We left Vestmannaeyjar at 18:30 on Monday evening, having waited until the weather changed and the winds seemed more favourable. We were pretty glad to see the back of the place as we had exhausted every possibility in the four days we were stuck there. The people we met were delightful and every time we asked for directions they always referred to the traffic lights as the start point. Needless to say, there was only one set of traffic lights in the whole town.
Andrew, the nutty guy with the little red boat, waved us off and gave us a bottle of rum which we might use if we need any antiseptic. He was still in discussions with the Icelandic authorities about adapting his boat for the roads in Iceland. It seems they were looking favourably on his objective of driving it around Iceland but they wanted him to be able to do 50mph for safety reasons. He neglected to tell them that, even with the wind behind him and speeding full pelt downhill, it was unlikely to top 15mph.

After our 100 hour marathon sail, the 25 hours it took to reach Reykjavik was more a walk in the park. Initially the winds were good but then they petered out to nothing and we had to motor a fair bit. Apart from a choppy bit and some rain it was a really nice sail. For dinner we treated ourselves to Thai chicken curry followed by some chocolate and the following day Anders and I had a cheese ploughman’s while Nigel slept. It seemed fair, as Nigel can’t stand the smell of cheese. At one point Nigel reported with great excitement that he had seen two whales. They were a long way off and could have been whales, or walruses, or seals, or even wishful thinking. In any case, we are convinced that we will spot whales and the camera is always ready.

We could see Reykjavik from about 10 miles out, the skyline dominated by the spire of the cathedral which appeared to dominate the city. Up close it resembles the Empire State building and is ultra contemporary inside. We moored up at the yacht club which sounds a lot grander than it is and we also saw a couple of yachts that had been berthed near us in the Faeroes.

We found a half decent Italian restaurant and had a nice meal with some beer. Anders is an adventurous eater and chose carpaccio of Minke whale, a local speciality. Very nice, if you like that sort of thing. Afterwards we stumbled upon the Micro Bar, which the friendly customs official had recommended. He described himself as a ‘beer nerd’, which meant that his recommendation was a good one. Today, in our wanderings we came across a pub called ‘Lead us into Temptation’ so we’re absolutely going to take them up on that invitation.

Tomorrow we might try out the thermal springs before the girls arrive in the afternoon. Reykjavik is a lovely city with a great feel. Traffic is light and motorists actually pause to let you cross the road. There is an abundance of cafés, bars and restaurants but no one seems to be in a hurry and everybody is invariably helpful. As this blog posts we are sitting in the music centre looking at the sun setting beyond a myriad of yachts. 11 in the evening and we still have sunshine. Tomorrow promises to be a good day.