Off to Iceland, Day 10, 08/12/26 Isafjordur Iceland

Isafjordur, Iceland
Cloudy, Bright Sun, Hi 55
Sunrise 4:58, Sunset 10:16

Thank heavens for blackout curtains.

Isafjordur is known as ‘the capital of the West Fjords’ – that sticky-out peninsula on the northwest of the island.

Fun fact, there are more arctic foxes than humans in the West Fjords (at lest that’s what our guide said).

We didn’t dock until after noon so the morning looked a lot like a normal sea day.
Up in time to exercise before breakfast before the first lecture of the day:

This is apropos because so much of the HBO series was filmed in Iceland.
Lee discussed the novels and work of George R. R. Martin – who freely admits that most of what happens in the novels is based on actual historical events, “with dragons added.” Lee gave examples of the major events in the books (and the series) and the events they were based on.
He also talked about the fact that Martin wrote the novels specifically in a way that could not be used by Hollywood. However when the third novel hit #1 on the New York Times best seller list Hollywood couldn’t stay away. The story of how Martin was convinced to allow his work to be set in screen-play form is interesting in iteself.
Lee wrapped up his talk by pointing out that the final 3 books of the series have not been written, (the screen-plays were written based on outlines) and most likely will never be written – in typical Martin fashion. Interesting.

Our next presenter was Gail Lee – our Genealogist:

The discussed how difficult it is to find the women in a family line. Until very recently there were so many ways that a woman would disappear when she married.
Lee used an example of a story from her family about an ancestor with a couple of possible names/nicknames, some uncertainty about where in the lineage she fit, and some confusion about last names. She showed the sources and process she used to identify the person, solve the naming confusion, and confirm the family story. It isn’t easy, or straightforward. But if you love puzzles…

As an aside, Gail always preceeds her lectures with a role of genealogy memes. Here are a few that struck me.

After lunch we had time to read (Randy) and nap (Cheryl) before our 3:00 excursion: “Isafjordur & Bolungarvik Village.”

Isafjordur (where we were docked) is the largest town in the West Fjord.

Note the pine trees in the background. Early settlers denuded the island of trees – using the for building and for firewood. More recent efforts have been to re-establish many of the forests, both for overall ecological health and in specific areas as a means to block or prevent avalanches. These trees provide some avalanche protection. Additionally the green area to the right of the trees is a dike that protects that part of town.

As we were leaving the port our guide pointed out the red buildings that were traditional cod drying buildings. She also pointed to the black house in the center-back as the oldest house in the West Fjord.

Our first stop was to the local music school about 200 yards away for a performance by one of the students.

Then we drove to the small village of Bolungarvík a few kilometers up the coast to view the fishing harbor and largest fish processing plant in the West Fjords.

*Along the way we crossed the valley floor with its estuary (and a golf course).*

After a short drive thru Bolungarvík our bus took us to the Ósvör Maritime Museum – a traditional fishing station where young men would spend their winters working on a fishing crew. (They spent their summers on the farm.) Our docent explained that the station housed 6 fishermen, a captain, and a matron/cook/supervisor. The men would go out every day fishing with hand-lines. A normal day would yield around 3,000 pounds of fish. Twice during the winter the men would row over to Greenland to hunt for Greenland shark. Rather than taking the whole shark they would cut out the liver and leave the rest. The shark liver oil was sold for lamp oil as far away as England. In an image below Cheryl is holding the heavy-duty shark hook. It was baited with fish meat soaked in rum. Apparently the sharks liked the smell of rum.

Docent in period costume – Sheepskin clothing soaked in fish oil to make it waterproof, Cow hide boots, sealskin hat. The outfit included a rope rescue belt and woolen mittens with two thumbs. Cheryl is holding the shark hook.
The boat was hauled up onto the shingle over whalebones to keep from scraping the hull.
whalebone under the hull
Workshop entrance
Workshop interior
Wrokshop interior
Main hut with workshop in the background
Main hut entrance
Hanging area
Dringing horn
Ladder to sleeping area above
Sleeping area – 2 to a bed to keep each other warm.
Drying shed
Cod hanging to dry.