Iceland Day 5 - Isafjordur and Sudavik
This morning when I got up we were just pulling into Isafjordur on the northwest side of Iceland. I’ve taken a picture of some maps today. The one is a zoomed in shot of the area we are in. Kinda like the waving hand coming off the upper left of the main island called the Westfjords. The cliff-like mountains on either side of the ship are quite impressive, yet brown and rocky. The little town of Isafjordur has 2,800 residence. Our tour today of the area is just half a day, which is good, because the weather is beautiful and we were looking forward to resting and enjoying the beautiful day. Spoiler alert...today’s blog is going to be a very facts and figures type of blog. More of a lesson (current and historical) from the local area. It’s very interesting and I’m glad I took a pen and paper today, because I took lots of notes! Here they come!
At 8:30 we met our tour guide of the day, her name I can’t pronounce, but she said it meant “fairy of the mountains”. That got an “awwwwww” from all the ladies on the bus. This next bit is a run-down of all she told us as we drove to the next town over, Sudavik. The first thing she told us, which has stuck with me all day, is that we were SO LUCKY to be here on such a beautiful day. She said there were only THREE days like today in the ENTIRE summer last year. Other than that it was cool and raining. I don’t think we can appreciate how blessed we are on this trip, but the locals let us know. Frequently.
She said in her town they go to school until they are 20, then then can go to a university. 90% of the young people go to Reykjavik, like where her three sisters currently are, and they usually don’t come back. It’s a 5-6 hour drive to the city, and she said due to regulations on fishing and declining fish, locals have to go elsewhere to find work. They do some fish farming inside the fjord, raising cod, but it takes 18 months for them to be full grown and isn’t a huge money maker for them.Therefore the population of this area is down even though the upswing in tourism has helped their local economy some. She still lives on her father’s farm about 30 minutes away. I would have her about 20-ish years old. Music is important to them and every town has a music school. Sometimes only having 10 students.
Our young mountain fairy says they start getting snow in October and it never totally goes away. She says it will snow, then rain, then freeze, then snow then rain, then freeze...thus the cause of many avalanches in this area. It’s a great place to do cross country skiing and it’s home to one of the largest 50 kilometer cross country races in Europe. The main road we took to Sudavik is often closed in the winter due to snow. The plows only run from 7am - 8pm, so after that time you aren’t allowed to be on the road. And sometimes they just can’t keep up with all the snow and it closes.
She was talking about an island just off the main road and it was the home of several species of birds, one being the Iceland Puffin. There are stuffed puffin toys and trinkets in every souvenir shop and on lots of T-shirts. They are indeed cute and today we could have taken a tour to go see them, but chose a different option. She kept telling us about another bird, I couldn’t make out what she was saying exactly, but it sounded like “Arctic Turd”. I’m sure that is not the name, but she said it about 4 times and that’s what it sounded like each time. She did say they would dive at your head and there are so many on the island that if you visit you will certainly get pooped on. So maybe that name was right???
Our tour today was of the town of Sudavik. There is a tragic story to come, but first we’ll talk about the Arctic Fox. We visited the Arctic Fox Center where we learned about Iceland’s only native mammal. They had two foxes at the center, but one recently died of a heart attack. They were brought there as pups and now only the one remains. The containment area is big enough for 4 foxes, but this little boy gets the place to himself. He appeared to have the mange, as you’ll see in the photos, but he was just losing his winter fur. He was sort of grey (they say blue) but underneath his fur is really dark. Most Arctic foxes are white, so this guy was a bit of a rarity. The interesting thing is that when the white fox loses its winter fur, he too is black underneath. Pretty amazing. Unless you are a local. The Arctic fox is not endangered (So they are allowed to be hunted) and they will eat anything...including coffee cups apparently, so our gal from the center said not to get your stuff too close the fuzzy predator. AND they will eat other fox pups if they are not their own. (Hmmm...my furry friend got a bit less cute). They live in the same den generation after generation, some documented up to 50 years. Their life expectancy is 8 years if they are lucky. Also, a litter is normally 5 pups, but usually only one survives. The locals don’t like them because they eat a lot of the local ducks. You are not supposed to have them as “pets” if you find a baby all alone, but some farmers will raise one and keep it on their farm. Our little furry buddy in the pen can’t go back into the wild because he couldn’t survive on his own at this point after being fed by the staff since a baby. He eats mostly dog food, but sometimes the locals will bring him some fish. ;)
After the Arctic Fox Center we visited the local church. Outside the church was an amazing statue donated by a local woman who lost her husband and son in a fishing accident. 300 people live in the village of Sudavik and they have lost 43 of their locals in fishing tragedies in the past 100 years. The statue was built to remember them. Inside the church, a local 17 year old girl was dressed in traditional attire. The dress was made with parts of it being from her grandmother’s dress and parts of it from her mother’s dress. She said it was made for her when she was 10, but was created in a way to be able to fit her as she grew. She was very proud of the tradition it held. She sang 3 songs for us. The last song was a story about a young couple in love with a newborn baby. He had stolen some sheep for them to survive and the authorities (or the guy he stole the sheep from) were coming for them. Because the baby would cry and give their hiding place away, she sang this song to her before throwing her into the waterfall to drown her. After telling us what the song was about she then said “Enjoy...I guess”...then shrugged her shoulders.
