Djupivogur, Iceland has decided to slow down.  Its four hundred residents have opted to join the Cittaslow movement.  Cittaslow started in Italy and grew out of the slow food movement.  Membership is open to towns of under 50,000.  The goals are to slow down the pace of life, resist homogenization, promote cultural diversity, and improve the quality of life and health of residents.  Much of the charm of Djupivogur is that there is not a lot to do if you are looking for traditional tourist attractions, but there is a lot, if you slow down, walk a little, talk to folks, and keep your eyes open.

When you get off the tender kids selling rocks greet you.  They’re hand painted.  They also sell bookmarks and handmade bracelets.  These are your souvenirs of the town.  The town does not hand out tourist maps, but the kids will draw one for you if you ask.

There is the “Liberty” monument dedicated to Hans Jonatan, born into slavery in 1784 on St. Croix in, what was then the Danish West Indies.  His owners moved to Copenhagen and brought him and his half sibling with them.  He escaped and joined the Danish Navy where he participated with bravery in the 1801 battle of Copenhagen.  The British attacked the Danish fleet to prevent them from allying with France.  He won a commendation from Crown Prince Fredrick which included the Crown Prince granting him his freedom.   His (former) owners sued saying that he was their property.  They won and intended to ship him back to the West Indies.  He escaped again.  No one knows how he ended up in Djupivogur, but by 1812 he was working for the Danish trading company and was the country’s first recorded Black resident.  By 1819 he was running its operation in Djupivogur.  In 1820 he married an Icelandic woman, and they have over one thousand living decedents in Iceland today.  There have been several books written about him and a musical produced in Icelandic.

After visiting the “Liberty” artwork dedicated to Jonatan you can walk past Eggin í Gleðivík, an art installation of thirty-four granite eggs lining Merry (Happy) Bay.  Artist Sigurdur Guomundsson created them.  Each egg represents a different nesting bird from the area. 

As you look at the egg you can look out into the bay and see some of the birds. 

If you walk far enough you reach Æðarstein Lighthouse.  It isn’t grand, only ten meters (33 feet) high.  If you wish you can climb it.

Or you could have a coffee and Icelandic pastry, as we did, at Langabúð, the town’s oldest building, built in 1790.  There is no need to rush.

The highlight was Tankurinn.  Our Cruise Director told us it was a tank that used to hold urine.  The name makes it sound that way, but he was pulling our legs.  Tankurinn is Icelandic for “The Tank,” just as Posturinn is “The Post Office.”  The tank was built to hold cod liver oil but is now a small performing arts venue.

Before we arrived, a local woman put a pallet on the floor for a stage, lit some candles, set up some chairs to let what would happen, happen.  What happened was people came and sang.  Several of the entertainers from the cruise ship gave impromptu concerts, including Iris Kroes, a Dutch singer.  She also led us in singing notes, cutting us off and listening to the decay in the chamber.

We did not rush to get off the ship, we waited until open tendering, and we didn’t rush to get back on, we were on one of the last tenders back.  In between, we enjoyed a sunny day at a human pace.  And if it were not so sunny we would have enjoyed the local museum.  It was just too nice to go inside (except into the cod liver oil tank.) 

As an extra bonus, fog rolled in during sail out.