Wet day in the Alps
Millybrown
Mark Hillmann
Thu 19 Jun 2008 13:09
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Not really, but with snow on the mountains
just above the town and the colourful
buildings Seydisfjorder has the distinct feeling of an alpine ski
resort on one of those days when the weather is too bad to get up the hill -
but flooded to about 2,000m. All the creative writing below is
because the rain keeps me in the cabin.
The houses here are timber frame ones from Norway,
similar in style but different construction to the Faroes where they all have
in-situ concrete walls. Both have the bright and varied colours, much of
it coated steel sheeting.
This picture is the East of Iceland Technical
Museum based around the old Johanns Hanssonar boatyard.
 I had heard of this yard in England, where the
British trawlers would bring boats needing major repairs: "My engine needs
fixing, I will go across to Iceland". Now I believe they take them to
Denmark - much the same as popping down to the local Ford
dealer.
I went in and looked round yesterday, it shows post
1880 development and is staffed by a holiday student in the summer seasonal
way. Needing a weight to sink my
watermaker, I went back today and the director came out of his office and we
rummaged around for something the right weight. I said Lorna did
cataloguing for the Tullie House museum in Carlisle; now if she wants to
catalogue the entire contents of this grey shed... It is full
too.
You can see the large areas of blue
behind the buildings. They grow across the lower slopes here and are regarded as
a weed. When I first saw it, I could only think it was a blue rock, but
no, it is lupins, healthy and in full flower. Round some older
gardens you get head high flowering rhubarb, so the weather must be warmer than
this usually.
Just round the corner there is a sculpture in
cables. The plaque gives its phone number and says it was erected in
2006 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first telegraph cable from
Scotland to Iceland.
I have had success with gas here, they have the
same small propane bottle that fits in the boat gas locker but Calor does not
supply in the UK. In Norway we got one, the smallest propane
bottle instead of the largest camping gaz bottle which also available
here: Could someone tell their web site and help desk back
home?
Also success with battery charging: With a
big alternator, voltage has always come straight up to 14v with the engine
running. Here the cabin heater is started each time I start the
engine to keep the snow out. I began to think something was wrong as
the voltage was low and dropped again quickly. But no, I tightened
the fan belt and it is all OK again.
Oh - a couple of messages to Adam: The sound
system is working, with the mp3 player currently providing the Dalston male
voice choir through the stereo, and although they had the
most snow here last winter for many years, it has not inspired the ski
area above Seydisfjorder to stay open in July. Snow board not
needed.
Reading this again it uses "I" on land when
there is no crew, but "we" at sea. May I assure Lorna that all my efforts
to recruit a young blond Icelandic girl crew have been unsuccessful. Milly
Brown is alive at sea and "we" seems natural.
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