Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.07.2010, Blaðsíða 51

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KEFLAVÍK
BORGARNES
STYKKISHÓLMUR
SNÆFELLSJÖKULL
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FLATEY
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BLÖNDUÓS
SIGLUFJÖRÐUR
BOLUNGARVÍK
HRÍSEY
NARSARSSUAQ
Greenland
FAROE ISLANDS
REYKJAVÍK
AKUREYRI
EGILSSTAÐIR
VESTMANNAEYJAR
ÍSAFJÖRÐUR
VOPNAFJÖRÐUR
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HÚSAVÍK
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KULUSUK
Greenland
Blue Lagoon
AKRANES Geysir
Gullfoss
Jökullónið
Kárahnjúkar
Krafla
Hallormstaður
NUUK
Greenland
ILULISSAT
Greenland
www.airiceland.is
CONSTABLE POINT
Greenland
34
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 09 — 2010
Nothing starts the day like an early flight to
Ísafjörður. When my friend and I embarked upon
an action-packed day tour from the good people
at Air Iceland, we discovered that taking a domes-
tic flight in Iceland is one of the most hilariously
simple experiences out there. Maybe it’s because
international airports have become so infuriat-
ing and unpleasant, but being able to stroll up to
the counter 15 minutes before the flight, show no
identification and undergo no security measures
was completely delightful. And then you get to fly
into the West fjords, which need to be seen from
the sky, I highly recommend it. It’s fantastic.
Pretty soon after landing, we found ourselves
standing in the back of the Vesturferðir travel
company’s cosy log cabin, trying to squeeze our-
selves into waterproof pants one size too small.
Our extremely friendly guide for the day, the na-
tive Haukur, was about to take us on a nice kayak
tour around the fjord. The prospect of kayaking
in the West fjords originally seemed daunting to
my cohort and I, although I had kayaked once a
very long time ago. But upon arriving in Ísafjörður
and seeing the calm, protected waters of the fjord,
we were feeling pretty good about it. We just kept
hoping we didn’t flip over.
EVERyONE DOES IT
I asked Haukur how flipping over happens and
what one can do to avoid that happening, but his
answers were rather vague. “Usually it just hap-
pens when people get distracted and start looking
at the birds and the mountains too much,” he said
non-chalantly, “but it can really happen to anyone.
One of our guides flipped over yesterday because
he was trying to do some fancy moves. Don’t try
to be a dancer.” Ironically, I learned how to kayak
at ballet camp.
Once we got our gear on, we headed down to
the tip of the spit of land the town is located to our
kayaking launch point. This was set amongst some
of the oldest timber frame houses in Iceland, built
between 1734 and 1761, and truly gave us a sense
of time travelling. Being only two people going on
the tour today, we gladly lent a hand to Haukur to
carry the kayaks down to the shore, their front tips
barely resting in the water. We were then given a
quick paddling lesson and rescue instructions if
the unthinkable flipping over should happen, got
our foot rests adjusted and then pushed into the
water.
EASIER THAN CANOEING
Let me get right to the point: kayaking is fun. The
kayak is a perfect individual sport since it is simple
enough to learn in a short time and does not re-
quire an impressive physical disposition. My co-
hort quickly learned how to manoeuvre herself in
the water, although it took some time to build up
speed. Haukur casually soared ahead pointing out
various interesting things to draw our attention to.
The views around us really were quite spec-
tacular too. With the town now behind us, we were
staring right into the majesty of the fjord on a re-
markably clear and sunny day. I noticed a tunnel
running through the mountains and Haukur told
me there was a waterfall behind it, near their so-
called forest. He drew our attention to a dip in the
mountain and told us it was what locals called a
troll chair. “A long time ago a troll came here and
sat in the mountain,” he mused, “but now trolls are
all extinct.”
He then pointed out to us a family of eider
ducks taking their morning swim, but by the time
we noticed and caught up they were gone. Once
we made it to the half-way point in the fjord we
decided to go back the way we came instead of
going the full circle. While it is an easy enough
activity, it does require endurance and ours was
running thin. We got ourselves back to shore and
thanked him. “I was really happy you came,” he
said, “or else I would have been stuck in the office
all day. And it’s so nice out!”
ANOTHER FREAKING BOAT!?
After a leisurely walk around town and a nice
lunch at the catch-of-the-day summer restaurant
Tjöruhúsið, we headed over to the harbour, where
the second half of our day tour was to begin. We
boarded a small tour boat with a handful of other
travellers and headed off to Vigur, a tiny island in
the Ísafjarðardjúp fjord with more birds than peo-
ple. After a slightly jumpy boat ride where I got
completely sprayed by seawater while overzeal-
ously leaning out to see the fjord, we arrived at a
really old-looking dock.
Before stepping onto the island officially, our
guide Lára instructed us to stay close together and
not stray far from the group. The island is privately
owned by one family of farmers who have lived
there for many generations, and we were there at
the peak of nesting season for the eider ducks,
arctic terns, guillemots and puffins that inhabit the
island. This made walking around a rather delicate
affair as we tried to avoid stepping on bird eggs,
meanwhile waving blue flags on sticks to keep the
crazy arctic terns at bay.
The tour of the island was shorter than usual
due to nesting season, but we saw a lot nonethe-
less. We began at the one and only windmill in
Iceland, built in 1830. It was used to grind corn
meal until it went out of use in 1917. The National
Museum bought it in 1996 and plans to restore
it. We then walked further up the island to where
we could see a large area of puffin nests, which
they make by digging two metre wide holes in the
ground and hiding under there. They are quite
easy to step on so we didn’t venture further.
KIND OF LIKE THAT ALFRED HITCHCOCK
MOVIE
We returned down the island towards the home-
stead but people were dragging behind. Not all
the people in our tour group were so respectful
about staying on the path and keeping together
with the group, but Lára seemed extremely pa-
tient. My cohort and I were less so, as we were
standing there getting screamed at and threat-
ened by the arctic terns. The closer we got to our
next point of interest, the more upset they got and
the lower they dipped towards us, no matter how
hard we swatted at them with our little blue flags.
Not cool, man—bird—but they gotta protect their
eggs and all.
This disturbance came to a peak at our next
stop, the Eiderduck Hotel. This was a low, stone
wall built by the farmer who inhabited the island
200 years ago. Little cubbies were built into the
wall at ground level making it ideal for eider ducks
and guillemots to build their nests in peacefully.
We then headed to one of the farmhouses, where
we were invited to have coffee and a variety of
some of the most delicious baked goods I have
ever sampled. After this perfect little repose, we
made our final stop at the eiderdown factory-
slash-smallest post office in Iceland. The farmers
on the island make their main living by selling the
down to make some of the most luxuriously soft
pillows and blankets available, and after feeling
the freshly cleaned eiderdown, I badly want a new
duvet!
We then boarded our tour boat again to take us
back to the mainland, where we would fly home.
Between the cakes and the thought of new pil-
lows, my cohort and I both fell into deep, dreamy
naps as we floated along the now peaceful waters
of the West fjords.
Travel | West fjords
Boats, Birds And Baked Goods On A Daytrip To Ísafjörður
Hanging out in the water in the West fjords
The Birds & Blue Waters day tour offered by Air Iceland is offered
all summer until August 23, all days except Sunday and costs ¤ 270.
See www.airiceland.is for schedules and more action-packed trips.
REBECCA LOUDER
MERyEM yILDIZ