residents of the town of Sauðárkrókur in North Iceland faced hot water rationing due to a cold spell that strained district heating systems a newly discovered hot water source in the area is expected to prevent rationing this winter supplying enough for around five hundred households In December of last year – following a cold spell in North Iceland that significantly increased the strain on district heating systems – residents of the town of Sauðárkrókur were urged to reduce their hot water usage However, a new source of water over sixty degrees Celsius was recently discovered in the area, making it unlikely that hot water will need to be rationed this winter, RÚV reports drilling for hot water began in Borgarmýrar It turned out to be the right location; the municipality had been searching for heat sources in various parts of Skagafjörður in recent months The well is 762 metres deep and yields water at sixty-nine degrees Celsius with a flow rate of twenty to thirty litres per second Read More: A Wealth of Water (On water as a resource in Iceland) director of the local council in Skagafjörður stated that this was a substantial amount of hot water “The volume is such that it can supply around five hundred average households.” Sigfús added that experts believe even more water could be extracted from the well by installing a pump The next step is to connect the water to the municipality’s district heating system which Sigfús expects to be completed in the coming weeks Residents of Sauðárkrókur will then avoid facing the same situation as last winter when heating systems at sports fields were shut down and people were asked to conserve heat during the harshest cold spells “Now the focus is on connecting this to our distribution system This will make a huge difference because the volume of water coming from this new well is considerable,” Sigfús observed In Iceland today, 90% of homes and buildings are heated by geothermal-powered district heating while the remaining 10% rely on electricity from hydro and geothermal sources In-depth stories and high-quality photography showcasing life in Iceland we and our partners use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information Consenting to these technologies will allow us and our partners to process personal data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site and show (non-) personalized ads may adversely affect certain features and functions Click below to consent to the above or make granular choices. Your choices will be applied to this site only. You can change your settings at any time or by clicking on the manage consent button at the bottom of the screen Something that commonly comes up in conversation with tourists is the desire to see “the real [place name here]” This invariably means wanting to see a town village or location that typifies the entire country there are few places in the country—especially during summer—where you will find isolated unspoiled pockets that tourists haven’t extensively covered there were lopapeysa-clad European tourists wandering around and taking photographs Which isn’t to say that tourists are a bad thing; I’ve made some great friends from tourists just passing through My point is that tourists are a part of “the real Iceland” and any illusions that there is some no-foreigners-allowed hamlet somewhere in the country should be dispelled immediately there are varying degrees of touristy-ness and Sauðárkrókur is a very untouristy place to see (like most places situated far off from Route 1 that aren’t the Golden Circle) We stopped there on our way back to Reykjavík What we discovered was a typical Icelandic country village sitting right on the water one main street through the centre of town flanked by old houses and small businesses and surrounded on all sides by vast swaths of wilderness The town is the largest urban area in the Skagafjörður area We enjoyed having lunch at an old bakery on the main street where you can sit by the window and watch time pass as people go about their daily lives The more adventurous might want to check out the local horseback riding on offer (the region itself is the home of Iceland’s country music heritage Sometimes the main attraction of an Icelandic town is the town itself Car provided by Hertz car rental. Book car at www.hertz.is Tourist Held Hostage On May Day Tourist Sexually Harassed In Blue Lagoon Culture Night Killer Sentenced To Prison Starbucks To Open In Reykjavík Soon An Ode to Flateyri Grapevine Events: The Clock, Other-Grounds Film Festival, Icelandic Sorcery Festival & More Police Officers Spied On Citizens For Iceland’s Richest Man From Army Brats To Luxury Flats Gretar is shaking out a handful of fish oil and applying it to his hamstrings and quadriceps smearing the putrid substance in circles over his pale white skin to warm up his muscles We are in a locker room about 50 miles south of the Arctic Circle preparing for a soccer match in Iceland’s second division The coach goes over the starting lineup and gives the team’s 11 starters and six substitutes a guttural pep-talk—incomprehensible to me an American who speaks no Icelandic—that builds to a chorus of affirmations The world has become enamored with the Iceland men’s national team which advanced to the knockout stage of the Euro 2016 tournament last week Icelanders are partial to their hometown teams—like Tindastoll the club for which I suited up for six straight summers—and they take their summer soccer very seriously Tonight Tindastoll is hosting a team called Thor Thor’s bus is a big Greyhound affair with leather seats and a toilet—fancy wheels for a bunch of semiprofessionals Walking by it on the way to the locker room before the game which Gretar later translated: “You will lose.” Thor’s supporters have long since arrived by caravan and they’ve joined the home crowd at the edge of the pitch where teenagers toting Thermoses of hot chocolate and coffee have been working the crowd many fans are decked out in fair-isle sweaters to keep warm Spectators sit on grass steps cut into the side of a steep slope about a goalie’s dropkick from the edge of the pitch Both teams fan out at the center of the playing field which is nearly the quality of a golf-course putting green which even to my multiple-summers-in-Iceland ear sound like three people—especially since every player’s last name ends