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REKAVIK bak HOFN

Region: Westfjords
Coordinates: 66.4021° N 22.4099° W

This is a small cove between the large bird cliff Haelavikurbjarg and Mt. Hafnarfjall and a part of a bigger cove called Hornvik. In earlier times, the small farm Rekavik stood on the cove. Life was hard for those who lived there as everywhere else in the Northwest.

People could not survive by farming alone, and caught birds and collected eggs from the cliffs. When the weather permitted, they used their small, open rowing boats to catch fish of the coast. This part of the country is totally abandoned and is one of the most popular hiking areas nowadays.

On May 2nd, 2011, at 9 O’clock a.m., the captain of a fishing boat reported the sighting of a polar bear at cove Haelavik, and that it had disappeared into the fog in the surrounding slopes. There were no travellers in the area at the time, but search and rescue services prevented a group of people from going there until the problem had been solved. The weather conditions improved and a helicopter could track the bear to cove Rekavik, where it was shot about five hours after it was spotted. It was a 3-4 years old she-bear weighing about 150 kilogrammes.

WESTFJORDS & STRANDIR SAGA TRAILS