Northwest Iceland - The Rough Guide to Iceland - page 220

5

Hofsós
Seventeen kilometres up Route 76 from the Hólar junction, HOFSÓS is a tiny,
nondescript village on the eastern shores of Skagafjörður, consisting of one street and a
tiny harbour, with a population of around two hundred. Nonetheless, it does have two
good reasons to stop: a visit to the Vesturfarasetrið offers a fascinating insight into
Icelandic emigration to North America; and a swim in one of the country´s most
beautifully located outdoor pools .

Vesturfarasetrið
June-Aug daily 11am-6pm; other times by arrangement • 800kr • T 453 7935, W hofsos.is
Hofsós is primarily a base for the hundreds of Americans and Canadians of Icelandic
descent who come here to visit the Vesturfarasetrið , or Icelandic Emigration Centre,
housed in several buildings beautifully set on the seafront by the harbour. The centre's
genealogy and information service is located in the Frændgarður building, while the
main exhibition , tracing the history of the Icelanders who emigrated west over the sea, is
on display in the red-roofed building just beyond. In the Konungsverslunarhúsið, before
the footbridge across to the main exhibitions, there's a moving display of black-and-
white photographs recounting the lives of children who emigrated to North Dakota.

Hofsós swimming pool
Suðurbraut • Daily 9am-9pm • 500kr
Designed by the same architect responsible for the Blue Lagoon, the new swimming
pool in Hofsós is quite simply magnificent. It may not be Olympic size, but because it
has been built into the hillside above the sea, the views over to Drangey are
breathtaking. It's not strictly an infinity pool, but the impression you get as you swim
in the geothermal waters is that you're right next to the sea's edge. The pool was
donated to the town just before the economic crash by two bankers' wives, frustrated
by the fact they had nowhere to swim.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE HOFSÓS

By bus The summer service between Sauðárkrókur and
Siglufjörður calls in at Hofsós, stopping outside the grocery
store on Skólagata.

Destinations Sauðárkrókur (3 weekly; 50min); Siglufjörður
(3 weekly; 40min).

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING

Sunnuberg Suðurbraut 8 T 453 7434 or T 853 0220,
E [e-mail]. There are comfortable en-suite
rooms with sea views available here, but to be honest,
Hofsós is not really somewhere you're likely to want to
spend the night unle ss you're r esearching your ancestry at
the Vesturfarasetrið. 11,900kr

Sólvík Kvósin T 453 7930. Opposite the Emigration
Centre, and with a delightful wooden terrace with sea
views, this is the only place to eat in town and offers
burgers (960kr), sandwiches (from 850kr) and fresh fish
dishes (around 2600kr). June-Aug daily 10am-10pm.

Siglufjörður
Having wound northeast around the convoluted coast for 60km from Hofsós, Route
76 cuts through an unpleasantly dark and narrow single-lane tunnel to land you at the
enjoyably remote fishing port of SIGLUFJÖRÐUR , a highlight of any trip to the
northwest. The country's most northerly town, Siglufjörður clings precariously to the
foot of steep mountain walls which enclose an isolated narrow fjord on the very edge
of Iceland: the Arctic Circle is barely 40km away and you're as far north here as
Canada's Baffin Island and central Alaska. Winters can be particularly severe, though
in summer, Siglufjörður makes an excellent base from which to hike across the
surrounding mountains.