with the suffix “-son.” There’s Gretar who is starting in his first game because his older brother suffered a broken collarbone in our last outing Most of the starting players have day jobs but the club supplements the most talented players’ income by paying for things such as summer rent and food Tindastoll is named after the snow-capped peak that rises majestically behind Saudarkrokur Iceland’s second-largest town on the north coast I’m a high-school English teacher and varsity soccer coach in Philadelphia My Viking adventure began with an invitation from a student an ancient map was tacked to the back wall of my classroom Aside from some indecipherable graffiti in the Pacific Ocean That was until a visiting Icelandic student “There’s something wrong with this map.” Sure enough During his year with us David told a great many stories about life in Iceland and in the meantime he helped lead the school soccer team to the state championship David invited me to Iceland for the summer to play soccer for the local club David’s father was a loyal supporter of Tindastoll and David served as my first and last “agent,” a role he played more out of gratitude for his year in America than talent selection I was still single and in shape (only a few years out from a stint at a major Division I soccer program) and had nothing to do until September Saudarkrokur is tucked between a mountain and the mouth of a fjord Nearly all of Iceland’s 323,000 people live somewhere on the numbers People travel inland primarily during the summer months Each large town around the coast has its own team and loyal supporters—and it’s easy to imagine how these teams have replaced the warring Viking chieftains and their clans of a thousand years ago who often assembled on these same fields to test their bravery or settle a grievance over some ignominy that doesn’t have to be imagined Just pick up any one of the renowned Icelandic Sagas which in some places read like an unadulterated yet somewhat-fantastical 10th-century police report One morning Thorstein awoke at sunrise and climbed a hill where he could see his neighbor’s cattle on Thorstein’s land once again Thorstein found his neighbor Thrand sleeping on top of a bluff with his shoes off and poked him awake with the handle of his axe: “I’m the owner of this land and the pastures belonging to your people are on the other side of the stream.” Before Thrand could put on his shoes Thorstein swung his axe hard and brought it down on Thrand’s neck Later in the summer we will play a team from Borg (now called Borganes) and after the game a friend will take me to the presumed spot of Thrand’s beheading which is about half a mile out of town and just behind a row of moss-covered boulders The boulders look psychedelic in the Arctic light and you half expect to find Thrand’s severed head lying nearby it’s not long before you feel like you’re a part of a grand cycle as timeless as the fjords and mountains that seem to have been cut from and pounded into the land with help from Thorstein’s ax The irony is that Iceland is relatively new in geological time ooze out of the sea—the result of two tectonic plates (the North American and the Eurasian) moving ever so slowly apart Iceland is home to spectacular geologic sights from lava fields to geysers to waterfalls with whimsical names and the temperature drops a few more degrees centigrade They cheer and whistle as the men battle up and down the pitch the grass still illuminated entirely by natural light In the locker room after the game we nurse our pride as Thor celebrates another victory A fierce chant erupts from our opponent’s locker room a few paces down the hall A thousand years ago we’d bury the dead and nurse our wounds Tonight we throw our stinky uniforms in a pile and head off to the showers The place still smells like Gretar’s fish oil I am standing with the team’s manager (also the guy who washes our uniforms) whose day job is a mix of farming and engine mechanics and he’s pointing to a row of stones along the edge of his property He’s utterly convinced that elves are living in his rock gardens—what Icelanders call huddlefolk Others just feel their presence and know they’re there As we walk his property he tells me that when he was 8 or 9 he was riding the tractor with his sister and slammed on the brake and the tractor flipped over he lifted the tractor and pulled her out and noticed that the steel bar had bent around her spine about an hour into the three-hour ride home I decide to investigate the matter with the elves a little further so a few beers have quietly popped in the back of the bus a jovial chap with a square jaw and a ferocious free kick home of Iceland’s only international airport and thus the town with the most contact with the outside world naval airbase staffed by thousands of American grunts and officers and employing nearly 900 Icelandic civilians at its peak I counted on Sverrir for an objective answer It’s hard to tell if Sverrir is just pulling my leg—his command of English and penchant for puns rival that of a college English major He attended university in the States and grew up on American movies were continually broadcast in English by Iceland’s two state-sponsored channels a bellicose forward with platinum blond hair pops a can of beer and bellows “Skal huddlefolk!” toasting the hidden folk for the victorious goal he scored earlier in the evening I move to the front of the bus to speak to Gunni the team captain and also the oldest player Gunni was coaxed out of retirement to anchor the defensive line and often reads a book during long bus rides He has an engineering degree and wears a tie to work every day “The hidden folk have a lot of homes near my grandfather’s farm and my grandmother is very fond of them,” he tells me It’s the kind of gesture a father would give to a child There are certain sounds a man can’t hear but a dog can hear maybe there are certain kinds of light or ways of seeing that a man can’t see—I don’t know.” He flashes a wide grin and I still can’t tell if he’s dead serious about the elves or participating in a grand communal hoax at the expense of all foreigners we are coming down between a row of white-capped mountain peaks and a fjord are scores of boulders left like marbles on a giant’s playground The whole valley is bathed in Arctic light and waves of the fjord are