly the villages in Greenland) and the eclipse made this fully worthwhile and definitely a legendary journey. You might try it out for yourself?
"The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea."
----Isak Dinesen.Paul's Ponderings: This was quite the trip and by the time we return(ed), we were gone for five weeks. Roughly four weeks of that were on the ship and the remainder mostly in London. So, first, the good, the bad, and the ugly about four weeks on a ship.....mostly biased toward the first issue. Ships are great for eclipses because of their inherent mobility and the lack of a horizon on the open sea. In this case, that worked out great (thank you Captain Timmers). Equally, you get taken care of a lot....room cleaning, good food (and lots of it), a drink if you like it, fresh air, and so on. In this case, the onboard clientele biased toward over 60, which includes us, if that's of interest. We greatly appreciated the crew on the boat. Obviously, you can get to some remote places easily as part of the journey with little effort on you part. We paid for "unlimited laundry" so we could pack lighter. So....the not so good....depending on your POV. You are on a confined boat for a long time. There are exercise options to be clear, even at sea. The cabins are nice, but not huge....we had a veranda cabin. Finally, your time in each place can be limited, no matter how much you like it. A good chance to find places you wish to return to is the optimists' view!
That all said, on this trip, we visited some great places that warranted a day or so and were great, such as part of Greenland (mostly temperate), a return to Iceland from 15 years ago, the Faroe Islands, The Isle of Lewis, etc. We opted in most cases to do hikes/walks versus seeing another church or town square and we were glad we did. The toughest walks, such as they were, were up Dalsnuten due to the uneven rocky and damp terrain and the volcano at Fagradalsfjall due to constant gusting winds and, oh yea, the volcanic terrain. Both were great, but just saying. The trip at Queensferry was great due to the historic bridges and the abbey and a lengthy water tour on a boat. No mishaps occured anywhere.
Finally, we ended up back in London for some museum time....great exhibits by Anish Kapoor at the Hayward, Whistler at Tate Britain, and David Bowie at the Light Room. Totally worth it along with some great dining at Portland, Evelyn's Table, Angelica (in Dalston), along with food trucks and such. Looking forward to getting home to see our cats....maybe they will remember who we are! Until the next time.....
