Iceland review - 2004, Page 86

84 ICELAND REVIEW
TOUCHING THE ARCTIC
In the far stretches of the North Atlantic Ocean lies the small island of Grímsey. This tiny dot on
the world map has one claim to fame: it is Iceland’s northernmost point and the only part of
the country on the Arctic Circle. This remote and very special place is the home of some 100 peo-
ple who all make their living from fishing. A living that’s so good that the population enjoys
one of the best incomes in the whole of Iceland. On the other hand, winters are hard to endure.
The island’s location means that the cold season is dark 22 hours of the day. Storms make trans-
port to and from the island unreliable. Summers however are vivid with endless white nights
and millions of nesting sea birds perched on rugged cliffs. This is the perfect time to experience
the mystical allure of Grímsey, an island so small that it only takes a few hours to circle its rocky
shoreline by foot. All of these photographs were taken by Páll Stefánsson at Summer Solstice,
the brightest night of the year. AMB
IR_Grimsey 11.6.2004 11:55 Page 84