shimmering as they crawl out to sea “Listen,” Gunni cuts short my whimsical musings on all things elfin “You don’t have to believe what you don’t want to believe another amicable fellow with perpetual three-day stubble during my first practice in my inaugural season the day after I arrived at Saudarkroker’s tiny bus station The pitch and main practice field had not yet been opened so practice was being temporarily held on a sheep field literally dotted with sheep My teammates—some would become friends for life—wore hats Hard-plastic cones had been placed at odd intervals forming the appearance of a rectangular playing field (Later I was told the nettings were leftover fishing nets.) Behind the goal on the far end of the field were the sheep and peeking out from beneath the awning of a farmer’s stable stood some inquisitive Icelandic (miniature) horses Gisli called the guys into a semicircle for introductions Then he held up his whistle and exclaimed slowly and in broken English you run!” Several of my teammates laughed and tried explaining to Gisli—but he was having none of it even though a smile formed on his lips moments before he stuck the whistle in his mouth and started blowing My Icelandic never got any better than Gisli’s English I bought lessons on tape and tried studying during my months back in the States For at least two summers I thought I was saying and ordering a “hot dog with everything!”—a staple snack after a night of carousing—but instead I was saying “hot dog I’m horny!” much to the amusement of my teammates and most of my teammates are gathered around a coffee table to drink beer and tell jokes There are no drinking games and no TV unless it’s turned on to catch the latest round of soccer highlights A few women wander in wearing their standard Icelandic ensemble of stretch pants and boots Tables and chairs are moved to accommodate the swelling party Empty beer cans and cigarette butts rapidly accumulate We’re on our way to the local “bottle dance.” each clutching bags with pint-sized bottles of beer or liquor—hence the name bottle dance The cab driver is often a parent or an older friend of a teammate (Driving a cab on the weekends just another way to supplement the family income.) Drinking in the cab is mandatory as the cab rises and falls and slicing between a few wayward sheep—which meander off the road The late-night sun gives the journey an element of the surreal The dance hall is a converted basketball gym at the top of a hill strategically located at a crossroads within an hour’s drive from a half-dozen small towns The crowd—which includes players from rival teams—are coming from similar house parties in their own towns and the partygoers’ main reason for assembling at this crossroads on this night is to drink Being merry means paying about $12 at the door and dancing all night long with 500 or 600 revelers to a live band bellowing out songs from the front stage of the gym Everyone is thrust outside; no one leaves yet People continue to move in dancelike rhythms Each of my teammates finds a ride back home with his buddies and a few beers cabs drop us off in groups of threes or fours In Iceland the veil of winter starts falling in late August Men and women stop mowing their yards at midnight Children vacate the playgrounds earlier in the evening abandoning their swingsets to the fierce autumn winds The temperature drops another 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit during the early morning hours as the Arctic sun dips almost completely below the horizon for two- to three-hour stretches I will be heading back to America to face rows of desks and new students and eventually to waves of papers to grade It’s late one night not long before I depart for the States The team is midway through our journey home from another match and I see something outside that causes me to jump out of my seat and shout Stop the bus!” When the bus finally comes to a stop I’m the first one out the door looking up to witness a great swathe of green and purple and red flaring out across the gloaming “the northern lights—they usually appear this time of year.” My teammates and I stare up at the sky and fall into a reflective silence punctuated only by the soft sipping of warm beer in the half-light The Eurobus is currently travelling around the country where experts from Rannís - the Icelandic Research Centre will visit a total of 12 towns and villages and share information about EU funding opportunities via EU programmes managed by Rannís The team will share local success stories of Icelandic participation in EU programmes and projects as well as inform about the many opportunities that exist for Icelandic institutions Akureyri and Reykjanesbær as a part of the Eurobus tour The Eurobus' first stop was in Akranes where Rannís experts held an event about EU funding opportunities provided through Icelandic participation of EU programmes such as Horizon The event was held in the town's innovation centre the chair of the Akranes town council and discussed EU funding to impactful projects in the town as well as the future development of the town and its considerable population growth in the past few years the European Union has contributed some 2.6 million EUR to local projects involved in EU programmes since 2000 This funding has been distributed to projects involving kindergartens as well as to research and innovation projects Ambassador Ganslandt and Mr Valgarður Lyngdal Jónsson Ambassador Ganslandt and Ágúst Hjörtur Ingþórsson at Breið Þróunarfélag The second stop of the Eurobus was in Blönduós a presentation about EU programmes and EU funding opportunities was held in the town's community centre Ambassador Ganslandt was warmly welcomed by the Mayor of the town The Ambassador visited the Icelandic Textile Centre where she was able to admire local textile art and contribute to a tapestry project which has been in the making for over 13 years the art piece will depict important moments of the region's history as described in the Vatnsdælasaga Ambassador Ganslandt had a chance to speak with local residents about EU-Iceland cooperation learn about local success stories of EU funded projects Ambassador Ganslandt contributing to a tapestry project at the Icelandic Textile Centre Ambassador Ganslandt visiting the Textile Lab in Blönduós where Rannís invited residents to listen to