Iceland review - 2015, Page 65

ICELAND REVIEW 63
THE MISTS OF FLATEY
It’s about to clear up,” says Iceland Review editor and pho-
tographer Páll Stefánsson confidently. Mechanic, house
builder, travel enthusiast and all-round-man Ingvar (Ingi)
Sveinbjörnsson is not as confident. He knows his home turf:
Húsavík, Skjálfandi bay and Flatey island—which is where we’re
headed.
COMING HOME
The fog is dense and our surroundings are dominated by differ-
ent shades of gray. It’s hard to see where the sky ends and the
sleek ocean surface begins. On a clear day, Flatey can be seen
from Húsavík, and apparently its contrast to the mountains on
land is breathtaking. Now that Húsavík—the North Iceland
town heralded as Europe’s whale watching capital—has disap-
peared into the mist behind us, my sense of direction has gone.
The birds, Arctic terns and puffins hunting for sand eel around
the boat, don’t seem confused, though, and neither does our
captain—he knows exactly where his sanctuary is located.