Husavik turned out to be another delightful little village on the northern coast of Iceland, with a population of 2,403. We enjoyed the seaside shipyard where they were working on repairing boats and ships. There were also, of course, stunning snow-capped mountain views all around.
Like many Iceland villages, it has a still-functioning church on the hill built in the Norwegian stave style (wooden and plain). Since this cruise is entitled “Legendary Voyage of the Vikings”, each place we stop at has something related to Vikings—a church, museum, statue, etc. In addition, we’ve had guest speakers from scientists to travel bloggers along the way sharing what they know about the Vikings and how they made their mark on each stop.
One of the most popular things to do in Husavik requires an excursion, a situation we have been running into fairly frequently. The Askbyrgi Canyon is nearby and is one of Iceland’s most incredible natural wonders. It’s a horseshoe shaped canyon with cliffs up to 330 feet high, (for reference: a football field is 300 feet). Scientists believe it was created by a huge flood sometime during the ice age, but Norse legend says that the canyon was created by one of the hooves of Odin’s 8-legged horse.
Also, within an hour or so from Husavik, you can visit the Hverir Geothermal Area. The area is filled with boiling mud pots, steaming pools, and colorful areas where dried mud has been deposited. Although it would be interesting to see, we heard that the Sulphur coming up through the ground makes it a fairly stinky excursion.
There were also several excursions available for puffin and whale viewing in Husavik. We did hear from people who went out that they saw a few of the very reclusive puffins and they saw more whales than they expected. In fact, there is a Whale Museum in Husavik. Because of the Inuit population, whales have been an important resource for them for hundreds of years. It’s only recently that hunting them has been regulated to allow the severely waning populations to increase.
Anyway, excursions like those typically cost between $160 and $2,000 each, which is most definitely beyond our budget. So, we just wander around the villages/port area and look at stuff, breathe in the fresh sea air, and send our good and grateful vibes out into the world. And so far, that has been more than enough to keep us entertained and satisfied.
Our next stop is the last stop in Iceland—Grundarfjordur.