Sue's Travels: Isfajobdur, Iceland

Some time, during the night we pulled into Isfajobdur. I had set a wake-up call for 7:30 AM since I had to be on the bus at 9:00AM. Once we loaded on the buses, we headed along a shore road which included going through a tunnel which is over 3 miles in length. We went to the village of Bolungarvik which is a fishing village. We were taken to the reconstruction of the fishing station. There was a man there who was dressed the way fisherman used to dress. He had on a pair of mittens with two thumbs. The reason is that in rowing, the mitten may be worn out; consequently they turn the glove over and use the other thumb. There was a small storage shed for salt, a living cabin and a shack for drying the fish. The row boats that were used had a crew of eight; the captain, 6 rowers and one woman who remained ashore. The woman was responsible for mending and other tasks that are/were traditionally performed by women. The small cabin was used by two crews. Each side of the cabin had four beds which meant that there were two people per bed. The woman shared a bed with either the oldest of youngest.

We then went to the local church where we were serenaded by a lovely young lady wearing traditional Icelandic attire. The clothing she wore she said had been made by her grandmother for her mother. She played the accordion and piano.

We then headed back to Isafjorour, where we were taken to the local maritime museum.Some teen agers performed Icelandic song and dance. The museum itself is quite small, but charming. We were offered some dried halibut and marinated shark. I tried the halibut. It was quite chewy, but the taste was not bad. I elected to walk back to the ship since it was quite close.

Lunch is served between 12:30 and 2:30. The ship is scheduled to lift anchor at 3:00PM for the next stop on the itinerary.

After lunch, I just hung around until the 3:00pm discussion on the trip to Greenland. I was given an information sheet and was told what the plans for Greenland are. The key point is to minimize luggage. I’ve decided to take my suitcase, but will place everything that I won’t need in my souvenir case.

At 4:00pm, professor Donoghue spoke on Icelandic sagas. I really enjoy his talks.

Bastille Day was celebrated aboard the ship as the ship is of French registry.