HOME OF FIRE AND ICE: INCREDIBLE ICELAND ABOARD THE OCEAN DIAMOND
WRITTEN BY JACKIE SHECKLER FINCH
Dynjandi waterfall is one of many in Iceland.
James Bond was here. So was Batman. And Laura Croft the Tomb Raider. No wonder filmmakers have chosen this Icelandic spot for movie magic. The Jökulsárlon glacier lagoon is spectacular and considered one of the top wonders in a country that is known for natural treasures. It was my choice for a shore excursion from the Ocean Diamond. Iceland ProCruises offers 10-day circumnavigation cruises aboard the super yacht Ocean Diamond (owned by Quark). With about 140 passengers and 92 crew members aboard, our itinerary set off from the capital city of Reykjavik and stopped every day in a different place until we returned round circle to Reykjavik. he Land of Fire and Ice is so beautiful it looks like another world. About the size of Kentucky, Iceland is a country like no other: 15 active volcanoes, 10,000 thundering waterfalls, 800 hot springs, immense lava fields, glaciers covering 11.5 percent of the country. Then there are the whales, puffins, fuzzy Icelandic horses (don’t dare call them ponies), erupting geysers, postcard-pretty fjords, Northern Lights and Midnight Sun.
I thought the almost 24-hour daylight in the Iceland summer would be a bit unnerving. It wasn’t. Ocean Diamond cabins have heavy window shades for sleeping and Icelanders seem to have adjusted to round-the-clock summer daylight as well as lengthy winter darkness. “We are used to it,” tour guide Magnus explains. “It’s the way our life has always been. We don’t rely on dark to make us sleepy. We sleep when we are tired.” Then he adds with a wink, gesturing to his eyelids, “We are born with shutters. We just close them and go to sleep.” Iceland is star of cruise Instead of a cruise director, the Ocean Diamond has a specialized Icelandic Expedition Team to lead
tours and present programs about this amazing country. On my cruise, about 60 percent of the passengers are American. The rest are mostly German, British, Scandinavian and Canadian. Most announcements and many programs are presented in both English and German.
Glacier lagoon tour guide Isabella cradles a piece of iceberg that is more than 1,000 years old.
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