Husavik was a stop where we had no excursion books. The sun was shining. Susan had booked a spa morning so I set out to see what I could.
The Whale Museum was interesting and featured the skeleton of a huge blue whale that had washed ashore some years earlier. There were plenty of bones and skeletons but no animals were sacrificed to obtain them. They were all from beached animals. If only I had remembered that it was a blue whale - as that came up in a trivia quiz. We tied with several other teams but would have won if we'd chosen "Blue" instead of "Humpback" whale as one answer.
After that I walked up - of course up - to the Husavik Museum which is also a public library. They had interesting displays of everyday items and life in the past. There was also a great display of fishing gear and small boats and three mannequins dressed as fishermen. Each one was wearing mittens - with a difference. Not only did they have thumbs, but also a smaller "thumb" for the little finger. This makes them more useful for the fisherman to keep his hands warm and still have enough dexterity for the job he was doing. I don't recall seeing any such mitts in shops but I suppose the fishermen's wives or mothers made them.
In the afternoon Susan joined me for a while and then we wandered separately again, but there wasn't much more to see. Each town seems to have a nice playground and each playground features a permanent "bouncy" thing. It's right on the ground but works like a bouncy castle.
That night we crossed the Arctic Circle at 66 North and had free drinks on the pool deck as we counted down to the position of the circle. The actual latitude and position varies somewhat. It was really chilly but fun and we were all awarded certificates for having made the crossing. Fun!
No comments:
Post a Comment