Day 57. 24th August, Ísafjörður to Holmavik, Iceland (Vestfirðir or West Fjords).

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This waterfall and creek is at the back of the camping grounds where I was staying in Ísafjörður.  I went into town to see whether I could find somewhere to repair my spare tyre and rim but it was I think Sunday and that trip was to no avail so I kept on going to Holmavik.  It was a day of rain, often heavy so the countryside would have looked quite different in different weather.

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At the top left, Ísafjarðardjúp is the name of the big fjord system on which Ísafjörður is located.  It means Ice Fjord Deep.

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This derelict and isolated hut, perhaps a boat shed or a fishing hut, is on Álftafjörður, the first fjord after Ísafjörður, and looking back towards Ísafjörður.

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The building with the red roof here is the church Eyrakirkja (location shown on the map) and the fjord is Seyðisfjarðar.  The church is of iron clad wooden construction.  It dates from 1866 but there must have been earlier churches here because the church clock dates back to 1526.  The white building must be the priest’s house and there are some old farm building to the right, perhaps stables.

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Another hour and a half’s driving further on, I can’t locate this reliably but it must be close to the end of the fjord system.

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I drove to Holmavik, then took a loop to Drangnes around the coast and back inland.  This waterfall must be on the inland part of the return journey but I don’t know its name or precisely where it is.

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That is a bank of snow below the waterfall, incidentally.

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After the Drangnes loop, I returned to Holmavik.  The black building in the middle is the Museum of Sorcery and Witchcraft (though they did not allow photographs inside).  Witches were persecuted in Iceland between 1625 and 1683. 170 people were accused in 130 trials and 21 executed, of whom 20 were male.  Charges usually referred to alleged use of runes  to lay spells to make people ill or kill cattle (thereby affecting the food supply of a farm).  A successful accuser could be awarded the property of the victim and this appears to have often been a motive for the accusation.

In 1656, a father and son both named Jón Jónsson were burned after a trial following accusations from their pastor Jón Magnússon, who accused them of causing his poor health.  This included accusations of a farting curse levied by the younger Jón Jónsson on an unfortunate young woman.  Jón Magnússon was awarded the Jónsson’s property as compensation.  When his health did not improve, he accused Thuridur Jónsdóttir, daughter of the elder Jónsson and sister of the former.  However, she was acquitted and then she was awarded Jón Magnússon’s property in compensation.

One of the more curious, not to say gruesome, items on display in the museum was a nábrók (hopefully simulated), the skinned legs of a dead person worn by a sorcerer to guarantee wealth (though perhaps not success in love).

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