The Abandoned Village of Hesteyri

Today we are docked in Ísafjörður, in the northwest part of Iceland.  We were incredibly lucky with the gorgeous sunny weather this morning, as we set off in a small boat for the hour-long trip out to the abandoned village of Hesteyri -- a fascinating, lonely, and beautiful place in the Jökulfirðir -- a system of five fjords north of Ísafjörður, which can only be reached by boat.

The village used to have a population of about 80 people who made their living at a whaling station that operated there until 1915, when whaling was made illegal in Iceland.  The station was then used as a herring factory until the 1940's when people began to move away due to diminishing numbers of fish in the area.

Today, the old whaling station has fallen to ruin, but there are still a number of the original houses as well as the old school house (seen in this image) and the graveyard. 

It is a wild and beautiful place with only Arctic foxes, seals, and nesting birds as permanent residents.  We hiked up to a beautiful waterfall, visited the old graveyard, and stopped in at the Doctor's house which is still used in the summer months as basic accommodation for campers and hikers.