Travel Maven Blog ...... David Molyneaux posts from TheTravelMavens.com

Cruise Around the Island of Fire and Ice

Daydreaming of Vikings in 874

By David G. Molyneaux

Godafoss, one of the great waterfalls of Iceland (photos by TheTravelMavens.com)

Akureyri, Iceland

On a cruise to the North Atlantic islands that lie between Europe’s Scandinavia and America’s Newfoundland, your imagination may wander back 1,000 years or more, especially on the island of Fire and Ice.  

To picture the Vikings’ first glimpses of tempestuous Iceland in the 9^th century, get to sea, which is easier than ever as expedition vessels and comfy cruise ships are adding remote port stops to their itineraries.

Cruising Iceland’s waters not only offers visits to isolated fishing villages and daunting landscape, but also a sense of historic perspective of the wanderlust of the rugged Vikings who were a fitting match for this island.

Just South of the Arctic Circle

Much of the Iceland coastline has an angry, forbidding look. Huge swaths of cold purplish-brown lava are the result of eruptions from as many as 200 volcanoes. In March 2021, the Fagradalsfjall volcano erupted after lying dormant for 800 years, and months later still was spewing lava and expanding its flow. Snow-covered, jagged mountain peaks form a backdrop. Huge Vatnajokull, one of the largest glaciers in the world, creeps toward the sea to the south. 

Viking Ocean Cruises did a series of Iceland circumnavigations this year. On a one-week cruise aboard Viking Sky in July 2021 I could not clear my mind of the daunting welcome mat that nature has laid down. If you had arrived at the southeast coast centuries ago by small boat from Norway — water, food, and patience running low — consider your attitude: I sailed all these days for this?

Akureyri sits at the end of Iceland’s longest fjord and is the gateway to waterfalls and geothermal hot sulfuric mudflats

And yet, discovery of Iceland — inevitable given its position and the curiosity of Scandinavian seafarers — turned out to be a triumph: The island is home to great fishing grounds and enough raw power on land, from water runoff and shooting geysers, to provide some of the cheapest electricity in the world to residents who live under what some experts consider today to be the oldest democracy on the planet.

SATW 2015 public auction for fun and exotic travel starts October 19

Travel destinations such as Scotland and Tabago, a train ride across Canada, and activities such as scuba diving and kiteboarding top the bid lists as the startup approaches for the public auction conducted annually as a fundraiser by the Society of American Travel Writers.

Browsers and bidders may log on to the SATW auction website:

http://events.readysetauction.com/satw/2015

View the catalog.

Create an account.

You may bid as often as you like

The auction starts October 19, 2015, It runs online until Nov. 8, 2015.

Items are donated to SATW. Items will be mailed directly to the winners following the auction.

If yours is the highest bid, for instance, you could be Honorary Duckmaster when you stay at the Peabody Memphis. Who knew?

 

Eccentricities and itineraries on new Viking Star, cruising in Europe

Walking in the snow like a Viking

A cruise line that will remain nameless used to advertise its ships as opportunities to cruise like a Norwegian. Most people are not sure exactly what that meant. But on the new Viking Star, registered in Norway, passengers may cruise like a Viking -- by walking in snow.

In its impressive Nordic spa, Viking Star has a snow grotto.

Viking Star Snow Grotto (photo by USA Today)

Flakes fall and the floor provides a bit of shock to your tootsies when you walk in, especially if you have just left the sauna or steam room. That is the concept. The cold, after a major body heating, is supposed to be good for your blood circulation.

Cruising for a spa treatment, what you need to know

I love to board a cruise ship and offer my stressfully tight body to a massage therapist, so my muscles and mind are ready for relaxing days at sea.

For this privilege, I’ve paid $80-$200, and it was money well spent.

Massage tables for couples on the Royal Princess

Still, all ship spas are not created equal.

While all cruise lines advertise that their spas are soothing and pampering -- a come-on that pays off, as treatments and skin products are big moneymakers -- you may want to consider a few basic tips.

Melting into a ritual bath in Boca Raton, Florida

Men's ritual bath at Spa Palazzo at Boca Raton Resort and Club, Florida (Photo by David G. Molyneaux, TheTravelMavens.com)

Boca Raton Resort and Club, on Florida’s East Coast, about an hour’s drive north of Miami, spreads out over 356 choice acres.

Though the rules don’t require it, this is a dress-up place, where, uncommon for most of Florida, people tend to look as spiffy as the stylish furniture and wall coverings.

Inside, men seem to think that neckties are resort wear, and even the skimpiest women’s attire at the beach appears as if an entire afternoon was invested in its purchase.

My goal was to get naked.