The most famous travel book
Jón Ólafsson, called “Indíafari” (the India traveller) (4 November 1593 – 3 May 1679), was a farmer’s son from Svarthamar in Álftafjörður in the Westfjords. At the age of twenty-two he set off on a journey that lasted eleven years. Much later, at the age of 68, he wrote a unique travel book, Æfisaga Jóns Ólafssonar Indíafara (The life of Jón Ólafsson, India traveller).
This painting of the Battle of Køge Bay in 1677 shows Danish warships similar to the Perlen (the Pearl), on which Jón Ólafsson sailed from India
In his travel book Jón tells of his incredible adventures and travels in Europe and Asia. He became a gunner for King Christian IV, and in His Majesty’s service he travelled far and wide, to Svalbard and the White Sea in Russia, and also round the Cape of Good Hope in 1622 and on to India. On the voyage he saw North Africa, which he called Barbary, the Canary Islands, South Africa, Madagascar and the island groups off the east coast of Africa, Sri Lanka and finally south-eastern India, in the Danish colony of Tranquebar, where the Danes had a fort. On the way home Jón stopped in Ireland. It is fascinating to read a 17th-century man’s description of ways of life on distant continents, and not least in Denmark at that time.
After Jón returned home he became one of Iceland’s leading gunners. He was at Bessastaðir at the time of the Turkish Raid in 1627 and nearly sank one of the pirates’ ships.
Æfisaga Jóns Ólafssonar Indíafara is the Highlight of the month for August and is shown here in both an Icelandic and an English edition.
| In Icelandic: |  Part 1 |
Part 2 |
Part 3 |
Part 4 |
| In English: |  Part 1 |
Part 2 |
Part 3 |
Part 4 |