presentations about EU funding opportunities over some soup and freshly baked bread in a local café Ambassador Ganslandt visited the Icelandic Regional Development Institute (Byggðastofnun) where she received presentations about Icelandic regional development policies and development projects managed by the institute across the country Sendiherra ESB ásamt forstjóra Byggðastofunar Sendiherra ESB heldur ræðu við opnun súpufundar um Evrópustyrki An event about EU funding opportunities and local success stories was held in the town's beautiful culture centre Ambassador Ganslandt visited the University of Akureyri which has been an active participant in EU educational and research programmes Ambassador Ganslandt met with the university's Rector Sendiherra ESB heimsækir Háskólann á Akureyri Sendiherra ESB heldur ræðu á opnun fundar um Evrópustyrki í Hofinu á Akureyri Ambassador Ganslandt participated also in the Eurobus visit to Reykjanesbær where an event about EU funding opportunities was held in Fjörheimar The President of the Town Council of Reykjanesbær received Ambassador Ganslandt and Deputy Head of the EU Delegation at the Town Hall to discuss the town's expansion and population growth the volcanic eruptions in Reykjanes peninsula and its impact on local communities Sendiherra ESB ásamt Guðnýju Birnu Guðmundsdóttur Sendiherra ESB flytur ræðu á kynningarviðburði um Evrópustyrki í Reykjanesbæ / Ambassador Ganslandt gives a speech at an event about EU funding opportunities in Reykjanesbær Home » Home » Former Florida Tech Soccer Standout Eva Banton Succeeding On Pitch In Sauðárkrókur By  //  July 4 FLORIDA – After finishing up her career at Florida Tech Eva Banton has found a home with Tindastóll Football Club in Sauðárkrókur Florida and Viera High School has started two matches for Tindastóll Banton’s lone goal of the year was the game-winner in her squad’s 2-1 victory over Fylkir on June 2 Banton has enjoyed her time in Sauðárkrókur “The most amazing things about Iceland to me right now are the people and scenery,” said Banton “The people here are so generous and kind and have made me feel at home and like I’m a part of a family.” are beautiful and unlike anything I have ever seen.” Banton was a four-year starter for Florida Tech from 2013-16 She started all 69 games she appeared in her career recording 22 points on nine goals and four assists Banton was a Daktronics Second Team All-South Region selection in 2014 and named to the All-Sunshine State Conference Second Team and NSCAA All-South Region Second Team her junior season in 2015 In her final season with the Crimson and Gray CLICK HERE FOR FLORIDA TECH SPORTS Click Here to Sign Up for Text Alerts these wares seem to be made from the reptilian skin of a snake or a crocodile stands on a side street in Sauðárkrókur damp fjord on Iceland’s northwest coast It’s the only enterprise in Europe that transforms discarded fish skin into sleek leather products It’s also the last bastion of a once-robust Icelandic industry a chemical process that extracts all living matter from an animal’s skin says Sigríður Sigurðardóttir a historian and curator of the Skagafjörður Heritage Museum Tanning was an important practical activity but it was also part of the country’s culture: girls were told that the quality of the first pair of leather shoes they sewed would foretell the quality of their marriages and children who were born on bearskins were said to never feel cold tanning became a small but brisk industry in Iceland with approximately 10 operations employing hundreds throughout the country These tanning factories pickled fox skins and tanned seal skins; they made leather liner for anoraks and sewed gloves so did demand for this labor-intensive product and then turning their skins into wearable clothing “It takes a lot of hands or machines or time and it’s expensive,” says Sigurðardóttir “They didn’t have any market for it Steinunn Gunnsteindóttir and her family found themselves confronting this uncomfortable reality Gunnsteindóttir’s parents had purchased the tannery in the 1970s and started processing sheepskins as well as the newly unstable market in the collapsing Soviet Union the family heard about a Canadian company that made fish leather The family thought that developing this innovative unusual product just might save their tannery They wanted to buy the technique from the Canadians “The first 200 tries were just fish soup Mushy fish soup,” Gunnsteindóttir says Sjávarleður’s products are sold to the high-fashion industry sustainable substitute to snake skin and crocodile skin and their leather was named best in the world at a Hong Kong exhibition in 2013 “Their method for developing fish skins has been revolutionary,” says Tinna Björk Arnardóttir project manager at Innovation Center Iceland which sponsors entrepreneurial projects in the country “For the town it was a bit of a boost as well.” the tannery also still processes sheep and animal hides which it exports to shops around the island All sheepskins stamped with an Icelandic seal come through this tannery although some sheepskins sold in the country are actually imported from Eastern Europe who grew up riding her bicycle through the tannery helps her parents run these two operations if they won’t comb their hair in the morning we’ll just go down to work,” says Gunnsteindóttir which must be combed many times before they’re ready to sell These sheepskins are processed in cavernous rooms workers wearing headphones to drown out the clatter of the machines pull skins off tables; others push lambskin through a sandpaper roll to remove the stain of yellow fat Nearby hang rows of coffee-colored leather; once dry Beyond the sheepskin-processing rooms are the cold rooms About a ton of fish skins come through this room every week Many are purchased from a fish factory in Dalvik a jumble of luminous spotted-wolf fish skins lie on a blue tarp It takes three to four weeks for these skins to transform from food industry refuse into the colorful the skins pass through wooden barrels full of chemicals and finally treated and dyed in one of 4,000 colors These animal skin products make some visitors squeamish but Gunnsteindóttir is adamant in her defense of tanning “I always think it’s funny when people come in and say Those are seven times more toxic than our skins,” says Gunnsteindóttir “Tanning is one