With our time here drawing to a close, I realized I had not been back to Hofsos, the closest town, since the day I arrived. So when Dawn needed to post some letters, I decided to walk to town (about 4 miles rt.) with her and Veronique. It's a pretty typical Icelandic small town (they are VERY small). One of it's notable features is a museum about emigration, the black buildings in my photo. 20,000 people (about a quarter of the population at that time) left in the late 1800's due to harsh weather and natural disasters, including ash fall from the eruption of Askja in 1875. Most went to North America, many settling in Canada. If you have Icelandic ancestors, you can type their name into the database and find your family. Neat!
Also of note in Hofsos is their public swimming pool. Icelanders are very big on pools, with almost every town having one, and most are thermally heated. This one is particularly beautiful, as it sits perched overlooking the fjord.
The story on the half-and-half house is that the 2 owners could not agree...
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| Hofsos |
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| Hofsos pool |
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| A lounge moment |
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| Early morning visitor, a female ptarmigan |
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