|
The
Ofeigur Bay is divided into three fiords, furthest east the Ingolfsfiord,
in the middle Ofeigsfiord, and furthest west Eyvindarfiord.
Those fiords were named after three brothers, the sons of the
Norwegian Herraudur White Cloud (hvitasky), who settled there.
According to the land registry of 1706 the farm in Ofeigsfiord
was abandoned, but soon afterwards it was re-inhabited.
The register also states, that the most important advantages of
the property were seal hunting, driftwood collecting and processing,
eiderdown and the winter grazings on the shoreline.
The greatest disadvantages were the long and hard winters and the
long and dangerous way to the nearest church.
The farm was abandoned in the sixties, but the driftwood and the
eider colonies are exploited every summer.
The
eiderdown is mainly collected on the islet Hrutey just off the headland
Hruteyjarnesmuli, and also around the farmhouses.
Sustenance fisheries were also practiced during the centuries and
the shark fishing was an important enterprise until 1915.
The shark fishing boat Ofeigur, now on display in the Folks’
Museum at Reykir on the Hruta Bay, was used for wood transport until
1933. During
Catholic times a prayer chapel stood in Ofeigsfiord.
Some geothermal activity was spotted in two places on the
property.
Nowadays
travellers use the nice camping grounds in Ofeigsfiord.
Hikers in the northern Strandir area use them in the beginning or
at the end of their hiking tours.
The closest you get to Ofeigsfiord by car is Eyri on Ingolfsfiord,
but a 4wd track continues all the way. |