of the oldest things to do.” This argument revolves around the fact that tanners but use waste by-products from the food industry—an argument that the historian Sigurðardóttir agrees with “What happens to fish skins if you don’t use them [in the tannery]?” she says “We have a lot of all kinds of skins from all kinds of animals and fish that are thrown away You’re not killing animals to get them That’s part of the reason why the tannery now operates a Gestastofa where visitors can learn about the traditional processes behind the shiny skins in the gift shop helped the tannery set up this center in 2012 She relied on a Canadian model called Économusée which promotes the idea that tourists and locals should learn about how traditional workspaces and artisans operate a local historian who’s chronicled the rise and fall of industries in Iceland the tannery’s model is one worth emulating “They built something new on old knowledge,” she says “If you have to stop the old way of doing things you have to open a new door and take a new turn We depend on ad revenue to craft and curate stories about the world’s hidden wonders Consider supporting our work by becoming a member for as little as $5 a month Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders The town of Sauðárkrókur in North Iceland is enhancing its public pool with a new recreational area including an 11-metre-high water slide and additional facilities The project is a significant investment expected to become a place of leisure and recreation for both children and adults swimming pools are more than just a place for leisure or exercise deeply woven into the fabric of Icelandic culture Read More: Pooling Together (A Deep Dive into Iceland’s Swimming Culture) residents of the town of Sauðárkrókur in North Iceland are understandably excited about the construction of a new recreational area next to the town’s swimming pool The forthcoming recreational area will enhance the current facilities — which currently comprise an outdoor pool, two hot tubs, and a plastic vat for soaking in cold water — with several water slides, including a notable 11-metre-high slide. Work on the expansion began in January of 2021 Listen to Our Podcast: Listen to Iceland Review’s Podcast on Swimming Pool Culture in Iceland it will be a major landmark,” Ingvar Páll added The mayor is equally excited: “We’ve been waiting a long time for this, and as you can see, it’s just a splendid project that we look forward to inaugurating,” Sigfús Ingi Sigfússon, Mayor of Skagafjörður, told Vísir When asked about the total cost of the project Sigfús Ingi admitted that the renovations came at a considerable cost: “Yes including a complete overhaul of the old swimming pool and building around ISK 1.4 billion [$10.2 million/€9.3 million],” Sigfús Ingi stated The mayor hopes that the residents and visitors of the area won’t have to wait much longer for the new swimming pool area to open although he does not want to specify any month or date in this regard email editor email editor by | Aug 1, 2020 | Icelandic Fishing Industry, Latest News Brim’s freezer trawler Viðey which docked in Sauðárkrókur on Monday with 140 tonnes of mainly cod Brim’s freezer trawler Viðey docked in Sauðárkrókur on Monday with a catch of 140 tonnes consisting of mainly good-quality cod caught in the Kolbeinsey area This is the 54 metre deep sea trawler’s first landing of the year in Sauðárkrókur where the catch was tranported overland to Reykjavík for processing “We started fishing in the ‘Nightshop’ in the Víkuráll Gully and had fished out our redfish allocation in record time From there we steamed northwards past the Westfjords and east to the Kolbeinsey area with a couple of short stops on the way The area where we were fishing is around 95 nautical miles from Siglunes Altogether we had around a hundred tonnes of cod,” said this trip’s skipper Kristján E Viðey landed fish several times last year in Sauðárkrókur and Kiddó said that the difference is that this year there have been catches of decent cod later into the summer on Westfjords grounds such as the Hali and Thveráll grounds Now there is small fish there and to find better quality fish they have moved to grounds off the north coast “We’re expecting to be back at sea tonight After that we’ll be heading westwards and back south for a landing in Reykjavík The plan is also to fit a third trawl winch so that we can tow twin-rig trawl gear This change has worked out well for Akurey and now we’re next in the queue,” Kristján E Source: Brim hf +353(0)83 826 8406 (editor) +353(0)83 826 8406 (sales) [email protected] [email protected] If you have a fishing news related story call or WhatsApp Oliver on +353 83 826 8406 or email [email protected] Copyright © 2020 – 2025 The Fishing Daily COMHLACHT CUMARSÁIDE AN tSÁILE TEORANTA (Saltwater Media Company Ltd)Registered Office: No IRL VAT No: IE3718993GH            IRL Company Reg No: 681474Sitemap | Terms & Conditions You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience Bottlenose whale Among the deepest diving whales in the world's oceans We have seen a unusually large number of reports of beached bottlenose whales and other deep ocean whales this summer Scientists have been unable to determine the cause of these deaths Marine biologists in Norway have also noticed an unusually high number of beached deep ocean whales this summer Read more: What's going on with the whales? Yet another bottlenose whale found beached On September 21 the North-West Iceland Natural History Museum NNV received the fifth report of a beached bottlenose whale in Skagafjörður fjord this summer The whale was found dead on Borgarsandur beach near the town of Sauðarkrókur The 3.8 m long animal was removed from the beach before it started to rot as the beach is a popular recreational area for locals a biologist at NNV who has investigated the whales that have washed ashore in Skagafjörður told the National Broadcasting Service earlier this year that it is possible the whales are moving closer to shore to chase schools of fish Others have suggested that NATO military sonar exercises in the North Atlantic might be causing the unusually high number of beached deep ocean whales Do you want to know more about this subject? Please send us a line at icelandmag@365.is Have you had an experience related to the contents of this article? Let