Next we visited the local library where we were served rhubarb and coconut cake and coffee. It was delish! We snacked while we watched a movie about the great 1995 avalanche that crashed through their town. An eye witness told the sad story of the unusually brutal snow and wind that had beaten down on them for many days. One morning at 6am a 1200X400 meter section of snow broke loose from the top of the mountain and slid down knocking homes off their foundations or just completely destroying them. Immediately those who got out began digging out their neighbors and within 12 hours 170 people, most from Reykjavik and surrounding towns, got to them to help with recovery. The conditions were so bad, one rescuer was on film saying he couldn’t even see the person standing next to him. They had dogs that were a great help as well. Within 40 hours all 48 buried people had been accounted for, but 14 were dead, including 8 children. Financial assistance from all over provided temporary housing for them while the town rebuilt. However, they had to rebuild in a different location. The locals didn’t want to go very far, so as soon as a location was deemed safe, that is where they all moved. Including those whose houses were not damaged. Our guide said sometimes they’ll live in their old houses in the summer, but most don’t. In the winter they are all abandoned because it is not safe to be there. By autumn of 1997, all villagers were relocated in their new homes. We visited the exact location of where the homes had been, because a memorial had been erected for those who lost their lives that early winter morning. It was a bit eerie to look up at the towering mountain above.
When we arrived back at the ship we sat outside and enjoyed some lunch. It was so lovely that Guy went to put on his swim trunks and took his shirt off to tan himself up a bit. It’s only 54 degrees, but in the sun you begin to sweat. I did some laundry as the machines were open. Including my new Arctic Fox Center T-shirt! My souvenir from the day. BTW...we have TAN LINES!
We had dinner in the dining room tonight because prime rib was on the menu. Tonight’s meal was a hands down an A+! We each had shrimp cocktail, Guy had a Caesar salad and I had pumpkin soup. We each had prime rib and shared a cheese ravioli plate. My dessert was bread pudding with walnut ice cream and Guy had a Lemon tart. Photos posted, but be warned...it will make you HUNGRY!
Sending love from sunny Iceland!
At 8:30 we met our tour guide of the day, her name I can’t pronounce, but she said it meant “fairy of the mountains”. That got an “awwwwww” from all the ladies on the bus. This next bit is a run-down of all she told us as we drove to the next town over, Sudavik. The first thing she told us, which has stuck with me all day, is that we were SO LUCKY to be here on such a beautiful day. She said there were only THREE days like today in the ENTIRE summer last year. Other than that it was cool and raining. I don’t think we can appreciate how blessed we are on this trip, but the locals let us know. Frequently.
She said in her town they go to school until they are 20, then then can go to a university. 90% of the young people go to Reykjavik, like where her three sisters currently are, and they usually don’t come back. It’s a 5-6 hour drive to the city, and she said due to regulations on fishing and declining fish, locals have to go elsewhere to find work. They do some fish farming inside the fjord, raising cod, but it takes 18 months for them to be full grown and isn’t a huge money maker for them.Therefore the population of this area is down even though the upswing in tourism has helped their local economy some. She still lives on her father’s farm about 30 minutes away. I would have her about 20-ish years old. Music is important to them and every town has a music school. Sometimes only having 10 students.
Our young mountain fairy says they start getting snow in October and it never totally goes away. She says it will snow, then rain, then freeze, then snow then rain, then freeze...thus the cause of many avalanches in this area. It’s a great place to do cross country skiing and it’s home to one of the largest 50 kilometer cross country races in Europe. The main road we took to Sudavik is often closed in the winter due to snow. The plows only run from 7am - 8pm, so after that time you aren’t allowed to be on the road. And sometimes they just can’t keep up with all the snow and it closes.
She was talking about an island just off the main road and it was the home of several species of birds, one being the Iceland Puffin. There are stuffed puffin toys and trinkets in every souvenir shop and on lots of T-shirts. They are indeed cute and today we could have taken a tour to go see them, but chose a different option. She kept telling us about another bird, I couldn’t make out what she was saying exactly, but it sounded like “Arctic Turd”. I’m sure that is not the name, but she said it about 4 times and that’s what it sounded like each time. She did say they would dive at your head and there are so many on the island that if you visit you will certainly get pooped on. So maybe that name was right???
