Djupivogur, Iceland

 July 6

We headed up to the bridge about 6:00 this morning.  We saw the west coast of Iceland slowly emerge from the heavy mist.  We stayed up on the bridge as the ship sailed into the dock at Djupivogur, a small fishing village (400 inhabitants) on the southeast corner of Iceland. The village has worked hard over the past 15 years to diversify their economy, including installing signature modern art pieces by Sigurdur Gudmundsson and restoring the historic buildings in the center of town. One of the best known art installations is a series of 33 stone eggs (not life size but authentic in shape) of local and migratory birds. The eggs are installed on top of the abandoned concrete footings that formerly supported the giant tube that took fish from the holds of trawlers into the now defunct fish processing factory.  The factory closing was a great hardship to the town, so this art installation represents the town’s new trajectory.

We spent most of the morning and much of the afternoon walking in a bird sanctuary and on the black sand beaches at the ocean’s edge. One of the most prevalent bird species is the Eider (Duck), as in eiderdown comforters. The down that is used is a specific hydrophobic, soft set of feathers that a female duck grows on her breast to provide nest lining material. Eiders are now a protected species, so this down is collected by “eider farmers” who don’t raise the ducks but do provide some support to them.  Since eiders return to the same nesting area year after year, the “farmers” develop enough relationship with individual ducks to be able to reach in and remove a portion of the down from the nest. 

One of the major challenges in Iceland is erosion. Much of the shoreline is covered in fine black volcanic sand, which is easily blown by the wind, exposing lower layers to be scoured. In order to maintain sand dunes and retain land, Alaskan Lupines have been widely planted. Lupines have a robust horizontal root system, can survive the harsh weather, and provide organic matter when they die back in the winter, gradually creating and fixing topsoil atop the sand. Inevitably they have also become an invasive species away from the shoreline, so they are a lovely local discussion topic!

We saw beautiful wildflowers as well as shorebirds today. It seemed to be the day for Red-named birds: Redwing, Redshank, Red-throated Loon, Red-necked Phalarope... but we did see some other colors too! We again saw a puffin, but almost none of our shipmates have seen one yet, a consequence of our spending our time staring out windows, binoculars in hand. So we have stopped mentioning them lest we create animosity. 

Our tour guide William was a fountain of information about the village as well as Iceland history. He was also knowledgeable about the local plants and birds. He mentioned that he and his wife started a small business making Iceland’s first hot sauces, so at the end of our day hiking and birding we headed back into town to the local market to buy some of his hot sauces.

Pictured: Red-throated Loon and chick, Red-necked Phalarope chick, Red-necked Phalarope, Egg Art