Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
plenty of local knowledge to share. Meals and guiding in the area can be arranged with no-
tice; sleeping-bag beds are Ikr5000.
Just north of Bjarnagil is a newly built, fully equipped three-bedroom cottage for rent
pendous, and there's a flower-filled garden and loads of animals - kids will love it. Price
doesn't include linen, which can be hired (as can a small boat and kayaks).
Siglufjörður
Pop 1190
Sigló (as the locals call it) sits precariously at the foot of a steep slope overlooking a beau-
tiful fjord. In its heyday it was home to 10,000 workers, and fishing boats crammed into
the small harbour to unload their catch for the waiting women to gut and salt.
After the herring abruptly disappeared from Iceland's north coast in the late 1960s, Si-
glufjörður declined and never fully recovered.
New tunnels now link the town with Olafsfjörður and points further south, and these
days Sigló is receiving warranted attention from travellers smitten by its hiking, its marina
and its excellent diversions. Just reaching the town (from either direction) involves a jour-
ney that will take your breath away.
Sights
Herring Era Museum
MUSEUM
(Síldarminjasafnið;
www.sild.is
;
Snorragata 10;adult/child Ikr1400/free; 10am-6pm Jun-Aug,
1-5pm May & Sep, by appointment Oct-Apr)
Lovingly created over 16 years, this award-winning museum does a stunning job of recre-
ating Siglufjörður's boom days between 1903 and 1968, when it was the herring-fishing
capital of Iceland. Set in three buildings that were part of an old Norwegian herring sta-
tion, the museum brings the work and lives of the town's inhabitants vividly to life. Start at
the red building on the left, and move right.
In the first building, photographs, displays and a 1930s English film show the fishing
and salting process, while upstairs the accommodation block looks as though the workers
