Reykjavik to Ísafjörður: Iceland tour Day 15

A bumpy plane ride into Ísafjörður where it was very wet and windy.

I walked down to Reykjavík's domestic airport, a short walk from the centre of town. Arriving there two hours before the flight to Ísafjörður showed I was unfamiliar with local practices, some were checking in less than 15 minutes before the departure. Paying extra for a window seat was money wasted as the clouds prevented me seeing much. It was a bumpy ride in the propeller driven plane, as we approached the airstrip near Ísafjörður below steep sided mountains but we landed smoothly if, to my eye, at a high speed. Leaving the terminal I knew there should be a shuttle into town so I climbed into a minibus at the edge of the car park. The driver dropped me in front of the office of Borea Adventures who run the ferry to Hornstrandir. Today's and tomorrow's ferries had been cancelled due to gale force winds swirling around the north-west of Iceland, showing a nasty shade of purple on the weather maps. I settled for a Saturday departure and a pick up from the north coast on Monday, with the possibility of good weather on Sunday according to the forecast. 

Although I had planned to camp tonight, the fierce weather could have compromised my equipment, or at least this was how I rationalised booking into a rather expensive room. All the accommodation in town seems to belong to the same group which results in a lack of price competition. Ísafjörður's main buildings huddle on a peninsula which extends into the fjord. I walked down the main street towards the far end of the town in the afternoon to visit the Maritime museum where I watched a film of traditional fishing practices. Given the hard lives of the local people who went out in open boats, I felt guilty lying in a warm room while the wind and hail outside rattled against the window pane.

This evening I ate at Húsið, a recommended restaurant, like similar places in town it was full but I managed a reservation at 9:00 pm. My cod in some (teriyaki?) sauce was excellent but the place was very noisy due to a large English speaking film crew eating there. The waitress had to lean close to hear me order and members of the film crew were regularly hugging each other or similar. Not very good for Covid 19 transmission. As I was leaving a local singer started performing and I wished I was staying longer.