Lögberg-Heimskringla - 11.11.1994, Blaðsíða 8

8 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 11. nóvember 1994
Skriðuklaustur er næsti bær við
Hamborg. Þar eru myndarlegar
og sérkennilegar byggingar,
einkum sjálft íbúðarhúsið sem er með
þykka steinveggi og torfþak. Hús þetta
var byggt af hinum þekkta rithöfundi
Gunnari Gunnarssyni sem seinna gaf
staðinn ríldnu til notkunar fyrir tilraun-
abú. Tilraunir eru gerðar þar með
ýmsar grastegundir og svo á sauðfé. Á
Slaiðuldaustri var einnig veðurathugu-
narstöð. Búið var rekið'af Jónasi
Péturssyni, alþingismanni.
í fjallshlíðinni fyrir ofan
Skriðuklaustur eru óvenjulega regluleg
klettabelti, sem mynda þrep hvert upp
af öðru eins og tröppur upp
fjallshlíðina. En svo er eitt klettabelti,
sem skerst skáhallt upp fjallshlíðina og
myndar eins konar stíg upp fjallið. En
það sem er ennþá einkennilegra er að
hinum megin í dalnum er annað fjall
með svipuðu klettabelti, sem skerst
skáhallt upp fjallið þeim meginn. Þessir
stígir eru kallaðir “Tröllkonustígir”.
Sagan hermir að tröllskessa ein mikil
hafi komið í sveitina og stikað stórum,
stigið með annan fótinn í fjallið fyrir
ofan Skriðuldaustur og svo í einu slcrefi
yfir dalinn og steig svo í fjallið hinu
meginn! það hlaut náttúrlega að vera
skýring á þessu einkennilega náttúru-
fyrirbæri.
Næsti bær við Skriðuklaustur er
Valþjófsstaður. Þar ér kirkjusetur
sveitarinnar. Presturinn sem þjónar
þar, séra Bjarni Guðjónsson, er
skólabróðir Ingþórs. Við hittum hann-
heima og áttum með honum ánægjule-
ga heimsókn þar sem hann var kun-
nugur mörgu því fólki sem Ingþór
hafði þekkt og var einnig kunnugur
frænda mínum sem var bústjóri
tilraunabúsins á Skriðuklaustri á
árunum 1960-70.
Við ókum svo um sveitina og
tókum eftir að margir bæjanna eru nú
komnir í eyði. Þau hafa þeldd fffil sinn
fegri. Þar sem áður var fjölbreytilegt
mannlíf liokra nú einbúar eða jarðimar
hafa lagst alveg í eyði. Við stoppuðum
náttúrlega í Hallormsstaðarskógi í
hinni frægu Atlavík þar sem úti-
dansleildr em enn haldnir.
At Skriðuklaustur, the next
farm, there are rather unique
buildings built by the well
known author Gunnar Gunnarsson.
There is a large house with thick
stone walls and turf roof.
Gunnarson later donated the farm
to the state for use as an experimen-
tal farm. Experiments were carried
out on various kinds of tame grass
and on sheep. There was also a
weather station located at this farm.
The farm was run by Jónas
Pétursson, MLA for the district.
The mountain above Skrið-
uklaustur is characterized by unusu-
ally regular cliffs which form one
bench above the other like stairs.
But then there is one cliff that cuts
through all the others at about 45
degree angle forming a path up the
side of the mountain. What is even
more remarkable is, that at the
opposite side of the valley there is
another mountain with similar cliff
formations. The name of these paths
is “Tröllkonustígur” (the path of the
gigantess). Folklore has it that a cer-
tain gigantess had come by and
taken the valley in one step, step-
ping in the side of each mountain!
There had to be some explanation
for these peculiar formations.
Next to Skriðuklaustur is
Valþjófsstaður, where the church
of the district is located. The pastor
serving there is a class mate of
Ingthor’s from seminary, Rev.
Bjarni Guðjónsson. We found him
at home and had an enjoyable visit
with him. He and Ingthor knew
many of the same people in the
parish. He had also known my
cousin,. who managed the experi-
mental farm át Skriðuklaustur in
the 60s and 70s.'
We drove all around the district
where many farms are nöw vacant,
stopping in Hallormstaðaskógur at
Atlavík, where oútdoor dances are
still held.
Ice/andic Language and Cultural Camp
Card made
by the
campers.
Tty£ »Toot> Li*»tOFS%
By Bjorn Nelson
Only 270 more sleeps
until camp! This is
the feeling of a lot of
the children who have been
attending the Icelandic
Language and Cultural
Camp in Gimli, Manitoba.
The camp has been held
every summer for the past 21
years. The week of Áugust
lst-6th was a very fun
packed week with various
activities planned for the
children. There are six activ-
ities daily, that each group is
involved with and each
group has its own daily
schedule.
The day begins at 8:30
a.m. when the bell rings for
breakfast. The food provided
by the camp is very good,
and the cooks work very
hard to prepare the meals
for the 70-80 children
attending the camp. After we
eat our breakfast, we are
broken down into groups
and then we go off to our
stations. During the day we
will be involved in drama.
DRAMA: This is where
we are asked by our coun-
sellor to make up a short
story and act it out. We
practice every day to get
ready to perform for the par-
ents at the end of the week.
RECREATION: In this
station we play sports such
as football, soccer, baseball
and volleyball. But the most
popular game played during
recreation is Ollie, Ollie,
Eye, Over!
MUSIC: During this class
we are asked to sing
Icelandic songs while the
music teacher plays the gui-
tar. When the parents come
at the end of the week we all
sing together.
ART: In art class we are
allowed to paint, draw,
make jewellry. This is also
the time to get props for the
play we’re doing in drama.
LANGUAGE: During
language class we leam how
to speak Icelandic. This class
may be easier for others who
have gone to camp before.
SWIMMING: This is
probably everyone’s favorite
class, except for the people
who have it in the morning.
This is where the Life Guard
takes us down to the beach
and lets us swim. Some peo-
ple would rather stay on the
beach and suntan.
These are just a few of the
acivities planned for the chil-
dren at Camp Veselka.