Iceland review - 2015, Page 68

66 ICELAND REVIEW
summer solstices is attributed, made Arnargerði to calculate the
position of the sun and stars. “Constructing it must have taken a
huge effort and many years at a time when people only had the
shoulder blades of horses to dig with,” Örlygur speculates. “Our
Great Wall of China.”
MICE AND MEN
The inviting smell from Ingunn’s BBQ and a rumbling stomach
jerk me back to the present. It’s time for dinner. Up on a hill
with a view of the harbor, Krosshús, Ingi and his family’s origi-
nal house where they spend their summers, is a retreat in their
own private paradise. Built in 1938, the house has been lovingly
renovated and decorated down to the smallest detail. Ingunn
shows me photo albums documenting the work in progress,
from back in 2000 when Ingibjörg was just a baby. “Remember
how annoyed mom was when the mice got into the kitchen cup-
boards, scattering flour everywhere?” Helga laughs. Gradually
the mice were shut out, a patio built, an extension erected, walls
replaced, insulation implemented… Ingunn even painted an old
tractor, which had been left to rust in the yard, red and green;
changing it from an eyesore to ornament.
Two men—wedding guests—approach and Ingunn hands
them the keys to Sólborg, giving them instructions. “Only flush
the toilet after number two, to save the rainwater.” More and
more boats are coming in. “We saw blue whales on the way
here,” the men excite. “One of them had a calf!” Skjálfandi bay
is teeming with marine life and business is booming for the
Húsavík whale watching companies. Some of their tours include
Flatey. This summer, cruise ship Ocean Diamond is circling
Iceland, making a stopover on the island, and Ingibjörg—who
also works for one of the whale watching companies—serves as
their guide.
NATURE’S SURPRISES
It’s time to leave. For a while it seemed as if the fog would
clear, but now it’s thickening again—proving the photographer
wrong. As Flatey is about to disappear into the mist behind us
and the surroundings have turned as monotonous as before, a
fountain of air and water erupts from the ocean. “A whale,” Ingi
says matter-of-factly, slowing down the boat. In front of us a
curved back and a fin surfaces and our captain quickly recogniz-
es the species. “It’s a blue whale.” Although only a tiny fraction
of the largest animal that has ever evolved on this planet—which
can grow up to 30 meters (98 feet) in length and weigh as much
as 180 tons—is visible, the sight is astonishing. Without being
spooked by our presence, the whale keeps a safe distance, going
under then resurfacing, diving under the boat, then turning
over, showing us part of its rippled underside and a flipper. Busy
feeding, the whale neither lets itself be disturbed by us, nor the
Artic terns around it.
Carrying on to Húsavík, I ruminate on the experiences I’ve
had on our half-day voyage: a mystery island, striking birds and
a massive but gentle creature… nature is full of surprises. *
TRAVEL
A blue whale
surfaces in Skjálfandi
bay; Arctic terns
hover above.