Tuesday 8 September 2015

The last chapter: Iceland

7.9, Monday
Iceland!
Arriving in Ísafjörður around noon we could start our excursion in time. The weather was fine, cloudy and only little wind. Some went hiking onto Troll’s Throne, others visited a small fishing village in the neighbour fjord and a small group did a riding excursion. The Icelandic horses are well known for their kindness. It was really a surprise to go on the landing side without rubber boots and no Polar circle boat, we just could walk from and on board, whenever we decided. Fram left Ísafjörður the next morning.
Ísafjörður is the biggest town in the west fjords with a small university, a high school and culture house. The old houses are in a good shape and mostly colourful painted. After 10 days in the wilderness it was a nice experience being back in more well-known surroundings like a town.

8.9. Tuesday
Flateyri
In the morning we started with cruising in the Ísafjörður djúp around the island Vigur. Vigur is well known for its big eider duck colonies during the summer. The ducks were all gone, but we spotted some whales, humpback whales. They were swimming and diving close to FRAM.
In the afternoon we reached Flateyri, another tiny village. Those of us going on the excursion visited a nice garden and got a good impression of the landscape. Flateyri itself offers some hiking possibilities and two special museums: a doll collection and a nonsense museum. Unfortunately there was some rain. After leaving the village, we visited the captain’s farewell and were updated about the newest weather forecast. There was a storm warning and to be in time in Reykjavik, the captain decided to cancel Grundarfjörður and head directly towards the capital.