That still doesn't prevent me from explaining the backgrounds of the photos. These past few days have been very eventful, I've hardly had time to rest.
The first full day at Akureyri began at 09:30 am. I ate breakfast and prepared myself to go to Elding Whale Watching company for the first time. It was simply marvellous. Everyone there was kind and made me feel right at home. One thing that sealed the deal was the "just because" cake they offered me. A work environment can hardly be bad if cakes are bought simply because one can.
After all the introductions and general information it was time for me to go to on my first ever whale watching tour. A coworker explained all that I need to know about the tour to me and then told me to have fun. She wanted me to experience the tour as a customer and see what it's like to them. I don't know how many praises I can say without sounding pretentious. It truly made me understand why people go on these tours and why some people do them all around the world. Even though on the big boat you couldn't get too close to the animas it was still amazing to see them living their best life. It was exciting to try to locate them before the guide said where they were. As whales a divers, they spent some time on the surface to breathe and then dived deep down. Where they resurfaced was always a mystery. The three hours just flew by and we docked to the harbour. Then I got my first taste of Icelandic culture.
A coworker invited me to go swimming and/or afterwork with others. Swimming is very common and Akureyri has one the finest swimming pools in Iceland. After works are also on the usual spectrum. Iceland is one of the most expensive countries in the world and that has lead to bargain brews. Almost all the bars have an after work, usually lasting about two hours. They are popular among the locals as a way to relax and unwind, while getting to socialize. It's also a way for bars to get more customers.
Me and my coworkers ended up doing both. We went to a local bar that was one of the most popular in town. After paying I appreciated the culture. A 7€ pint turned into a little bit over 4€ pint. After we had drank our beers we headed out to The Akureyri Swimming Pool. And let me tell you, it was massive. Two 25m outdoor pools, one inside pool, three water slides (one being the longest in Iceland), five hot tubs ranging from 38°C to 42°C, a steam bath and a cold bath. It felt like entering an amusement park. If I had gone there by myself I would've needed to take a second to think where to go first. Luckily my coworkers lead me to the second coldest hot tub and it was absolutely perfect.
That pretty much sums up my full day. As a bonus, here's a game of spot a Northern bottlenose whale. I've been lucky as usually these are seen once a year but now they've been hanging around for the past two weeks. While you're playing I'll go hunting for Northern Lights with my room mate. It's a level 7 tonight, but I'll explain more about the leveling system on the next post. Until then!
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