us know! Join our weekly hand curated newsletter to have all the latest news from Iceland sent to you Stykkishólmur Stykkishólmur village is located in the western part of Iceland in the northern part of the Snæfellsnes peninsula Hundreds of hotel rooms are scheduled to be constructed in the villages of Stykkishólmur According to Morgunblaðið newspaper’s report a number of individuals have applied for plots of land in Stykkishólmur in order to build more hotels Around 46 new hotels will be constructed throughout the country this year As reported in August last year two five star hotels will open up in the next few years A Mariott hotel is to be constructed next to Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavík Another five star hotel is scheduled to open soon by the Blue Lagoon on the Reykjanes peninsula 2022 Torg ehf. Terms & Privacy Three cruise ships are expected to call on the port of Sauðárkrókur (Skagafjörður) next summer, RÚV reports A total of 10 cruise ships have scheduled calls to the port in the future Major improvements to the harbour have been made in the past years the catch is up by 20% per year in Sauðárkrókur most of which is processed in Sauðárkrókur or shipped for processing elsewhere (a portion is also sold at the local fish market) “FISK Seafood has seen an increase in its catch and Dögun’s shrimp-processing plant is expanding boats from other harbours have been unloading here Port Director Skagafjarðarhafnir (Ports of Skagafjörður) stated the municipality of Skagafjörður is currently updating its land-use plan as it is important for the municipality to receive revenue from the harbour fund The municipality must play its cards right to guarantee increased growth Asked whether the port was capable of receiving large cruise ships There are three ships scheduled next year and a total of ten ships are planning to call on the port over the next few years.” Larger cruise ships will anchor outside the harbour The municipality plans on improving the port in order to accommodate larger cruise ships The exact cost of such an upgrade remains unknown Access to electricity must also be ensured “It’s one of our bigger projects … and there are To ensure that the ships have access to electricity in ports around the country Conducting electricity to the port in Sauðárkrókur has proven a challenge We’re working on laying an underground cable from Varmahlíð to Sauðárkrókur as we speak That will hopefully solve the problem,” Stefánson said The exhibition “1238 The Battle of Iceland,” which opened in Sauðárkrókur has been nominated for the Heritage in Motion Awards This international competition celebrates the most advanced multimedia achievements and innovative use of technology sharing the core values of European heritage in new ways It provides a stage for the creators and producers of films websites and interactive experiences related to Europe’s heritage to showcase innovation “1238 The Battle of Iceland” is an immersive virtual reality exhibition focusing on the Age of the Sturlungs — a period of violent internal strife in Iceland during the mid-13th century visitors take part in the Battle of Örlygsstaðir —one of Iceland’s most fearful battles which shaped Icelandic history and was the beginning of the end of Iceland’s independence which encourages us to continue along the same path,” states Ásgeir Heiðar Ásgeirsson “The Sagas of the Icelanders provide a valuable cultural heritage and endless material from which to create something interesting there is an increasing emphasis worldwide on having museums and exhibitions offer various experiences at that’s where using digital solutions is exciting They will help spread the cultural heritage in a creative and exciting way Our exhibition in Sauðárkrókur is of that nature and could serve as a model for other projects based on a similar foundation.” Ásgeir notes that the exhibition is entirely the work of Icelandic technicians and 3D-designers it has enjoyed much popularity among visitors Heritage in Motion is a joint initiative of the European Museum Academy and Europa Nostra and is empowered by Europeana This year’s winners will be announced September 21 in Venice For a complete list of the nominees, see here Last Friday night, Road and Coastal Administration staff noticed that all 70km/hour [43 mph] speed limit signs on the way to and from Sauðárkrókur had disappeared, Feykir reports as well as one 90km/hour [56 mph] sign by Glaumbær head supervisor of the district branch in Sauðárkrókur some unscrupulous individuals unscrewed the signs from their posts and made them disappear The speed limit on roads leading to and from Sauðárkrókur has recently been lowered from 90 to 70 km/hour These signs alone cost between 2 and 3 hundred thousand I don’t think they have any collection value and it would be a strange obsession to collect such signs,” Rúnar stated that the incident hasn’t been formally reported to the police but they have been in contact with the police It’s happened before that the police have found such missing objects in the unlikeliest of places But that’s the current situation and we hope that the perpetrator will have a change of heart and sneak the signs onto our lot when the nonsense wears off,” Rúnar told Feykir He added that it was not a clever prank to steal traffic signs as they are put up for a reason and the prank might impact traffic safety in the town The traffic signs were recently put up in new locations in Sauðárkrókur in some places changing the speed limit from 90 km/hour to 70 it’s possible that some people weren’t fond of the change They still have some time to return the signs before the incident is reported to the police No fewer than four walruses have wandered over to Iceland so far this year Walruses are not native to the country but since the start of this year individuals have made stops in East Iceland Walruses can be dangerous and readers are warned against approaching them there were some people that stopped to watch him and he seemed to be considering them too.” Yet another walrus spotted in Breiðdalsvík, East Iceland in February turned out to be celebrity walrus Thor who had spent the winter sightseeing around the UK with stops in the Netherlands and France Walruses seen in Iceland generally arrive from the shores of Greenland or from northern Norway but Thor may have travelled