Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.03.2002, Blaðsíða 7

Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 1 Mars 2002 • page 7
Return to Skagi
ecti on
Fullt hús skíðafólks í
Part Three
Jo-Ann Mitchell
Chester Basin, NS
and
Alicyn Goodman
WINNIPEG MB
The following day began with a tour of near-
by Víðimýri Church where Jóhann, our
guide, sings in the choir. This old turf-built
church is an excellent example of traditional
Icelandic architecture. Choir singing is a
favourite pastime in this area. While driving us
around in the Jeep, Jóhann sang a number of
Icelandic songs for us. A short distance north
from there we visited the ancient farm and
church site at Glaumbær (now a well-preserved
folk museum) where we saw how our ancestors
PHOTO COURTESY OF JOÁNN MITCHELL
Left to right: Alicyn Goodman (Wpg, MB),
JoAnn Mitchell (Chester, NS), and Jóhann
Jakobsson of JRJ Super Jeep Tours
(Varmahlíð, Iceland) at Geysir.
spent their daily lives. After that we travelled on
to the town of Sauðárkrókur at the head of
Skagafjörður. Rafn and Ingibjörg's son is an
engineer at a factory there that manufactures
rock wool insulation made primarily from erod-
ed basalt mined from the bay. After a visit with
his young family, Rafningi gave us a guided tour
of the factory showing us the entire production
process.
Much of the remainder of the
day we spent at the Emigration
Museum at Hofsós. We met up
with Nelson Gerrard from
Hnausa, MB. He was working in
the museum's research center for
part of the summer and was able
to access their database and pro-
vide us with a wealth of addi-
tional information concerning
our ancestors. Visiting this
museum is a must for anyone
who is interested in tracing their
ancestors and learning more
about the emigration from
Iceland to North America. As it
was still daylight we stopped at Hólar to see the
bishopric church for northem Iceland and drove
on to Akureyri through the mgged Öxnadalur.
For our retum trip to Reykjavík, Jóhann
drove us over a track through the interior high-
lands between Langjökull and Hofsjökull gla-
ciers. We passed by the roadside hotsprings at
Kjölur where motorists can stop to "take the
waters." Later we paused to admire the large
waterfall of Gullfoss, then on to Geysir where
we were fortunate to see the big one erupting as
well as the smaller ones in this fascinating geot-
hermal area. Finally, we reached Þingvellir, the
site of the ancient annual outdoor parliament
(Alþing), in the rift valley of the mid-Atlantic
ridge. While wandering among the faults and
across the valley floor it was easy to imagine the
gatherings of bygone years. Early the next
mOrning, we took a half-hour flight to the
Vestmannaeyjar where we spent the day explor-
ing Heimaey, climbing the volcanic crater
formed during the 1973 eruption and visiting a
puffin colony along the towering cliffs. We had
a good view of the new volcanic island of
Surtsey that rose from the ocean in 1963.
In Reykjavík, we were disappointed to dis-
cover that the National Archives was closed for
summer vacations; however, the National and
University Library of Iceland was open and we
were able to study and photocopy some census
records containing additional information about
our family.
On our last evening in Reykjavík we had
another party with some of our newfound rela-
tives. Again they insisted that we stay for dinner.
They said that they would have felt "empty"
without a final get together. We still had many
more family stories to tell each other and they
wanted to hear all about our experiences while
in the north.
Please see Skagi on page 8
The Iceland Tourist Board
www.lcelandTouristBoard.com
Visit our website to find out more about lceland
Gray Ghost Inn
House Full of Skiers at Gray Ghost Inn
We have been very busy
and the hotel is fully
booked for the next few week-
ends. There is plenty of snow
here; we had about forty to
fifty centimetres in January.
Right now all óf the 132 ski
trails in the area and twenty-six
ski lifts are open, says Magnús
Þórsson who manages the
mountain hotel Gray Ghost Inn
in Vermont, USA.
Magnús and his wife
Carina bought the mountain
hotel in mid-2000. Skiers come
there in the winter and accord-
ing to Magnús, Mount Snow is
a paradise for skiers. In the
summer people come to walk,
uses the ski trails for mountain
bikes and try their hand at fish-
ing in nearby rivers.
"The operation of the hotel
has been good and increasingly
economical," says Magnús.
"We are well situated. The ski
slopes are visible from the win-
dow and a bus that brings the
skiers to the ski lift stops right
at our front door."
Gestir á nærhaldinu?
Guests, in their underwear?
Magnús says that quite a
Please see Gray Ghost
on page 9
ÆGreat,.
Canadian
TravelSr*
------------------ ÍCELANDAIR JST -------------------
158 Fort Street, Winnipeg, MB R3C 1C9 • (204) 949-0199 • Fax (204) 949-0188
www.greatcanadiantravel.com • www.iceland-experience.com
(204) 949-0199
Emaii: s

EUROPE WINTER/SPRING
ICELANDAIR fSf
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♦Stopovers in Reykjavík, lceland allowed. Minimum 7 day, maximum 6 months. Weekday rates
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