Isafjӧrծur, Iceland

Day 26

Isafjӧrծur, Iceland

The morning was rainy and cool coming up the Isafjarðardjúp, and in the Skutulsfjörður to the town. The ship slipped past the buildings to the basins, pivoted 180º and slipped sideways to the pier. This gave us on the port side a view of the pier, fish processors, fishing boats and a half-dozen. Over all this the majestic mountains stood watch. To our right we could see the commercial area and the bulk of the homes of the town. To the left was then uppermost part of the fjord. Iceland was settled sometime about 875 by Norsemen.

This community has a population of about 2,700 and its' main industry is fishing. The port is a walk-off port which means one way get off the ship and walk into town for food, supplies or entertainment. To find more about this town, click on ÍSAFJÖRÐUR.

View of town

town from head of the fjjord

For this day we had selected a trip across country to see fjords from land, waterfalls and a fish factory.

Hopefully more exposure to the culture would be included. I don't need to eat Puffin or horse to get a taste of the culture, but other elements may avail themselves. I suspect this may include dried cod.

We climbed aboard a tour bus and found it was not a full bus today so we could spread out. Also, the PA system worked so we could hear our guide. We pulled out of town and up the end of the fjord and disappeared into a 2 lane tunnel through the mountain, a distance of about 9 kilometers, or 6 miles through the mountain Breiðadalsheiði. About ½ way through the tunnel is an intersection (just a connecting 1 lane tunnel) to another town, which I will describe later. We continued straight and the road was then 1 lane. I didn't see any Trolls in the tunnel, but I couldn't see out the front and all I could see from my side of the bus was ROCK, when there was any light at all. Our guide explained that we would see 5 fjords today, and that simply put, a fjord is a deep valley carved out of the mountains by a glacier and is filled with water from the sea and streams and rivers. Out of the tunnel we drove alongside then crossed on a causeway the fjord Önundarfjörður, up and over Gemlufallsheiði on 60 (the only road), down and along the fjord Dýrafjörður and up to the small village of Þingyeri. There we visited public restrooms and looked at a modern replica of a Viking meeting area. From here we climbed the next mountain, Hrafnseyrarheiði, on a gravel road full of switchbacks, the turns of which are slightly wider than the road to accommodate a bus or small truck and the drop offs were deep. In the spring the road crews may have to dig down 20 meters through drifts to locate the road and clear it. When we got to the next fjord, Arnarfjörður, we passed the home of Icelands independence hero Jón Sigurðsson. On past a hydroelectric plant and its' falls, down fjord a ways to the waterfalls Dynjandi. In 2020 a new tunnel should be complete to provide a year around access for the hydroelectric plant.

Dynjandi Falls

At Dynjandi

The return trip went the same way, some 87 km. This time we turned off in the tunnel and went to the eco-friendly (including “Fish Heads for Nigeria”) fishing village of Suðureyri. The fish factory dressed us in white lab coats, hair nets and gave us a walk through of the facility. The section where employees were cleaning and filleting fish was off limits to photography so no pics there. Then we went on the “Food Trail” history walk, observed fish drying racks and tasted air dried cod (the piece of cod which passeth all understanding) and pickled cod. Shortly after the rain began we went into a coffee shop where our guide gave us a cooking demonstration on preparing ceviche with cod. I was hoping someone remembered to bring Mentos for the trip back.

Back at the ship the sky was clearing and the sun gave a different perspective on the bluffs around us. At 1700 we untied, backed out from our pier, turned to the fjord and steamed out. No whales were seen on the port side while in the fjord. Once out we turned toward southern Greenland and followed the Iceland coast for awhile. The seas were building again and the bridge advised caution in moving about.

in port. view from our cabin.

looking forward from our deck

on departure

leaving the fjord

Advice for visiting here by ship: Bring or buy Kroners. Visa widely accepted. Consider a good chart/map such as the National Geographic Adventure Travel Map Iceland (#3302).