Hofn/ Eastfjords

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Located on a peninsula in southeast Iceland, Hofn means “harbor,” and this small fishing port is surrounded on three sides by the sea. Rounding Iceland’s southeast side, we traveled along the Eastfjords today, a little-visited region of forests, farms, scenic coastline and picturesque fishing villages, backdropped by snowcapped mountains. In the town of Djupivogur (1 hr 22 min from Hofn), we stopped to admire the Eggs of Merry Bay, one of Iceland’s most unusual sculptures. Created in 2009 by Icelandic artist Sigurdur Gudmundsson, it consists of 34 large-scale egg replicas representing 34 bird species found in the area, each one mounted on a platform along the harbor. We took a scenic walk along the coast near Alftafjordur Fjord, then strolled around a historic fishing town, learning about life in a small village where tradition and livelihoods center on the sea.



The last leg of the day took us toEgilsstaðir (1 hr 30 min from Djupivogur). The town is young, even by Icelandic standards where urbanization is a fairly recent trend compared to mainland Europe. It was established in 1947 as an effort by the surrounding rural districts recognizing it had become a regional service center.

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