Into the Arctic

The festival in Akureyri went on well into the wee hours of the morning last night; right outside my apartment window. And of course, I had to be up early. My day started with the Akureyri airport and a flight to Grimsey Island, where I would officially cross the arctic divide. I wasn’t sure how airport security was in Iceland so I made sure to pull all the water out of my pack and set off into the airport. There was nobody at the check-in counter so I walked right up, got my ticket, and went towards the departure area to go through security. But wait; there’s no airport security! Like none at all. Just a tiny departures area where you wait for the plane to literally pull up 30′ outside the door. I ran back to my car, stocked up on my water and waited for my flight. Instead of having to do the private chartered flight I was able to find another small plane to get me there. Six other folks and I climbed aboard our tiny plane to head out. I had a moment of anxiety getting on the plane as it wasn’t even tall enough to stand up in but once I sat down there was plenty of headroom and I was fine. And I had a front row view of the cockpit. I strapped my pack into the seat next to me, put on my headphones and music, and zoned out for the 25 minute flight to the island. There was no safety briefing, not even a mention of life jackets, just a suggestion that we keep our seat belts fastened.

As we reached the first cloud the plane got a little wobbly but she quickly smoothed out and the views were incredible. I could make out the outline of whales in the fjord beneath me and admired the beautiful volcanic ranges around me. We reached the end of the fjord and headed out into the open ocean and before too long little Grimsey Island came into view. As we landed I was able to see the runway grow closer through the cockpit window.

My flight also came with a tour of the island but when I realized this meant they were putting us in a car to drive us around instead of just pointing out some points of interest and then setting the group free I decided to opt-out. Why the hell would I want to be in a car?! Only one couple went with them and the other little family of three decided to go off on their own as well. The 7th passenger on the plane was the local mail carrier! I had an hour to hike around the little island and as I started off I put my headphones back in as I had on the plane. And then I stopped myself quickly and put them away. Why the hell would I want anything playing in my ear when I have the sounds of pure nature to entertain me? I ran across the little family a couple times and we helped each other take pictures. The island’s coastline was stunning. I scrambled down a steep bank and found myself up against the water. I touched the arctic! And it was cold! Thankfully I had my waterproof shoes and resistant pants on since a little wave lapped up to my ankle but I never felt the water seep in. I took in the beauty and vastness of the ocean around me, found a good rock to bring back, and it was time to head back to my plane. On the way I watched another little plane , identical to my chariot, come in for a landing on the island.

I got back to the little airport at the appointed time and there was nobody there! My plane was still there but the itty bitty airport was empty. About five minutes later a couple cars pulled up. Everyone had gone into the “town” (airport staff and pilot included) and were late getting back since all three cars of people got distracted by the fishing boats bringing in the fresh catch of the day. The six of us who came on this little adventure were all presented with a certificate that we have crossed the arctic divide and then directed to the plane. Not even a plane ticket needed. So crazy. On the plane I again put on my head phones and zoned out to the scenery. At one point I looked over at the cockpit and the pilot was reading something; umm, eyes on the road please! I looked over the town as we came in for a landing and could see the light green building my AirBnB was in last night.

When we landed the folks who had gone on the tour instead of venturing the island on their own did say it was worth it for the information from the guide and shared a few funs facts. Such as that every once in a while a polar bear shows up in Iceland on an iceberg floating over from Greenland. They are always sickly and hungry; and are quickly euthanized… And on Grimsey Island there is one month a year where they have the sun 24 hours a day and almost three months a year where they have zero sun – 50 people inhabit this island year round and about 120 in the summer months. Lastly, in Iceland the homes are almost all heated with geothermal energy that is captured from the natural geothermal areas.

I arrived back in Akureyri and remembered to stop and take a picture of a stoplight on my way to Hauganes. On the streetlights in Akureyri the red lights are little hearts.

