Djupivogur on Iceland’s east coast is dominated by the towering Bulandstindur, a mountain famed for its ability to grant wishes during the summer solstice. Did we see that – no, I’m afraid the clouds were covering it!
You can listen to a narrated version of this article here:
The Viking Daily told us that the residents here favor a slower pace of life, which might be code for there is not much to do here, but even so, I tried my best to see it all. After our day in Seydisfjordur, we knew what to expect with the weather and so we were well wrapped up for our morning cultural signs of Djupivogur excursion around the town. The ship anchored in the bay and we used tenders to get to the harbor, which was small and filled by the normal mix of small boats and large Arctic trawlers.
The town has a historic building right on the dockside, and our tour took us on a walking trip first to a small store/museum where the owner has spent a lifetime collecting rocks from the mountains in Iceland and exposing the quartz and delicately colored interiors of the rock. Most of them seem to be in his personal collection, but some of the smaller ones were for sale. On the way, I noticed these old hiking boots transformed into flower pots by the local cafe:
Definitely an interesting sight, and when I got home, I thought they would make a nice wall print for a hiker in England and Wales who has hung up his boots for the last time:
Our tour guide did a great job of explaining life (and their approach to life) in this small town, and we walked next to a large circular oil tank down by the industrial part of the harbor where we entered and sat in seats around the edge. With the door closed, it was completely dark in there, and we were treated to a haunting song which seemed to echo around us as though there was a choir present. When the door eventually opened, it was just one lady standing in front of us. Quite magical.
There is also an art installation alongside the harbor – sculptures of all the different bird eggs that can be found in Iceland:
And close by, another indication of what the locals do during the long dark winters in this part of the world.
We then walked back into the town and back to the ship to warm up! The walk and tour were around 90 minutes or so, but it was pretty early in the morning and quite cool. One of the optional excursions was “Iceland’s Black Beaches” which I had been tempted with and our guide, in giving us an overview of the town had mentioned that the beach was only 15 minutes away down a particular road. So that became my plan. I picked up my main camera, headed back to the tender boat and started this walk. It certainly didn’t seem like 15 minutes to me as I headed towards a long flat stretch that used to be the town’s airport. Perhaps 40 minutes later, after walking the length of this runway, did I approach the beach, and it was definitely strangely beautiful. I did see the Black Beach tour on the way – they had a small coach to the start of the runway and then walked from there, but I was well in the lead!
The beaches start with sand dunes, with views of the coastline in the distance.
As you can see, I was completely alone on the beach. I did notice a police car parked at the end of the runway, but more on that later.
I walked to the water’s edge in time to see a flock of Eider ducks paddling out to sea:
Looking along the coast, I think I can see where the famous mountain that overlooks the town might be!
And in the opposite direction, the rocky cliffs towering over the ocean.
As I rounded these rocks, I noticed a seal on the beach looking plaintively at me. I kept my distance, of course, and later learned that the police had notified the local vet who was coming to check out this seal for illness. I don’t know the result of that, but it is interesting to see how the wildlife is checked out.
The pools alongside the runway are well known locally for birdwatching and they are definitely peaceful in these very calm conditions. I did see other Viking tours walking along some of the trails here – perhaps the message is that this is a location where you can manage to visit many of the places that Viking has organized tours to, without much effort on your own.
I chose a different trail back to the town and ended up (with another tour group) at a high viewpoint over the town. I obviously missed out on the commentary, but I got the same views!
The ship was departing at 5pm and so I had plenty of time for these adventures before returning for afternoon tea!
And with that, we left Djupivogur (and the mountain perhaps appearing in the distance) and started the next leg of our cruise sailing towards Heimaey in the Westman Islands. The weather forecast was not cloudy!