from the Canadian Arctic There were no indications that any of the four walruses were the same animal More walrus visits have occurred in Iceland over the past few years. One was spotted on June 17, 2022 in the town of Reyðarfjörður, East Iceland. A GPS tag on the animal revealed that it had swum over from the Faroe Islands. In September 2021, a walrus spotted in Höfn, Southeast Iceland turned out to be Wally the Walrus and the Isles of Scilly (off the UK coast) meaning he had swum over 1,000 km [620 mi] to reach the island Iceland used to be home to a special subspecies of walrus Walrus tusks were considered precious at the time and were sought-after by royalty in Scandinavia and elsewhere such as rising temperatures and volcanic eruptions may have been factors in the animals’ extinction as well Small boat fishermen in Iceland are unhappy with the government’s decision to reduce their cod fishing quota from 10,000 tonnes down to 8,500 for the coming summer season, Vísir reports chairman of the National Union of Small Boat Owners (Landssamband smábátaeigenda) says the government has not provided any data to support the decision and hopes it will be reconsidered A meeting with Fisheries Minister Svandís Svavarsdóttir on the matter was inconclusive Arthúr says he does not know whether the decision to reduce the quota was made in the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture or by the Directorate of Fisheries (Fiskistofa) but the union is working to find out since the decision was made on December 21 the phone at the union office has not stopped ringing the party to which Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Svandís Svavarsdóttir belongs has supported coastal fishermen in the past and worked to improve their conditions The decision comes across as change of direction from the party Arthúr brought up the issue in a meeting with Svandís one week ago He stated that although the discussion went well and the union expects fruitful collaboration with the incoming minister Last year a total of 670 fishermen held coastal fishing licences but the number of fishermen in the field has remained relatively steady since 2009 when the current regulations governing coastal fishing were implemented The regulations permit all fishermen to fish in coastal waters provided they fulfill certain requirements “Certain politicians predicted [coastal fishing] would explode That thousands would sign up and it was best avoided.” However the number of fishermen has fluctuated between 600 and 726 there’s a lot of hard work and sweat and tears mixed in with the romance,” he stated Northwest Iceland’s largest town, Sauðárkrókur, has been without power for over two hours due to extreme weather. Other towns in North Iceland have also faced outages due to power lines being damaged by wind, ice, and snow. A storm bringing hurricane force winds and blizzard conditions is raging across the country and residents and tourists are being advised to stay put until Wednesday evening responsible for Iceland’s electricity transmission reported at 5.50pm that attempts to restore power to Sauðárkrókur’s roughly 2,600 residents had not been successful Staff were on their way to examine the damaged line and attempts to provide reserve power were being considered Northwest Iceland Police’s Tetra radio system, used to communicate with emergency services, is also out of commission due to the storm, RÚV reports the region’s Assistant Police Commissioner stated however that the disturbance did not pose significant problems leaving only one functioning line to power the town As storm conditions are expected to worsen into the night Landsnet employees (seen below) may have a long night ahead of them https://www.facebook.com/landsnet/posts/1027592514241445 Bjarni Jónsson ,Deputy MP for the Left Green Party in Sauðárkrókur says that landing conditions for aircraft in the town are probably the best in the whole of Iceland "We just need to improve equipment and find out what is needed to make it happen," he said to Morgunblaðið Jónsson furthermore put a query forward at Parliament to see what kind of investment would be needed to install an international airport at Sauðárkrókur where the small Alexandersflugvöllur is situated He thinks it's a realistic option to make the airport a secondary airport to Keflavik International Airport for those planes unable to land there Police in North Iceland are advising residents to be on the lookout for a foreign tourist who travels from town to town, knocking on people’s doors, and asking for accommodation. In some cases, the man in question has simply let himself in to people’s homes, RÚV reports Police made the announcement on their Facebook yesterday saying that they have received numerous reports about the man who appears to be on the move; reports have come in from around the Skagafjörður area “He hasn’t committed any crimes but his behaviour is very peculiar,” Chief Superintendent of the Northwest Iceland Police Stefán Vagn Stefánsson The traveler has been pointed in the direction of available guesthouses in the area but has not taken advantage of any of them He is not suspected of committing any crime but police would still like to speak with him “We find it unusual that a tourist would enter someone’s home and announce that they are looking for accommodation,” Stefán said He has advised residents to call the emergency number if he knocks on their door Eymundur Jóhannsson lives with his wife and daughter at Kambastígur a place in most danger of avalanches for the town according to a new report by the Iceland Met Office Despite the danger the family sleep soundly "There was so much snow here when the avalanche came down the mountain We were at home and heard loud thudding noises when the snow hit the building," says Jóhannsson in an interview with Morgunblaðið describing the time an avalanche came down the Nafir hills above Sauðárkrókur on November 18th 2012 Jóhannsson and his family are one of the few people still living in this street under the Nafir hills (Nafirnar) The new danger estimate by the Iceland Met Office avalanche department has been presented to locals and advises against building in the area But our daughter is very perceptive and she feels their presence very strongly Her name is Rósa and she moved here with us The younger of those people stayed back in Árgerði