As I checked in for my whale watching I learned that apparently whale watching in Iceland is like going to Mars. Everyone was sized for what looked like space suits to keep us warm and dry on the water. When I first pulled mine on it was a definite “WTF” moment but I quickly forgot all about it and took comfort in the warmth I felt for the next 2 1/2 hours. The whale watching was fantastic. Humpback whales live in the fjord this time of year and within about four minutes the first whale was spotted. The entire time there was never more than a seven minute gap without a whale close-by. These whales were like clockwork. They would come up for about 60-90 seconds and get air and then dive back down for between six and eight minutes depending on the whale. The first whale was quickly overshadowed by a pod of two whales that were spotted just a couple hundred meters away. The boat turned in their direction and we spent about an hour watching these two whales come up and say “hi” then wave their beautiful flukes goodbye as they dove back down. Throughout the entire time following these two, others could be seen off in the distance. The captain declared it was time to respect the whales and give them their space and turned the boat towards another whale a few hundred meters in the other direction. With the captain declaring along the way, “We know some of you are tail collectors so let’s go find some more tails!” I had to stop myself from giggling.

As we got close to the surfacing whale, the captain announced that he recognized it and it was their favorite whale, Spotty! Spotty is a larger confident whale and very curious. This was a big boy. Spotty indeed was a very confident and curious whale. As the boat moved closer to him, he came closer to us. At one point he came right alongside the boat and blasted those of us at the bow with whale snot before resurfacing again on the other side. This was a cool whale.

The second part of this whale watching expedition included sea angling. I don’t fish but at first thought it would be fun to try. That is until I really thought about it. A small group had already started their angling and I watched as within seconds they all had a fish on their line. It was too easy. I also looked at the loose fishing rods and figured that, knowing me, I would drop one into the damn waters. They would filet any fish you caught so you could take it but with a long drive ahead of me I had no use for fresh fish. It was a beautiful day on the water, the sun was out and there were no winds, the guides called it one of the best days they’ve had this summer. Between the warm sun and the warm spacesuit I was wearing I found myself quite content, leaning back against a sail thingy on the boat and soaking in the sunshine and the scenery. I watched jellyfish float by and enjoyed the still waters. In the end, there was no sea angling for me. I don’t regret that I chose to spend my time in that state of content instead.

I got back on land, peeled my spacesuit off, realized how much colder it really was without it, and hit the road towards my AirBnB du jour in Skagastrond. I was tired, I hadn’t slept well last night and had the back-to-back activities today. I didn’t stop once to take in and capture the beautiful scenery. But I appreciated it as I went by. I was enamored with the giant fissured ranges and canyons; still thinking in awe of how powerful the earth in and of herself really is. As I drove along a river I saw a sign advertising river rafting. Do you know how cold that water is?! Oh hell no. I drove by a couple sheep roundup pens and tried to imagine the annual roundup where all the sheep in the country are herded to commingled locations and then separated into pens for each of their owners as they are identified by marks on their ears. The pens look like giant wagon wheels with a centralized “collection” area and then spokes of separate pens around the circumference. I also noted a couple cemeteries. I have driven by a few cemeteries now and one of the unique and identifying characteristic has been that they each had trees planted in them. You don’t see many trees around Iceland. There must be some significance to that; I’ve added it to my list of things to research. And every time I drove past a giant Mercedes utility vehicle or big-rig; I thought of my own DivaMog at home and smiled to myself, still amused by my Mercedes’ vanity plates.

My AirBnB tonight is pretty cute. It’s pretty much like a nice, modern modular home. It has a cozy living with a cheesy fake fireplace and I figured this would be a good night to end my explorations at a decent time and pop open the bottle of champagne I’ve been toting around with me. I rarely drink alone but a couple glasses of champagne on this trip felt justified. And for those who know me well and are wondering… Yes, yes I did try to saber my bottle open with a butter knife. And no, no it didn’t work because I wasn’t able to chill the neck of the bottle. Apparently that part is quite important!

On the wall of my AirBnB there is a fire extinguisher and an emergency kit of some sort. I was happy and amused to see it since my first AirBnB had the same kit and I failed to remember to take a picture. Apparently this is explaining how to handle it if you set a dude’s junk on fire? I feel like that would be a bad day for everyone involved.

I have a three-ish hour drive to my next AirBnB tomorrow. I think I’ll do a little hike around this town in the morning, maybe play 9 holes of golf, and then head out. I’d like to get there at a decent time and do much of my exploring in that area tomorrow so I can head back down to Reykjavik at a decent time the following day. Aside from a reservation at the Blue Lagoon when I get back into Reykjavik in a couple days and three things on my list to see near my AirBnB tomorrow, the rest of my time here in Iceland is largely unscheduled. Cheers!