This morning we sailed into Isafjordur, iceland. Fishing is one of the main industries, trout and salmon being the most popular catches, and the town has one of the largest fisheries in Iceland. Tourism is also a major contributor to the economy as well as ferry boat companies, that transfer people over to Vigur Island.

We had breakfast and then went by the pool to lounge and watch about 20 guests on The Saturn, who took the plunge into a pool filled with ice cubes, in order to become a member of the Blue Nose club. I can think of a million other ways to spend the morning, but I do applaud those brave souls dunking themselves amid the ice cubes. Brrrrr!

We have officially crossed over into the Arctic circle and we received a certificate to that effect. When we were in Antarctica, we received a similar certificate stating we had crossed into the Antarctic circle, so now we can say in one year we traversed both poles!

Our tour today was taking a ferry boat over to Vigur Island, which was absolutely a wonderful tour. We bundled up with our cold weather gear, putting on my Holebrook windproof sweater made in Sweden, and off we went on a half hour boat ride to the Island. It was a little breezy and chilly in the boat, but the guide on the boat was very entertaining and told us that her village had only about 400 people a few years ago, because many were killed or moved away after a terrible avalanche devastated their homes, as well as their lives.

She said in order to bring the population back, they instituted “Sex Week” and she was proud to say that she was the first child born in the first year of “sex week” bringing the total population to 401. Her father received a trophy, the only one he ever received, for his “sex week” efforts. Too funny! Her dad was the captain of the boat and she was his first mate on our voyage today.

Another guide met us when we arrived on the island, a young Frenchman, who signed up to go to the island to learn about and help with eiderdown collection and to give tours. He was charming and funny and we enjoyed his talk immensely.

A woman named Felicity Aston and her husband purchased this tiny island a few years ago, and now she is the sole resident along with her husband Gizli and their six-year-old son, Thrainn.  Interestingly, Felicity was the first woman to cross Antarctica on skis, so it is no surprise that she and her family can survive the harsh winters on Vigur Island.

When we arrived on the island for our tour, we were given long sticks with a small flag on top. Our guide said that sometimes the Arctic terns who are flying overhead will dive bomb people if they feel threatened. The sticks therefore could be waved, not to injure the birds, but to keep them from pecking on your head.

One source of income for Felicity and her family is collecting eiderdown from the eider ducks that reside on the island. Our guide explained to us how eiderdown is collected. The mother duck, before laying her eggs, sloughs off the eiderdown from her chest on to the nest. She then lays her eggs and adds more eider to keep the eggs warm as she sits on them.

The family hired our guide to help with the down collection. They go to each nest where the mother is sitting. Sometimes the mother pretends she is a statue and doesn’t move, thinking this makes her invisible. The person collecting the down carefully removes the mother duck and then removes the eggs. They harvest the eiderdown and then add hay to the nest. They carefully place the eggs back in the nest, add more hay, and then they replace the mother duck. They have to do this because if they waited until the little ducks hatched and left the nest with the mother, the eiderdown would blow away with the wind and could not be harvested.

Ducks live a long time, about 30 years, and the same ducks return year after year to the same nest. We saw some ducks in the water and we were surprised because most of the birds should have migrated during the second week in August. Our guide told us that there was a terrible storm and the mothers fled the nest with their ducklings that were ready to fly. Unfortunately, some of the babies weren’t strong enough, so they remained and they are now swimming in the waters. Our guide says they will probably not make it thru the harsh winter.

After the down is collected, it has to be cleaned of debris, pebbles, poop, and other foreign matter. Antique machines do the first part of the cleaning, but then the finishing part is done by hand. The down they collect could weigh over 300 kilos, but by the time the cleaning process is over, they are left with maybe 60 kilos. That’s why the down is so expensive. Most of the down is sold to Germany and the Germans make winter clothing for scientists who go to the coldest parts of the earth to do research. Eiderdown is one of the warmest feathers, far surpassing goose down.

We saw the oldest working windmill in Iceland and also a boat that was made out of driftwood that was many, many years old.

During the tour, we were treated to some rhubarb cake called happy marriage cake, and we drank the most delicious coffee I’ve ever tasted. The rhubarb was grown right there in the island.

After our snack, we toured the two story Victoria House built in 1860, and is one of the oldest timber buildings in Iceland and a part of The Historical Buildings Collection. The family live in the house not too far from the Victoria House.

We were so lucky with the day. Not a drop of rain and the sun was shining thru the whole tour. We even saw a few rainbows.

We arrived back to our ship and has a delicious dinner of mussels. J.P. the manager, who we have befriended again since he was on our Antarctica cruise, asked if we would like a second helping to which we both answered yes!!!

After the meal, Allan ordered the apple streusel and I didn’t order anything. Chef Clifford, the executive chef (who remember took us on a tour of his kitchen), stopped by and asked why I wasn’t having dessert. I told him the only dessert I really love is chocolate mousse. He took out his pen and wrote down my cabin number, and told me that tomorrow night, he was making me chocolate mousse. I couldn’t believe it. I told him, no…please don’t make it since he was busy enough. He said no…tomorrow you will have it! Unbelievable!!

So all in all, the day was amazing!

Vigur Island

The boat made out of driftwood.

The rainbow

Rhubarb pie

The smallest post office resides in Vigur Island

The historical home.

Eiderdown being processed