The woman lives somewhere in the hill," explains Jóhannson "We've heard that Rósa's presence is so strong that she appears at séances in Sauðarkrókur," Jóhannson says and smiles adding that his wife and daughter feel the presence of the elves more than he does Sauðárkrókur Gæran Music Festival takes place for the sixth time this weekend Gæran Music Festival takes place in Sauðárkrókur The festival’s main stage is located in a local tannery factory’s warehouse The event kicked off with a solo night on Thursday with the main attractions taking the stage tonight and tomorrow This year’s line-up includes Bjartmar Guðlaugsson Tickets can be bought on site or through Tix.is The population of rural Iceland is shrinking. Since 1998, the northwest (Norðurland vestra) has lost almost 1,000 people—mostly young adults—according to an article published in Feykir in 2013 the population of young adults 35 and under the region has decreased further by 4% With only one menntaskóli in the region in Sauðárkrókur many students leave to pursue their studies elsewhere and many never return to the region after graduating a former business and opportunity consultant for Samtök Sveitarfélaga á Norðurlandi vestra (SSNV) “There aren’t too many applicable jobs or employment opportunities here in the region This is a farming and agricultural community,” he says “employment opportunities for those who have a university degree are very limited.” The decreasing trend of Norðurland Vestra’s population is a striking contrast to the increasing one in the Capital Region, where there was an increase of 3,850 inhabitants in the 2nd quarter of 2017, as reported María Björk Ingvadóttir, former Leisure Director at the Municipality of Skagafjörður, reported in Feykir that the focus of rural communities has not been specifically on the youth and that measures should be taken to strengthen the desirability of the area as a more suitable place to live “We need more variety in jobs here in the area,” says Hanna Dóra Björnsdóttir principal of Skagafjörður’s Varmahlíðarskóli “Our area needs to be able to offer young people the same opportunities that they can have in other places.” According to Hanna the average salary in the region is lower than in other areas a contributing factor to the decreasing population is the below average income which plays a part in a lower demand for arts education Music and theatre survive through private classes and school plays but instruction of other mediums has fallen by the wayside “In terms of specialized mediums like writing there are very limited options,” says Magnús “We have a lack of creative possibilities because we don’t have many people and sometimes when it comes to funding it can be difficult to turn ideas into realities,” she says The arts are often the first to be cut and evaporate from a community associate professor for the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies at the University of Copenhagen and author of the book Islensk menningarpolitik (Icelandic Cultural Politics) cultural activity is a surplus,” says Bjarki “but these are not life-threatening categories we need to take care of our bodies,” but they sometimes forget about their souls That’s an indication of how things are kind of perceived in terms of what’s important in society.” financial limitations often become embedded in the mindset of people every monetary value created is of more importance but it would be to our benefit to re-educate ourselves in terms of what is valuable and what is not in a society,” says Magnús Measures are being taken to combat the declining population Offices like Byggðastofnun are working to create new opportunities; every year they offer grants for new businesses focusing on entrepreneurs aged 35 and under Schools like Varmahlíðarskóli are also working to integrate additional art classes into their curriculum and furthering their reach into the community with music performances and plays “I think we could do a much better job,” he says “There’s still more want and need among young people here than is being offered There needs to be a spectrum of opportunities,” he says Tourism may also be contributing to the problem “With tourism now blossoming in the area the focus diverts from creative extracurricular activities to the management of tourism or farming or the services around farming,” says Magnús “Though I do hope that we do not place monetary value on everything we do here.” The survival of a community requires long-term vision and impetus as well as in many rural communities throughout Iceland developing a wide range of employment opportunities for university graduates is as critical as generating interest in a variety of subjects for students you really want to contribute to society through that education,” says Bjarki “If that is not a possibility because of a lack of opportunities that speak to your profession If there is an absence of a long-term vision that prioritizes diverse employment opportunities small communities like those in Norðurland vestra are at risk of continued population decline Hólmavík village Sixty students from North Iceland were left stranded on the road north of Hólmavík last night due to flooding A group of sixty students from Sauðárkrókur Grammar School are marooned on the road north of Hólmavík village, northwest Iceland. Yesterday’s heavy rain caused the Steingrímsfjarðarheiði road just north of Hólmavík, to break apart, leaving the bus stranded for the night. The students had spent the weekend in Ísafjörður in the Westfjords, and were travelling back home to Sauðárkrókur, north Iceland, reports RÚV It was deemed unsafe to turn back due to heavy winds on the Steingrímsfjarðarheiði mountain road and search and rescue units considered it too dangerous to attempt to ferry the passengers off the bus in the dark The students and their teachers were therefore forced to spend the night in the bus Local residents were able to get food and refreshments to the group yesterday The students are unharmed and safe and warm Read more: The macabre necropants, made from dead man's skin, on display in Hólmavík The heavy rain yesterday caused some havoc in West Iceland Clogged storm drains left many roads flooded in Ísafjörður Rescue crews were busy with calls about flooded roads and basements while inhabitants worked to clear debris from drains to prevent flooding