Vigur

Vigur is one of three islands in Ísafjarðardjúp. The island is long an narrow and gets its name from the shape, Vigur means spear. The island's unique wildlife has been a popular tourist attraction.

Puffins, eiders, guillemoths and arctic terns are this island's magnets, and they are all abundant. Indeed, as the puffins, which nest in burrows, have dug through much of the island's soil, travellers have to follow a certain path to avoid falling into one. This small bird, by some dubbed the penguin of the north, is a clumsy flier but impresses visitors by artfully stacking its beak full of sand eel or small fish, carrying it home to its hungry chicks. Being the opposite of the hospitable humans that live on the island, the Arctic terns fight to keep intruders away. Luckily, a stick held above the head does the trick. Eiders and humans share a mutual beneficence; eiders get protecion by nesting in close vicinity of the people, who collect the precious down from the eider nests.

In Vigur you find the smallest post office in Iceland, as well as the only windmill and beautifully renewed houses.

To get to Vigur, there is a daily boat tour from Ísafjörður.