Iceland's Ring Road - Akureyri and Grímsey Island (Days 7-8)

Iceland | Mountains | Boat | To Make Much of Time

UPDATED: 1/16/2023

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While trying to figure out activities for our two full days in Akureyri, we discovered that we could take a ferry to Grímsey Island, an island about 25 miles north of the mainland and the only part of Iceland officially (though just barely) within the Arctic Circle.

We were able to book our tickets online through Samskip the evening before, though they recommend advanced booking in the summer months. Besides the claim to the Arctic Circle, what else intrigued us about Grímsey? For one, we really wanted to see Atlantic puffins, who are known to be residents, we had a hope, though no guarantee, of seeing whales en route, and it sounded like a fun chance to explore a tiny island on foot. Grímsey is 2 square miles and had just 61 (human) inhabitants as of January 2018 but many times over that number in birds and to a lesser extent sheep and horses.

Looking out at the fjord, serene and cold.

Seagull in flight with Iceland in the distance.

We booked the ferry from Dalvík, a town that is about 40 minutes from Akureyri and closer to the end of the fjord. We bundled up for the trip, and thankfully so. The ferry ride each way is 3 hours and during the summer, the ferry stop on Grímsey is 4 hours (it is shorter in the winter but I can’t imagine why anyone would want to go then!).

The ride out was cold and beautiful. It felt like it took forever to leave the fjord and, even when we did, the towering cliff-like mountains along its shoreline made for a beautiful vista. We saw dolphins trailing along the boat and whales in the distance but too far away to make out the type. Shore birds stalked us for a while, flying parallel and at the same speed, which made it seem like they were barely flying at all and operating as hovering helicopter birds.

I get seasick, so I typically avoid boats or limit the time I spend on them. I quickly discovered that as long as I was outside in the fresh air and standing (not sitting), I would do okay. Like I said, luckily I was bundled up because it was cold anyway but the air rushing by made it even colder.

We pulled into the harbor at Grímsey and made a bee-line for the restaurant, Krian. I say “the” restaurant because it is the only one on the tiny island. We ate a nice lunch and, most importantly, were able to warm up enough that we were ready to go hiking.

The path we took from the restaurant followed the coast up the road alongside the tiny field that serves as an airport. Small, private planes are an alternative option to get to/from the island. There are maps available with colored hiking paths, and here is an online version that shows the various routes around the island. We essentially did the part that excludes the two parallel paths near the bottom of the map.

Grímsey Island | Landscape | Iceland | To Make Much of Time

Because of the oscillations of the earth on its axis, the exact location of the Arctic Circle continues to move northward. We stopped and took our photos at the prior mark, and a new one was recently erected at the far northern tip of the island to more closely mark the current line of the circle. By mid-century, the island will no longer be within the Arctic circle at all!

This looks like a fine place for a Puffin home

As we continued following the path near the airport, it was not long before we entered the territory of both our most and least favorite birds of the trip. There were puffins everywhere, and they were as adorable as I had hoped. They spend their time along the cliffs that line the island’s coast, and build their nests into the cliff - into it as in underground where they burrow in. In fact, there are warnings not to go too close to the cliff because the ground underneath can be unstable from the burrows.

The puffins were a noisy bunch as they went about their puffin diving business, but the most unexpected thing was how funny they looked in flight. There is really nothing aerodynamic about the way they are built in the first place, and so as they propel their chubby bodies into the air, they flap their wings very quickly, as if they’re not sure they were meant to fly.

I should note that puffins are eaten by Icelanders and were available in the restaurant. Their meat is a dark brown-red color. We also learned that puffin populations have been struggling a bit due to hunting, the changing climate, and something causing issues with their eggs. If you are interested in learning more about the history of hunting puffins on the island, check out a Smithsonian Magazine article called Disappearing Puffins Bring an Icelandic Hunting Tradition Under Scrutiny from January 2017.

So if the puffin was our most favorite bird of the trip, let me introduce you to my arch nemesis, the Arctic tern. While the puffins stick to the cliffs along the coasts, the Arctic terns like to build nests in the grassy fields. It just so happens that all the hiking paths run right through these fields and sets off the intruder alarm function in the birds, who are convinced we are interested in their eggs. The tern defense method is to squawk loudly and then start dive bombing people. Like well trained pilots, they hover in your tail wind for a moment before throttling down, coming so close to your head that you can feel them woosh by and they sometimes accidentally hit people.

A recommendation to stave off the terns is to hold a stick up in the air to attract them to that instead of your head. Another recommendation is to walk slowly because running makes them angrier. It is an odd feeling to have your head dive bombed from behind you, outside of your line of vision. So, yes, I ran. A lot. It was also a nice way to stay warm.

