back on the island, after many years. Hildur and Simmi come by and pick Loki and I up late in the evening to catch the 2330 ferry from Árskógsandur. they bought the house of the old Czech priest who died some years back to use as a summer retreat. ever since the fish-packing plant closed down in 1999, the regular population of the island has been slowly replaced by now about 40% of the houses as part-time inhabitants.
the first person settling in the fjord from the 800’s was Helgi The Lean who sent Steinólfur The Short to build the farm called Sythstibaer on the island. Many famous characters lived at Sythstibaer including Thorvaldur The Ancient, Narfi Thrándarson, and Jörundur The Shark-catcher. in the mid-19th century, Norwegians used the island as a based for salt-herring production, later taken over by Swedes at the beginning of the 20th century. this activity is the reason for the existence of the present village. there are still small fishing boats operating from the island, along with cod and mussel farming and the national animal quarantine center which provide present livelihoods for the 200 inhabitants.
Loki and I take a walk around town, checking out the new playground (which makes innovative use of old fishing nets), the new breakwater, and the old hut where we spent several summer holidays in. we took a quick look at Alda’s house, next door, to see that it is not in good repair, and the little hot-house rose garden that she was so proud of, is slowly dying.