Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.08.2010, Side 16

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16 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • 1 August 2010
Bill Helgason
Prior to taking our first trip to Iceland, I was able to speak to the people at
Hofsós and find some relatives
in the Eastern Fjords around
Egilsstaðir.
When we arrived in the area
of Breiðdalsvík we were met
by one of my great nephews
who took us to Fáskrúdsfjörður
where we picked up the oldest
member of the family, Boas
Hallgrimsson who is related to
me through my lang afi Helgi
Einarsson.
It was quite a surprise for us
to see that the street signs in this
small village were in French and
Icelandic. Apparently French
fishermen used this port when
fishing off the coast of Iceland.
There is still a small cemetery
there today with the graves of
several of the men who died
during their stay in Iceland.
We travelled with Boas and
several other family members
around the eastern fjords where
we visited the farm of my lang
afi at Gíslastaðir. Here, we were
able to see a 10 centemetre wide
band of volcanic ash deposited
in the 1870’s which drove so
many people from the area to
emigrate to Canada.
Just 15 minutes prior to
landing in Winnipeg was when
our real adventure began. Our
aircraft was struck by lightning
so badly that when we did land
it was unable to make the return
trip to Iceland. I could smell
the electrical insulation burning
and the oxygen masks fell down
– quite exciting!
When we came through
customs at the Winnipeg airport
Lorraine took a nasty fall. She
broke her left arm quite badly.
We were surrounded almost
immediately by so many first
response people and medical
personnel that I actually took
the time to count 18 uniformed
people standing around us. We
went by ambulance to the hos-
pital where she was admitted
and had her arm operated on
to re-attach the broken bone.
It was not pretty. Not quite the
homecoming we were wish-
ing for, but Lorraine is feeling
better now although there are
more x-rays to come and then
physio.
The accommodations were
just fine, the meals were fantas-
tic, the scenery was breathtak-
ing, the people were generous
to a fault. In spite of the lighten-
ing and broken arm, we would
do it again in a heartbeat.
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adventures and unexpected events
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Boas Hallgrimsson
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