Our tour today was of the town of Sudavik. There is a tragic story to come, but first we’ll talk about the Arctic Fox. We visited the Arctic Fox Center where we learned about Iceland’s only native mammal. They had two foxes at the center, but one recently died of a heart attack. They were brought there as pups and now only the one remains. The containment area is big enough for 4 foxes, but this little boy gets the place to himself. He appeared to have the mange, as you’ll see in the photos, but he was just losing his winter fur. He was sort of grey (they say blue) but underneath his fur is really dark. Most Arctic foxes are white, so this guy was a bit of a rarity. The interesting thing is that when the white fox loses its winter fur, he too is black underneath. Pretty amazing. Unless you are a local. The Arctic fox is not endangered (So they are allowed to be hunted) and they will eat anything...including coffee cups apparently, so our gal from the center said not to get your stuff too close the fuzzy predator. AND they will eat other fox pups if they are not their own. (Hmmm...my furry friend got a bit less cute). They live in the same den generation after generation, some documented up to 50 years. Their life expectancy is 8 years if they are lucky. Also, a litter is normally 5 pups, but usually only one survives. The locals don’t like them because they eat a lot of the local ducks. You are not supposed to have them as “pets” if you find a baby all alone, but some farmers will raise one and keep it on their farm. Our little furry buddy in the pen can’t go back into the wild because he couldn’t survive on his own at this point after being fed by the staff since a baby. He eats mostly dog food, but sometimes the locals will bring him some fish. ;)
After the Arctic Fox Center we visited the local church. Outside the church was an amazing statue donated by a local woman who lost her husband and son in a fishing accident. 300 people live in the village of Sudavik and they have lost 43 of their locals in fishing tragedies in the past 100 years. The statue was built to remember them. Inside the church, a local 17 year old girl was dressed in traditional attire. The dress was made with parts of it being from her grandmother’s dress and parts of it from her mother’s dress. She said it was made for her when she was 10, but was created in a way to be able to fit her as she grew. She was very proud of the tradition it held. She sang 3 songs for us. The last song was a story about a young couple in love with a newborn baby. He had stolen some sheep for them to survive and the authorities (or the guy he stole the sheep from) were coming for them. Because the baby would cry and give their hiding place away, she sang this song to her before throwing her into the waterfall to drown her. After telling us what the song was about she then said “Enjoy...I guess”...then shrugged her shoulders.
Next we visited the local library where we were served rhubarb and coconut cake and coffee. It was delish! We snacked while we watched a movie about the great 1995 avalanche that crashed through their town. An eye witness told the sad story of the unusually brutal snow and wind that had beaten down on them for many days. One morning at 6am a 1200X400 meter section of snow broke loose from the top of the mountain and slid down knocking homes off their foundations or just completely destroying them. Immediately those who got out began digging out their neighbors and within 12 hours 170 people, most from Reykjavik and surrounding towns, got to them to help with recovery. The conditions were so bad, one rescuer was on film saying he couldn’t even see the person standing next to him. They had dogs that were a great help as well. Within 40 hours all 48 buried people had been accounted for, but 14 were dead, including 8 children. Financial assistance from all over provided temporary housing for them while the town rebuilt. However, they had to rebuild in a different location. The locals didn’t want to go very far, so as soon as a location was deemed safe, that is where they all moved. Including those whose houses were not damaged. Our guide said sometimes they’ll live in their old houses in the summer, but most don’t. In the winter they are all abandoned because it is not safe to be there. By autumn of 1997, all villagers were relocated in their new homes. We visited the exact location of where the homes had been, because a memorial had been erected for those who lost their lives that early winter morning. It was a bit eerie to look up at the towering mountain above.
When we arrived back at the ship we sat outside and enjoyed some lunch. It was so lovely that Guy went to put on his swim trunks and took his shirt off to tan himself up a bit. It’s only 54 degrees, but in the sun you begin to sweat. I did some laundry as the machines were open. Including my new Arctic Fox Center T-shirt! My souvenir from the day. BTW...we have TAN LINES!
We had dinner in the dining room tonight because prime rib was on the menu. Tonight’s meal was a hands down an A+! We each had shrimp cocktail, Guy had a Caesar salad and I had pumpkin soup. We each had prime rib and shared a cheese ravioli plate. My dessert was bread pudding with walnut ice cream and Guy had a Lemon tart. Photos posted, but be warned...it will make you HUNGRY!
Sending love from sunny Iceland!
Sounds wonderful and it did make me hungry!
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful scenes... and food... and homes!! Kinda thinking we need more bright blue houses around here....
ReplyDelete