Ísafjörður, Iceland

Ísafjörður, meaing "fjord of ices" is the largest settlement in Iceland's peninsula of Vestfirðir and was originally settled in the 9th century.  In the 16th century, the town became a trading post for foreign merchants, was the birthplace of the Icelandic shrimp industry, and became home to the largest saltfish exporter in the country.  The town also contains the oldest collection of timber frame houses in Iceland.

We approach through the Skutulsfjordur fjord.

Approaching the town

Pilot boat comes out to meet us

We walk into the port and immediately come on the museum, with lots of artifacts from the years of fishing at the port.  After the museum, we walk through the port into the town, past fishing vessels and people (bundled up) heading out whale watchnig.

Left over from fishing

Current fishing

Whale watching

Timber frame houses

The harbor

We pass through the town and onto a path up into the hills beyond the town, giving us great views of the harbor and the landscape.

Path up into the hills

Looking back at town

The trail continues around town

We descend back into town and wander back to the port, past the colorful wooden frame houses.

Wooden houses (and shops)

Fishing boat in back yard

As with all the Icelandic towns we've visited, there is the occastional sculpture and colorful artwork throughout the town.

Art in the town

As our ship leaves the port, we pass close by fish farms and depart this quiet fishing village.

Fish farms

Rafting Through the West Glacial River Canyon

In Akureyri we take a spectacular river rafting trip through the West Glacial River Canyon.  We start with an hour bus ride to the base camp in Skagafjordur where we don our gear, receive our safety instructions (when the guide says "paddle," everyone paddle hard; when he says "down," everyone on their knees in the boat, head down, paddle in the boat; if you fall out, float on your back down the river, do not try to stand up in the swift current), and climb on another bus to the drop-off point.  

Our crew ready to go

Getting on the river

Heading out

Continuing

Resting

Our guide has a GoPro camera on his helmet and takes these pictures and the following videos of our journey.

Videos of the trip

Near the end, we stop to allow the more adventerous among us to do some cliff jumping (and quickly swim to shore across the swift current).

Jumping in

This has been a lot of fun and a great view of Icelandic wilderness.

Akureyri, Iceland

Akureyri is the second largest urban area of Iceland and is referred to as the "Capital of the North."  Only 62 miles (100 km) from the Arctic Circle, the city is at the head of a 37-mile (60-km) fjord, one of the longest in the country.

Originally settled in the 9th century, Akureyri remained a small town until the late 19th century, when agriculture put the town on the map with meat and wool products.  Later, Norwegian settlers arrived and established the fishing industry, focusing on herring and cod.  Akureyri is now the headquarters of some of Iceland's largest fishing companies.

Arriving in town

Art in the port

Heading into town

Whimsical taxi

We wander over to the main street and stroll seveal blocks.

Down the main street

There is less art around the city than the other locations we have visited in Iceland.  But, some of it is quite whimsical, for example, the trash cans are covered with troll outfits.

Artwork

Trash can art

We quickly stick our head into the famous Akureyri Luthern Church, a significant landmark towering over the city, then continue our stroll through the city.

Akureyri Church

View from the front of the church

We head back down the hill from the church, entering the main part of town from a different direction and pass back down the central street toward the port.

Heading back down past a small park

Back to Commercial Square and the main street

One great sight that we heard about, but hadn't yet seen (towns were too small for a traffic light), is that the red lights on traffic lights here are heart shaped.  We spot several! 

Red light

This has been an interesting stop.  We had a good wander and note that this is clearly a commercial, fishing-oriented town.