Adventures of Beth and Dan: Iceland; Green or Ice?

Some historians have suggested that the Vikings wanted to confuse other mariners so they called Greenland Greenland when in reality it is mostly ice and Iceland Iceland where it is very green! So today we tendered for the port o Isafjordur. We had no real plans here in the morning but did book an excursion with Holland to Figur Island which would be from 1-4 pm with the last tender leaving at 4:30.

We felt we would traverse the city and get in some walking. That was a good plan but Mother Nature had a way of changing our thoughts. Another very wet and cold day met us. If there is one thing I was not prepared for it was the amount of rain and cold that we have encountered. I brought tennis shoes where I should have brought waterproof hiking boots or galoshes! I have put plastic bags around my socks trying to keep them dry. We have gloves also but they too haven’t been warm enough. All the stores we have found were selling woolen mittens which might be warmer but not weatherproof . We have hooded waterproof jackets and once again layered for the cold. We listened to the lectures on this small town and had a few places we wanted to see like the museum, the old hospital, the Lutheran Church and cemetery and some of the bookstores. Well....the church wasn’t open, the book stores only sold books in Dutch and the old hospital didn’t open till 1:00 and we were there early around 9:00!

Isafjordur is a lovely historical capital town of the rugged Westfjord region and the birthplace of two of Iceland’s presidents. For centuries it was a major counter of commerce and trading for the fishing industry. Today the fishing industry is second to tourism which is a growing economic force. Timber houses were built by wealthy foreign traders in the 18th century and are well preserved. There are outdoor activity areas in the two large valleys in the region. They also boast a golf course, hiking trails and ski slopes. There are boat and air tours available at a steep cost to the traveler but you might spot the Artic Fox or a variety of cliff and valley nesting bids. The town also hosts a lively arts and music festival called the Rock Music Festival which began in 2002. The currency here is the Icelandic Krona (ISK) and things were expensive.

We held out patiently waiting for our tour to begin. Right by the tender port they had a small heated shack with free wifi so we caught up on emails and news. Finally we noticed that our transportation to Figur Island, a 30 passenger covered boat was getting ready for us to board. The wind was picking up by now and the air just got colder and wetter. Once onboard they told us we would have 30 minute ride to the private island that was home to Puffins, artic tern, guilimont, and the Eider duck where eider down is harvested. The gentleman that owns the place greeted us at an old wooden dock where we all disembarked keeping our hoods up and hands covered. It really was the worst possible day for us to take in this preserve. There were birds but almost all were off in the ocean which provided a poor viewing area. Most folks were so cold and wet that they hardly wanted to take their cameras out. Our guide, a young college student, told us to stay on the path that had been mowed and not venture off. Most birds had already raised their young so there were no nesting sites to observe. The only windmill in Iceland is there on the island; a very small old but still in tact mill. The buildings that were there were in excellent condition and housed their eider down gathering facility. This down is very expensive and we were given a demonstration of how they gather the down and how it is processed. Most of it is sold to China! The owners wife and daughter had prepared some traditional breads and deserts for us in a lovely dining hall with clean modern bathrooms and a commercial kitchen. We had plenty of hot tea, coffee and hot chocolate while we warmed up. The island has power and a good supply of fresh water. Our time there was barely an hour and with the weather getting progressively worse they told us it would take an hour to get back to the ship. We hurriedly loaded up and had a scary ride back to the tender area. We had to creep along taking in high winds and waves. Several people got sea sick which was unpleasant for all of us. When we finally docked folks couldn’t have been more relieved. We were the last tender to get back to the ship which was almost an hour late pulling anchor. We were definitely ready for a hot dinner and early bedtime.