Icelandic Fjords & Scottish Isles

The patron saints of Reykjavik are fire and ice. Iceland is a land of volcanoes and glaciers, lava fields and green pastures, boiling thermal springs and ice-cold rivers teeming with salmon. This unspoiled demi-paradise is also home to a very old and sophisticated culture. The northernmost capital in the world, Reykjavik was founded in 874 when Ingolfur Arnarson threw wood pillars into the sea, vowing to settle where the pillars washed ashore. Today, Iceland is an international center of commerce and home to one of the most technologically sophisticated societies in the world.

Reykjavik is the gateway to Iceland’s natural wonders, which range from ice fields to thermal pools. The island is in a continual process of transformation much like its society, which blends Nordic tradition with sophisticated technology.

Sailing into Grundarfjordur, one travels into Iceland’s heroic past, for this township – village really – is one of the oldest settlements on the island. The imposing landscape with its austere mountains, volcanoes and lava fields provided the dramatic setting for one of Iceland’s cultural treasures, the sagas. Composed in the 10 and 11th centuries, the Icelandic sagas represent one of the oldest literary traditions in Western Europe. They are tales of migration and settlement, war and blood feud, Christianity versus the old dark gods of Norse mythology. In Grundarfjordur, the world of the saga is still present. One can tread the “Berserkers’ Path” or climb the hillock called Helgafell, the “Holy Hill” mentioned in the Laxdæla saga where Vikings once worshipped Thor.

Much of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula is a national park. The park’s centerpiece is the mighty Snæfellsjokull, an imposing stratovolcano with flanks buried beneath a glacial flow. The mountain is a frequent setting in Icelandic myth. The peninsula is also a birdwatcher’s paradise.

The town of Ísafjördur is the municipal centre of the West Fjords peninsula. The West Fjords are Iceland’s least populated region, with 9,600 inhabitants in the area of 9,520 km. Isafjördur (population 3,500) formerly one of Iceland’s main trading posts, was granted municipal status in 1886. Some of Iceland’s oldest and best-preserved buildings, dating from the 18th century, are located in Ísafjördur. The town is still predominantly a fishing centre. A vigorous and varied cultural and artistic scene flourishes in the town as well. Mountains surround Ísafjördur on the three sides and the sea on the other. The ancient settlement site of Eyri downtown is enclosed by the narrow Skutulsfjördur fjord, which shelters the harbour in all weathers.

The town is your gateway to the famous “Land of Fire and Ice” – Iceland’s dramatic landscape of volcanic craters, extinct lava lakes and majestic waterfalls.

Visitors to Akureyri have a hard time grasping the fact that the town lies just below the Arctic Circle. The climate here is temperate: flower boxes fill the windows of houses, and trees line the neat, well-tended avenues. Thanks to that mild climate, Akureyri’s Botanical Gardens provide a home for over 2,000 species of flora from around the world – all surviving without greenhouses. No wonder Icelanders refer to Akureyri as the most pleasant town on the entire island.

The Shetlands are the most northerly of the British Isles and consist of over one hundred islands, of which a mere 16 are inhabited. Lerwick is the capital of the archipelago. Located on the eastern shore of Mainland, the largest Shetland Island, the town was largely developed by Dutch herring fisherman in the 17th century. The islands are renowned for their superb crafts ranging from woolen and cashmere knitwear to intricate lace shawls and fine jewelry.

Note: Lerwick is an anchorage port. Guests transfer to shore by ship’s tender.

In 1933, an enterprising editor in Inverness enlivened a slow news week with the story of an odd sighting in Loch Ness. The legend grew overnight – and today individuals still scan the dark waters of the Loch for a sight of Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster. Legend goes back as far as the 6th century and insists that the celebrated Loch Ness Monster inhabits a cave beneath the picturesque ruins of Urquhart Castle. Welcome to Invergordon, your gateway to Loch Ness and that area of the Highlands known as the “Great Glen.”

Edinburgh is Scotland’s compact, hilly capital. It has a medieval Old Town and elegant Georgian New Town with gardens and neoclassical buildings. Looming over the city is Edinburgh Castle, home to Scotland’s crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny, used in the coronation of Scottish rulers.

The south of England boasts a dramatic coastline that encloses some of the most beautiful countryside in Britain. The landscape of hills and heaths, downs and forests, valleys and dales, is without rival. Southampton serves as your gateway to the countryside – and to a wide variety of historic sites, national landmarks and charming. And of course, London is a two-hour drive by modern highway.

The United Kingdom’s premier passenger ship port, Southampton was home for many years to the great transatlantic liners of yesteryear.