Akureyri - July 24, 2021
We are anchored at the south end of the Eyjafjordur fjord. This is a very rural area. For the very first time I am smelling cow manure while on a boat.
We are the blue dot at the bottom of the Eyjafjordur fjord.
We are at the dock in Akureyri. This is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's fourth-largest municipality, after Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður, and Kópavogur, and the largest town outside Iceland's heavily populated southwest corner. Nicknamed the "Capital of North Iceland", Akureyri is an important port and fishing center. The area where Akureyri is located was settled in the 9th century. Alureyri means corn field. Corn was grown here 100 years ago when the climate was warmer. There are no cornfields in Akureyri today.
We took a tour bus to Siglufjörður which was one of the most important ports in Iceland and, on more than one occasion, herring exported from this town accounted for over 20% of the nation's total exports.
Herring was king from 1903 thru 1968. As the herring adventure progressed, a goldrush-like atmosphere settled over the town, leading to Siglufjörður been dubbed the "Atlantic Klondike". The town also became a magnet for herring speculators who came and went - some making considerable money during their stay. With its booming industry, Siglufjörður became a mecca for tens of thousands of workers and laborers seeking employment.
We visited the Herring museum. This is the largest maritime museum in Iceland. The museum provides a real life enactment of how herring are processed by Herring girls.
The herring girls cut off the heads and gut the herring. Then the herring are stacked in barrels with salt to cure them. Stories of Herring girls hooking up with herring fisherman are legend. On stormy days when the herring fleet was trapped in port there were no herring to process so everyone had a day off.
In the past the heads and guts were processed into fish meal. These days they fed to the seagulls.
The seagulls are enjoying their lunch.
The Herring girls provide entertainment singing period sounds from the 1920’s while accompanied by an accordion player.
The Herring girls could earn up to $10 a day packing herring. This was similar to the pay received by a policeman in New York City. This changed the economy of Iceland. By 1968 over fishing and changes in the Atlantic current ended the herring industry.
A mega yacht was standing by waiting for us to depart so they could take our place on the dock.
The pilot boat followed us for a while until the fjord pilot departed. Being a fjord pilot must be very easy job. Keep the land on the left and the right.
Tomorrow we will explore Isafjrdur.