Reykjavík Grapevine - 13.07.2018, Blaðsíða 54
54 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 12 — 2018
The island of Grímsey is the only place
in Iceland that’s on the Arctic Circle.
Getting there was quite the journey.
We left Reykjavik at 2:30am to arrive
in Dalvík in time for the 9am ferry,
which arrived at Grímsey at noon. It
was an energy-drink filled and sleep-
less night, but we eventually made it to
this mysterious island.
It was foggy when we docked in the
harbour, right in the ‘downtown’ area
of Grímsey. The fog gave our arrival on
the island a strangely beautiful feel.
Like many aspects of this far flung is-
land, it felt authentically Icelandic.
Tern, tern, tern
We were driven to our guesthouse,
which is owned by Arctic Trips’ own-
er Halla Ingólfsdóttir and located in
a picturesque location in Grímsey’s
southern reaches. The house sits on
the island’s single main road facing
a stunning cliff, with views over the
serene ocean to the fjords and moun-
tain peaks of North Iceland on the
horizon. As I walked around outside,
hundreds of Arctic terns circled in the
sky above me, which necessitated hav-
ing to carry a large stick above my head
when I walked outside. These birds are
famous for dive-bombing people, and
aim for the highest point. Better the
stick than my head.
Although Grímsey is by far the most
isolated place that I’ve ever visited,
it’s still as normal as can be, with a
functional 4G network, a restaurant,
store, and—like any Icelandic village—
a swimming pool. However, perhaps
unsurprisingly, the wind-battered
Grímsey has no trees.
Island fortress
The night of the Summer Solstice, I
joined the locals around midnight on
a boat tour around the island. The lo-
cals were fully clad in rain jackets and
clutched beer cans as they climbed on
board the tiny ship. I clung to the rail-
ing as we made our way around the
island, and I was able to fully witness
the beauty of Grímsey. This is how I
crossed the Arctic Circle for the first
time in my life.
Grímsey looks entirely different from
the sea, where the many cliffs give the
island the feeling of a fortress. Thou-
sands of puffins, razorbills, and arctic
terns nest in the cliffs. Seagulls and
arctic terns flew above the boat, ever
so close to our faces, and I saw jellyfish
in the ocean below. As the boat swayed
back and forth, spraying salt water ev-
erywhere, I couldn’t help but think how
lucky I was to be one of the few people
in the world who get to visit Grímsey.
The sparkling sea
My last night was blessed with perfect
sunshine. This meant clear blue skies,
a perfect horizon of the distant moun-
tains of the mainland, and yellow flow-
ers blooming all over the landscape of
this treeless island. The evening was
spent in the local schoolhouse, which
also serves as a community centre in
Grímsey.
Later that night I was taken on a
classic slow drive (or “rúntur,” in Ice-
landic) to the northern part of the is-
land by some friends I’d made earlier
in the night. The sun painted the sky a
vibrant orange above the sparkling sea
as we drove the bumpy dirt road. Two
in the morning really is the best time
to see Grímsey.
Even the horses
are friendly
We got out of the car and were imme-
diately confronted by friendly horses.
They eagerly surrounded me, nudg-
ing my hand, clearly expecting food,
having become accustomed to receiv-
ing bread. Óskar the horse decided to
nibble on my hand instead. Along with
the friendly horses, lambs and rams
dotted the peaceful cliffs, with many
burrowing into cliffside dugouts to
shelter from the wind.
If you want to go somewhere where
all of the problems of the world feel
far away, there is no better place than
Grímsey. Being on Grímsey made
me question my city living ways, and
forced me to live life at a slower, more
simple pace. Grímsey is easily reach-
able by plane or ferry, and if you wish
to fulfill your bucket list goal of cross-
ing into the Arctic Circle, you can do
so while in Iceland. You can even buy a
certificate to prove it. In the year 2047,
however, the Arctic Circle will no lon-
ger cross Grímsey—but it will remain
amazing place to visit.
Distance from
Reykjavík:
480 km
Trip provided by:
arctictrip.is
Ferry provided by:
samskip.is
Car provided by:
gocarrental.is
How to get there:
Drive north the
Dalvík to take the
ferry, or fly from
Akureyri
An
Island
Unto
Themselves
A solstice adventure on the Arctic Circle island
of Grímsey
Words: Juliana Iluminata Wilczynski Photos: Art Bicnick
A kind of Hitchcock's scenario
1:05 AM - on Grímsey, Sun never goes down these days