Flatey – Tálknafjörður, Iceland
Our wake-up call this morning was quite exciting: Whales in sight! A number of sperm whales had been spotted in front of the ship. Unfortunately, they had dived again before most of us reached the bridge. Maybe another time!
After breakfast we started our activities by going ashore on Flatey. Flatey used to be a busy fishing place in the 1800s and early 1900s and the island was regarded as a kind of a cultural center in West Iceland during the 19th century. Among other thing the first public library in Iceland was established here in the 1860s. Things changed in the 20th century with bigger fishing boats because harbor conditions weren’t good; people moved to the mainland villages. Now only two farmer families live on the island, but in summertime the brightly colored wooden houses in the little village come alive again when the descendants of the former owners return for their summer holidays.
We walked up to the church to admire the murals by the Spanish-Icelandic artist Baltasar Samper where he depicts scenes from the everyday life of the islanders as it used to be. After that, some walked around the island to enjoy the rich birdlife, e.g. puffins, eiders, redshanks, and common snipes. Others went into the village and checked out the coffee shop.
In the early afternoon Ragnar gave a talk which he called And They Called the Land Iceland: Iceland’s History in a Nutshell. Shortly after that we sailed past the largest bird cliffs in Europe, the Látrabjarg Cliffs, where hundreds of thousands of razorbills and guillemots nest. Wind conditions were not favorable for a landing anyplace near the cliffs so we had to sail on, but Patrick and the galley made up for that by preparing a hotdog party on the sundeck at afternoon tea time.
In the late afternoon we found a good landing spot in Tálknafjörður. The place is called Suðureyri. In the 1930s an Icelandic-Norwegian company established a whaling station there but it only operated for a few years before it was closed down. The ruins were quite impressive though, and local people staying in their summer home there showed us pictures of how it all had looked in the heyday of the operation. Walking around the area also pleased the flower fans since a number of “new” discoveries were made there. And the bird fans also had a nice time. On a pond nearby a family of red-throated loons swam in happiness and a merlin was spotted in the hills behind.
A happy lot returned to the ship. A full day had come to an end.
