Grimsey Island - far away in the north: Home of one hundred people - and one million seabids. Courageous fishermen live there with thei families. The island stands alone far out on the horizon, a blue cliff, sourrounded by the wide Arctic Oean, about 40 km off the north coast of Iceland; it is about 5 square kilometers in area.
The fishermen of Grimsey harvest the rich fishing banks all around the island but often venture in their small motorboats much further north on the Arctic Ocean. An endless ocean which often turns wild, with storms and frost, the waves even 15 m high. Or the polar ice may drift from the north and keep the ocean frozen all around the island. - At other times, such as during summer, the same ocean may be a shining mirror.
The islanders live in a small village by the harbour - a prosperous and fertile community with many children.
The chorus of seabirds, never stops during the 24 hour long day - there is no night in Grimsey during the summer, not until late July when twilight begins to decend around midnight. - The birds nest in the high cliffs that surround the whole island, except by the harbour.
During winter the daylight is very short; most of the sea birds stay far away , out on the open sea. In the village, the fishermen´s families live a modern kind of life today. They are well off, have a good school for their children, the harbour has been improved. A church has been there for eight hundred years. There are two guesthouses as well. A ferry serves the island three times a week. Even an airport has been built for regular flights. - All the same, the main livelihood in Grimsey is fishing, something that only brave men can cope with.
How to get to Grimsey
The Ferry
The ferry “Sæfari” leaves from Dalvík at 09:00 on mondays-wednesdays and fridays. Sæfari comes to Grímsey about 12.00. Departure from Grímsey at 16.00.
Bookings: tel. 458-8970.
By Airplane
Flugfélag Íslands. Flights to Grímsey 3 days a week in the winter. Tuesdays-Thursdays and Sundays from Akureyri at 13.00.
In the summer: From June 8th to August 17th, 7 days a week at 19:.0 (Saturday: 17.00)
Bookings: tel:460-7000 or on the web: flugfelag.is.
