August 8, 1999
After turning south I rode past several farms and then turned inland and climbed up and around the back of a high headland. Then down and into the small town of Kopasker, pop 150, maybe. Kopasker was badly damaged by a magnitude 7 earthquake in the 1970's, so most of the town is fairly new. The church and museum/library sit a short distance from town (right). Entering the museum I was met by the days
attendant. As often happens, I was the only visitor and so I got a guided tour of the museum and was invited to sit and have coffee and cookies afterwards. Here, I found out about the jokullaup of a few days earlier. It had washed the bridge over the river Sandur out to sea (floated past town, yesterday).
Kopasker's church and museum/library
Among the usual tools and household items the museum had a nice collection of
locally made textiles, 3 excellent Bunader, hundreds of leather bound books that a
local farmer hand bound by himself and a horse drawn hand pump fire engine (with
optional ski attachments) purchased by the town in 1943.
Close-up of the gold thread embroidery on the bunad shown to the left
