Reykjavík Grapevine - 26.08.2011, Blaðsíða 34

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34
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 13 — 2011
Travel | Djúpivogur
Djúpivogur is reportedly one of Iceland’s most
beautiful small towns. We spent sixteen hours
there, and we have no idea if that assertion is true.
For Djúpivogur is also reportedly one of Iceland’s
foggiest towns, with popular myth claiming that it
sees on average 212 fog days per year (this has
been disproved, but residents agree that Djúpiv-
ogur is still a pretty damn foggy place).
While we were in Djúpivogur, the fog was so
thick that we could barely see our own hands. We
still loved it. Djúpivogur is a lovely town.
Home to some 450 residents (according to lo-
cals and some travel brochure we found, internet
statistics claim the number of residents is 352),
Djúpivogur is a fishing hamlet in East Iceland. It
lies on the Búlandsnes peninsula, in-between the
fjords Berufjörður and Hamarsfjörður. The region
has been populated since Iceland was settled;
Djúpivogur is thought to be formally founded in
1589, when Hanseatic merchants from Hamburg
set up shop there. The town is well suited towards
fishing, as it is close to great fishing grounds and
has an excellent natural harbour site.
Djúpivogur sees lots of tourists in the summer.
It is a very popular destination for bird-watching
(dozens of species of birds nest and cavort there),
especially the island of Papey (to which one can
travel by ferry every day)—it is loaded full of myth
and history, it has a famous church and it’s full
of birds! Djúpivogur is also very conveniently situ-
ated for travellers that wish to see some of the
Eastfjords but daren’t venture any further east.
THE PARTY SCENE IN DJÚPIVOGUR
Enjoying some damn good coffee and slices of
cake at restaurant Langabúð (which is located
in an impressive merchant’s building that was
constructed in 1790 and has been thoroughly
remodelled—it’s like a shinier, larger version of
Ísafjörður’s Tjöruhús), we learned about local his-
tory and the current climate from a pair of locals.
They tell us that Langabúð acts as a bar on week-
ends, open ‘til one, and that things often get quite
rowdy in the old hose.
Then, when the fun stops at Langabúð, the
crew usually takes off to the local hotel, Hótel
Framtíð, which operates a bar in its basement.
One of the locals, twenty-something Íris Birgis-
dóttir, explains that they can never be sure if the
hotel bar is open: “The bar is located in the hotel’s
basement, directly underneath two of the hotel
rooms. The proprietors try and book those rooms
the last, but if they are rented out the bar stays
closed. In such cases, we usually find a house party
to attend.”
Íris then shows us where the locals like to go
when the partying is dying down: right by town,
locals have constructed two geothermal hot pots
that are perfect for sipping beers in as the sun
comes up. We won’t tell you were they are, but
we will say that they are just perfect. If you are
interested in soaking there, you should befriend a
local.
THE GOOD KIND OF REMOTE
We walk through the fog, towards the town’s
camping grounds. It must be said that Djúpivogur
has one of the more impressive campsites we’ve
come across in Iceland. It is perfectly sheltered
and sort of lovely quaint looking—and it is smack
dab in the middle of town, right next to everything
(including the liquor store!). The service house,
where the bathrooms and such are located, is
even so lovely that they’ve seen reason to hang up
a sign: “DO NOT TRY TO SLEEP IN HERE!!!”
We drop by at a local designer’s studio, Arfle-
ifd, which has operated out of Djúpivogur for just
over a year. One Ágústa Margrét Arnardóttir de-
signs creates clothing and accessories there out
of local traditional materials such as leather, horn,
wool and horse hair. There are several noteworthy
Words
Haukur S. Magnússon
Photography
Julia Staples
“ This is remote, but you never feel it, and the locals
never sound like it. It seems
like the kind of remote that
people seek out, a shelter if
you will.
A Foggy Heaven
Seriously, check out Djúpivogur! It's awesome! And hurry!
Winter's almost here!

Djúpivogur is a shelter