Wednesday, September 04
Isafjordur, Iceland (population 3,500) formerly one of Iceland's main
trading posts, was granted municipal status in 1886. Some of Iceland's oldest
and best-preserved buildings, dating from the 18th century, are located in
Ísafjördur. The town is still predominantly a fishing center. Mountains
surround Ísafjördur on the three sides and the sea on the other.
The main street here had quite a number of little
shops and cafes, as well as the local main store (food, pharmacy, sundries, a
few clothing items, etc). We’d heard in the port talk that the sweaters were
very very expensive (hundreds of dollars), as they have been in Norway and
Iceland. The Icelandic kroner being 120 ISK to each US Dollar, $100 US would be
12,000 kroner and sweaters are usually marked in the 25,000 kroner range.
Our plan today was to walk around the town, which took about 15
minutes, and then inquire in the Visitor Center about a hike up onto the
mountain behind the town. We were told
of two possibilities: one would simply
be straight up the mountain from the street outside the Visitor Center for a
short hike; the other would be a hike alongside the harbor and then up the
mountain to a waterfall. Did we hear
waterfall? That was an easy decision and
we had all day.
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| We think this would be the barber shop |
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| This homeowner has a sense of humor |
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| Statue in honor of fishermen |
So off we went on what we were told would be a 10k (just over 6 miles)
hike. Along the waterfront road we met
about 50 kids on bikes. School was in session and this was probably their
morning exercise.
Soon we reached the waterfall and we knew we had picked the right hike.
It looked wonderful! Half a dozen photos
later we are on our way up the mountainside.
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| A "selfie" |
A small dirt trail led us right alongside the stream coming from the
waterfall. Soon we were climbing, and I
do mean climbing, up the steep slope. It
was wet and slippery in spots, with the 8-inch wide trail covered with thicket. There is no fencing to keep us from slipping
and going into the water. We are
grabbing on to the branches of the thicket shrubs to steady our climb and Terry
is holding on to my arm to help me with the climb. The only thing that keeps me going on up the
mountainside is the belief that going back down would be even harder.
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| This would be the name of the waterfall |
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| Ahh, Terry, we're no where near the top. |
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| This is what our trail that we followed looked like. |
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| Ahhhh, but we are not there yet. |
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| This is only about half way up |
It was quite the climb but we finally reached the top. After enjoying the view from the top with a
granola bar and water break, we stepped on to the plateau above the falls and
saw a road in the distance. It was just
a matter of traversing the rocky terrain that is covered with little streams of
water winding all over the place and we triumphantly reached the road. It will be so much easier getting back down
into the town now.
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| Getting close to the top. |
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| A look down from close to the top |
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| Almost there |
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| The last few steps |
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| Finally, the plateau at the top and we head for the road |
We met a couple of people hiking up the road and a local lady picking
berries. She said they were blueberries
and very, very sweet!
Alongside the road were these mounds of dirt that were obviously man-made. A sign nearby explained that these are part
of the Avalanche Defense System. With
the water running all over the sides of the mountain, the rocks are loosened
and avalanches do occur. To prevent
rocks from sliding all the way down into the houses along the harbor, these
small man-made mounds will hopefully keep the town safe.
Back on the ship, our second port in Iceland was declared a
success. We did have a fun….and
memorable hike….and the weather has been perfect!
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| On the tender boat heading to the ship |
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| Our hiking map |
One more port in Iceland….next is Reykjavik.
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