Iceland review - 2015, Page 42

40 ICELAND REVIEW
our delight, there’s also a patch of rhubarb.
Þverdalur, which today consists of just
two houses, is located a couple of kilome-
ters from the larger community of Sæból,
where Ingveldur’s grandmother’s house is
located. Later that evening we walk to
Sæból to visit Jónína, who’s invited us over.
The long beach, an unusual mix of white
and black sand, is full of seaweed; a large
group of eider ducks, famed for their down,
are bobbing in the shallow water close to
the shore. It’s still warm and as the sun
starts to drop, a spectacular sunset starts to
take shape.
When we arrive, Jónína is busy put-
ting her grandchildren to bed, so instead
we join her husband Gylfi Kristinsson in
paying Henry a visit. He invites us in for
drinks. “We have a lot left over from our
daughter’s wedding here last week,” he says
after running off a long list of offerings.
“We had 100 guests from 12 countries,”
Henry beams. “We put up a huge tent
for the feast.” Tomorrow, Henry and his
wife, Jóna Benediktsdóttir, are celebrating
another event: the seventh birthday of their
granddaughter. “I’m keeping it simple. I’m
making rice crispies cakes and pizza,” Jóna
says when we ask if she’s baking.
Henry’s family spend as much time as
possible in Hornstandir each year. Jóna’s
family is from another abandoned commu-
nity, Horn, in the northeast of Hornstrandir,
and Henry and the family are headed
there next week. They’ve been visiting
Hornstrandir for 30 years but Jóna says at
first it took some getting used to. “When
we first started coming I asked all sorts
of stupid questions like ‘Why aren’t the
houses better painted?’ or ‘Why is there no
running water?’ but of course it’s because
all that costs money and things were just
as they were. People were used to, for
example, fetching water.” Today, houses in
the region have running water and some
use oil to generate electricity. Henry and
Jóna operated a boat company, running
trips to Hornstrandir until 2004. Now their
daughter, who is a teacher, works during
the summertime for an Ísafjörður-based
adventure company which specializes in
trips to Hornstrandir.
ALLURE OF THE LANDSCAPE
Oddur and Þóra join us soon after. Like
us, they’re leaving tomorrow and have
been busy packing. “It’s more difficult to
travel here than to China. You have to take
everything with you: food, clothes for the
sun, rain, snow—if you’re here early in the
season—but that doesn’t stop us. We come
every year and spend time with the extend-
ed family. There aren’t many places like this
in Iceland,” Oddur says. “The mountains,
the landscape beckons you to keep coming
back. I first came in 1966 and have been
coming every summer now for decades.”
For Henry, the remoteness is a major
drawcard. “I’m here every summer. It’s
good to get away from everything in
Ísafjörður, the city life, politics... There’s
no phone reception in most places here but
it makes no difference to me. I really don’t
need it. There’s nothing in the world that is
so important that I need to know about it
right now. I’m here with my family. If my
house burns, I don’t need to know, there’s
nothing I can do! And anyway the boat
stops here several times a week so we get
news that way.”
The next afternoon, people watch from
their windows for the boat’s arrival. When
the boat comes into view, they make their
way down to the shore. Some are on their
way home, others have come to greet the
new arrivals and say their farewells until
next summer. *
COMMUNITY
Previous page from top, left to right: Jónína Vala Kristinsdóttir; Rhubarb from Þverdalur;
Hilmar Sölvason; Ingibjörg Reynisdóttir; At Sæból, Aðalvík; Henry Bæringsson and his granddaughter;
Oddur Þorbergur Hermannsson; Taking a break from renovations.
Above: Þóra Þórarinsdóttir and Oddur on their way to the boat back to Ísafjörður.
Below: Wild chervil.