Iceland’s northernmost isle

The island on the Arctic Circle

On Grimsey, people live in harmony with nature.

TEXT: Eyglo Svala Arnarsdottir PHOTOS: Benjamin Hardman

I board the Norlandair Twin Otter plane at Akureyri Airport and prepare for the flight to Grimsey, Iceland’s northernmost inhabited island. The view of Eyjafjordur fjord keeps me glued to the window and suddenly I notice the shape of the green island on the Arctic Circle. In an area of little more than 5 km2 (1.93 sq mi), 40 km (25 mi) north of the Icelandic mainland, approximately 80 people reside year-round. Fishing is their livelihood.

Summer solstice is fast approaching, the longest day of the year. At the end of June, the sun seen from Grimsey doesn’t set, but touches the ocean and rises again. In the early hours of the morning I stroll from the guesthouse to the harbour. A father and son from the island have invited me to go fishing with them. It’s calm and bright, and only the shrieks of the Arctic tern break the silence. Through centuries islanders have picked eggs from nests for food, and still today, they lower themselves off cliffs in ropes to reach the nests of seabirds.

We head out to sea. Grimsey looks grand, rising from the waves. Seagulls swarm around the boat in hope of cut-offs, and puffins with their multicoloured beaks flap their wings frantically before they land beside us. The fishermen get down to business, hauling golden cod up from the depths of the ocean. In the distance we see humpbacks blow.

What we don’t see is the mainland. I wonder whether life in such isolation isn’t difficult but the islanders I speak with wouldn’t live anywhere else. To them, the silence and closeness to nature is life itself.

Getting there:

Grimsey

Akureyri

Keflavik Reykjavik

Air Iceland Connect offers flights to Grimsey from Akureyri Airport in partnership with Norlandair; daily in June, five times a week in July and August and thrice weekly at other times. airicelandconnect.com

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