The West Fjords or Westfjords were created when thick and heavy glaciers during the Ice Age crept over the lava surface to an even level. Isafjordur is the regional capital of the West Fjords and located by the shore of Harpoon Fjord whose name was derived from a local who found a harpoon on the shore (according to the Book of Settlements). Bolungarvík is situated on a cove and is the northernmost village in the Westfjords. A fishing port since settlement, its most popular tourist attraction is the Osvor Museum, a replica of an old fishing outpost.
In the old Icelandic society, there were no towns or villages: people lived on farms in the countryside. Fishing was most often done during autumn and winter and people would migrate from the farms to fishing stations by the sea where they spent weeks living in small huts, and fishing in open row boats during freezing weather. Fishing stations in Eighteenth to Nineteenth century Iceland were divided into four categories:
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Iceland lighthouse
Osvor turf fishing base, Iceland
docent at Osvor old fishing base, Iceland
– Home base. Each farm had its own home base that they went fishing from;
– Away base. Men left their homes and stayed in the away fishing base;
– Mixed base. Men who lived on farms close by stayed here but were not locals; and
– Another Mixed base. Men from other areas would fish and live there in the fishing season with locals who also fished from here. Osvor is the largest and oldest fishing base in Isafjordur.
cow skin “sea shoes” at Osvor, Iceland
different skin of fish and cow skin shoes, Osvor, Iceland
inside main house at Osvor Fishing base, Iceland
A curator or docent greets visitors wearing a skin suit similar to the one Icelandic sailors wore in the Nineteenth Century and described what there is to see at Osvor; a salt hut, fish drying area and drying hut. The rowboat gives a good idea of the kinds of ships used for fishing in that era, but the most interesting part of her talk was about clothing – mittens and shoes. Seamen wore double-thumb mittens – if one thumb got wet or worn out, it could be reversed to a dry thumb.
Seamen in the Nineteenth Century wore shoes called “sea shoes” made from fish skin, sheep skin, cow skin and shark skin with fish oil rubbed into the skins. Fish skin shoes were considered too slippery for everyday wear.
fisherman’s gloves with two thumbs – Osvor, Iceland
Turf houses at Osvor, Iceland
I also enjoyed looking at the Icelandic turf houses, nestled in a bank at Osvor. Turf houses offered superior insulation in a difficult climate compared to buildings made solely of wood or stone, and was easier to construct.
It was only a short drive from Osvor into Bolangarvik with a stop at a two-story church, a drive around the port, back to Isafjordur for a short drive through town and back to the ship by 2:15p where hungry tourers made a dash into the dining room and, I for one, ate myself into a food coma.
two-story church in Bolangarvik, Iceland
house from 1906 in Isafjordur, Iceland
Isafjordur was the L’Austral’s last port of call and the ship set sail for Hafnarfjordour where the cruise had begun around 4:00p.