One risk we were warned about is that if you run and make them angrier, they may also start pooping on you as their final lethal trick. Luckily that did not happen to me. But as a funny story - since I ran ahead of Dustin, at one point he noticed something white on my back from afar and was convinced I had received that ultimate tern present, but it was just a logo on the back of my jacket. We had the Arctic tern experience a few other times briefly in Iceland but nowhere as extreme as on Grímsey where it was clear they called the shots and liked having their island home to themselves. For an eye-witness account of the Arctic Tern experience check out the video.

While hiking, we came across a free-range herd of Icelandic horses. Icelandic horses are a distinct, smaller breed (sometimes called ponies), and arrived on the island with the first settlers in the late 800s or early 900s. They originate from horses in Norway and are descendants of an ancient horse breed that is now extinct. So, Iceland is understandably protective of their horses and keeping their genetic lines distinct.

In 982 (this is not a typo - literally over 1,000 years ago), the early Icelandic parliament passed a law preventing any other horse breeds from entering the country, foresight that has kept the breed one of the most pure lines in the world. My natural reaction in coming across these horses was to want to pet them, but I also know it’s important to be wary of unknown animals. These horses were incredibly friendly, in fact overly interested in us, and it was clear they were looking for food. They were pretty sure that my camera might be a tasty morsel, and they stalked us for a while before turning their attention to the next hikers coming down the path.

Ever been stalked by Icelandic horses? It is oddly creepy, but very friendly.

Back in town, we walked along the street away from the airstrip down to the church of Miðgarðakirkja, passing a number of posts with knitted faces (to keep them warm?) before settling back in at the restaurant to have some beers and warm up for the return ferry ride.

The day had gotten progressively colder, and I felt every minute of the three hour ride back standing out in the cold, welcoming the biting air over the seasickness that would have awaited me indoors. Dustin shared his pockets for extra warmth and got some hot chocolate from the small dining area on the boat.

Near the end of the trip, two women traveling from Poland asked for a ride back to Akureyri with us, which we provided. They had found good deals on a one-way plane ride from Akureyri to Grímsey but had not quite thought through their return trip logistics! On the ride, we heard a bit about life in Poland and their tips for places to see in Akureyri since they had already been there a few days. We made it to the grocery story, Nettó, a few blocks away from our Airbnb just before it closed. (Check out our blog on food in Iceland here.)

A beautiful display of poppies at the Akureyri Botanical Garden

The view looking out from the botanical garden.

The following morning we set out on foot for a day exploring the town of Akureyri. The map below provides a rough route that we took.

Our first stop was the Akureyri Botanical Garden, a park about 10 acres in size that is one of the northernmost botanical gardens in the world. The park was enjoyable to explore and, in particular, had a beautiful display of poppies.

From there, we cut up to the Akureyri Cemetery and followed a road that curved around to the lower streets of town. We enjoyed the older houses and historical markers along Hafnarstræti and surrounding streets and got to an area with some shops.

We stopped at a spot that is both hostel and restaurant called Akureyri Backpackers and ate a good lunch before continuing to wander and finding ourselves in a bookstore. We were surprised how expensive both English and Icelandic books were there!

After some post-lunch ice cream and a walk through the city center, we went to our first wine, beer, and liquor store, Vínbúðin, which is the chain of alcohol stores in the country, to grab a couple bottles of red wine. For more on Iceland and its unique history of alcohol, check out our blog on Icelandic food and drink here.

We headed back to the house, pretty exhausted at this point in the trip and made a pit stop for some food at the small market called Krambúð just a block or so from where we were staying.

Akureyri Botanical Garden | Poppies | Iceland | To Make Much of Time

While the other trip-mates relaxed and napped, I decided to fight the exhaustion that comes at the end of a trip and make use of the running shoes and clothes I had optimistically packed and actually go for a run through the town, which I recognized would basically be the same as running draped in an American flag, announcing to the town that I was an American with all our weird fondness for fitness for its own sake.

I followed a similar path based on what I had already familiarized myself with. The first half of the run was spectacularly easy because it was all downhill towards the water. After running parallel to the water for a while, I realized the rest was going to be all uphill so went with it and met up with the fountain and stairs installation on Hafnarstræti that climb up to the area above it and then meet up with more stairs (according to the internet, 112) to the landmark of Akureyrarkirkja, a Lutheran church atop a hill. At least I could say I had used the running gear I had hauled with me and did also discover that the cool weather that had felt chilly before was perfect running weather.

The following day would take us back towards Reykjavik with a number of unique stops on the way. Click here for the next stop on our road trip!

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