Reykjavík Grapevine - 17.07.2009, Qupperneq 42

30
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 10 — 2009
Licensing and
registration of travel-
related services
The Icelandic Tourist Board issues licences to tour operators and travel agents,
as well as issuing registration to booking services and information centres.
Tour operators and travel agents are required to use a special logo approved
by the Icelandic Tourist Board on all their advertisements and on their Internet
website.
Booking services and information centres are entitled to use a Tourist
Board logo on all their material. The logos below are recognised by the
Icelandic Tourist Board.
List of licenced Tour
Operators and Travel
Agencies on:
visiticeland.com
1100.- kr
The Kimi Summer Fun tour around Iceland
was such a blast last year that the good
people behind the fierce Akureyri label
decided to do it again, with twice the
intensity, twice the band and eight times
the love. This summer sees the tour circling
Iceland in all sorts of confusing ways,
offering up some of the country’s finest
techno/indie/rock/pigfuck/acts in towns
they’re seldom seen.
To celebrate the tour, the label’s
decided to give out a free compilation
featuring tracks from all the bands
performing. Thirteen free tracks, a whole
compilation at the click of a mouse! Tracks
by Sudden Weather Change, Reykjavík!,
Prins Póló, Retro Stefson, Skakkamanage,
Miri, Skakkamanage, Swords of Chaos
and FM Belfast. And a print-outable cover!
This is exciting, right? Well, wait no further,
head on to www.grapevine.is and
download some love.
kiMi RECORdS

kimirecords
This Issue’s Free Track ALBUM: KIMI
ROSTER SUMMER FUN!
ALBUM OF
THE ISSUE
Download your
free copy at
grapevine.is
MUSiC
&
NiGhT
LiFE
Puffin Party
Sailing out to see Iceland’s most beloved birds
Puffin Express brings you to the
forefront of puffin life with their daily
rides out to Akurey Island, which is
just a short distance from Reykjavík
Harbour. The business, which is sixteen
years old, employs a fifty-year-old ferry,
which is said to be the oldest in the
harbour area. The company, a group of
people from the same small town in the
Westfjords, prides itself in a “quiet, up
close, and personal” experience with
the puffins, as manager Hjörtur told
me.
Puffin may of course be seen in large
amounts in practically every store in
Reykjavík, their faces adorning t-shirts,
coffee mugs, and keychains of all styles
and sizes. Their shiny orange beaks
extend from their puffed white cheeks,
a quality that will garner reactions
usually reserved for newborns.
“Ooohh” and “awww,” in particular.
The puffin, Iceland’s most common
bird, has that certain draw that makes
adults and children alike all gooey and
cooey. And what could be better than
getting closer to that cute little bird you
wish you could hug?
I got to experience the closeness
on a beautiful Thursday afternoon as
I caught the last Puffin Express ride
of the day at 16:30. The ride out to the
island was pleasant, as I was almost
lulled to sleep by the slight rocking of
the boat, the sunshine, and the pristine
green-blue waters. Small black dots
started to form in the distance, and we
came upon the first puffin. The group
of twenty or so people flocked to one
side of the boat, cameras in position.
The “ooohhs” and “awwws” began.
I surrendered, helpless, and cooed over
them along with the others. Puffins
seemed to innately do that to people
(or so I told myself). Suddenly, what
started as a lone puffin soon stretched
in to thousands as we approached the
island.
There they were, bobbing up in
down among the waves, flying in great
groups above the water, and standing,
checking out the boat from the rocky
terrain of their homeland. The captain,
Sævar, turned off the engine of the
boat a few times so that the water grew
still, and we could float along silently,
and get even closer to the puffins.
Hjörtur told us the facts along the way,
pointing out the holes that act as the
puffins' own “little apartment.” Those
holes have two rooms, you know.
Smart puffins.
The delighted reactions to the puffins
continued well in to the ride back as
most of the passengers looked over
their recently snapped photos. I felt
satisfied with my up close experience
with the puffins, and browsed through
my own photos as well. Almost like a
doting new mother.
Travel | Activity
located at Reykjavík harbour
Adults: 3000 ISK Children: 1500 ISK
www.puffinexpress.is
Four Rides Daily
JOyCE GUzOWSki
CAThARiNE FULTON
höRðUR SVEiNSSON
“I surrendered, helpless,
and cooed over them”