Peter And Evie - Travel blog

Saturday, September 9, 2023

August 2, 2023 - Flately Island & Husavik in Northern Iceland, Grenjadarstadur Turf House, and whale watching

August 2, 2023

As we rounded the NW corner of Iceland, we stopped at the little flat island of Flately. It is home to many bird species, especially Arctic terns and puffins. There are no cars on the island and sheep roam freely. We took the Zodiac shuttle over to the island and roamed around, going out to the church and lighthouse, located right on the coast. What we were really there for was to view the birds. Thousands sitting on the cliff tops and nesting in the grasses there. Walking over to the church, the sound of hundreds of nesting/flying Artic Terns was really loud. And, they are very aggressive if you get to close to their nests. Quite impressive. I had never seen a puffin before. They are easy to identify when they fly, because they flap their wings super fast, and they look sort of clumsy. Puffins spend summer in Iceland and migrate down to Antarctica in winter. They live on water, diving deep for fish, only nesting ashore.

I was in my winter jacket, warm hat, neck scarf & gloves which allowed me to be comfortable in the Zodiac and walking over the island. Also, there were more wildflowers in these meadows than I have seen anywhere else in Iceland, so far.

Lunch back on the ship, then a scenic bus ride from Husavik out to the restored Turf House Museum called Grenjadarstadir. In the past, this was the manor of the county, with the total area of its dwelling houses covering about 8,500 sq feet (all one house). 30 people lived there--family and farm workers. Built with sod/turf roofs, they had separate rooms, but no heat. The kitchen was separate, but had no chimney, so was very smoky. They built tunnels to get from room to room. They were inhabited until around 1948, and then renovated as a folk museum. I'd HATE to have lived there.

For our last adventure, we went whale watching on Skjalfandi Bay, surrounded by the mountains of Husavik. This area is considered to be the whale-watching capital of Iceland. We went on a traditional open wooden harbor boat. VERY COLD. I was decked out in my full winter gear AND they gave us a water proof jump suit. Fun, interesting, nice views, and we did see a couple of whales.

Day 7 photos:

Church on Flately island

One of the few houses on Flately island

Lighthouse on Flately island

Puffins nesting on Flately island

Boarding our Zodiac shuttle back to the ship

Fog shrouded mountains surrounding Skjalfandi Bay, outside of Husavik

Turf House Museum of Grenjadarstadur (all one house)

Living room in the Turf House museum

Bedroom in the Turf House museum

Kitchen in the Turf House museum (no chimney)

Interior tunnels between rooms in the Turf House

Sod/Turf roofs on the Museum house

Whale Watch trip on the Skjalfandi Bay outside of Husavik

Whale watch trip - COLD but fun

Monday, September 4, 2023

August 1, 2023 - Siglufjordur, North Iceland-Herring Museum, Grimsey Island on the Artic Circle

August 1, 2023

We arrived in the town of Siglufjordur on one of the Northern Peninsulas on Iceland. This is a very picturesque fishing village, with a population of 1,200. It is surrounded by steep mountains on 3 sides with the Fjord up the middle. Avalanches are a major problem in the winter, so they have installed fencing on the steep slopes to slow them down.

We walked over to the Herring Museum. Herring products represented a quarter of the country's export value, with Siglufjordur being the major processing town, from early 1900's to 1960. That was when they depleted the stock of herring in the oceans. The Herring Girls were ready for work when the boats laden with freshly caught herring sailed into the fjord. She would work night and day until the whole catch had been processed. The Herring Girls were paid only for the barrels she packed, so a successful season provided opportunities for her financial independence. The herring girls arrived from all over Iceland, and would share crowded quarters set up by their employers for the season. The Herring Museum put on a performance showing how the herring was processed by the "Herring Girls". The work of herring salting was traditionally accompanied by song and dance, and we saw a performance of that folk tradition. This was a fun event.

We signed up for a Bridge Tour, on the ship. The captain gave us a tour, showed us all of the equipment, and talked about life onboard a tour ship. The ship is owned by a German company, but a lot of the staff was from Croatia. Very interesting.

Since the weather and the sea conditions were really nice, we were able to visit the Island of Grimsey, north of Iceland, on the Artic Circle. We took the Zodiac over to the island. The little island has hiking trails all around it. We walked one loop along the coastline. The population is 50 people, 100 during the summer. Can't imagine why anyone would want to live there fulltime. The were thousands of birds, including puffins, flying, swimming, nesting, and just sitting on the rocky coast. We walked to the Artic Circle Monument. It was a bit underwhelming, and there was no huge sign saying "You are now on the Artic Circle". However, I can now say it have been to the Artic Circle. But it was very pretty with lots of dandelions across vast fields, and beautiful rocky coastline. Nice walk.

On the Zodiac ride back to the ship, we took a little side tour of the coastline, watching the incredible number of birds, and rock formations.

Day 6 photos:

Sea Venture cabin

Sea Venture bathroom-compact but comfortable-like our RV

Siglufjordur-foggy mountain and avalanche fencing

Siglufjordur picturesque fishing village

Siglufjordur harbo

Siglufjordur harbor & town

Herring Museum

Herring Girl performance-salting herring

Herring Girl song and dance

Herring Girl crowded sleeping quarters

Sea Venture Bridge tour with captain

Grimsey Island-coastline

Artic Circle Monument-a bit underwhelming

Grimsey Island-coastline hike

Grimsey Island-fields of dandelions

Zodiac shuttle back to ship

Lone church on the island

Grimsey Island-coastline-see birds along the top

Birds flying over the Grimsey Island coastline

July 31, 2023 - Isafjordur, Thingeyri Viking Museum, & Dynjandi Waterfall-NorthWest Iceland peninsula

July 31, 2023

The ship docked at Isafjordur, on the beautiful Isafjord Fjord. This peninsula in the North West of Iceland, has lots of Fjords or inlets, creating a beautiful coastline, many with small fishing villages in them.

We did a Road Scholar bus tour of the peninsula. First stop was into the town of Thingeyri. This town hosts a Viking museum. Vikings were in Iceland from about 800 to 1500 AD. We learned their history, tried on their clothing, got to eat their Viking bread. We walked through town over to an old Viking meeting place. Since this town was on one side of a Fjord, we needed to drive all the way around the Fjord to get to it, and then back again. No bridge across the Fjord.

Next stop was at the INCREDIBLE Dynjandi Waterfalls. These falls had 4 or 5 levels of falls, each different and each with their own name. It starts by cascading over the mountain top, and ends flowing into the Fjord. Of course, you had to climb up to each level of waterfalls, with the last one being the most challenging, but also being the most impressive once you got there. I made it to the top, Peter declined. These are the highest waterfalls in the Westfjords (northwest peninsula).

Driving back to the ship, following the coastline of the many Fjords, has striking views. Each Fjord was created by the glaciers carving out steep valleys down the mountainsides and into the ocean. The mountains were topped by fog, so the view was fog, mountain, steep greenery, cliffs, then water in the Fjord.

The winters are very long, and dark (2-3 hours of daylight per day), and the snow makes traveling the roads difficult. To facilitate travel, they built a 5 mile long tunnel under the mountain, to connect with the next town.

Day 5 photos: