I had forever wanted to visit Grímsey island and had planned on doing so for years, but had always left it out on my travels in Iceland. Finally, when staying for a whole week in Akureyri, the Capital of the North, for my summer vacation I did it! I visited this beautiful island on the Arctic Circle Express with the company  Ambassador from Akureyri harbour. 

Unfortunately, this tour is longer available. Certain northern winds on this route made people very sea-sick so it was cancelled! But the Arctic Circle Express Flight will take you on a 3-hour tour including Grímsey island.

Whales blowing on the tour

To tell you a little about the tour I took: This was a new way of visiting Grímsey as the scheduled ferry for Grímsey leaves from Dalvík village. The Arctic Circle Express took about the same time to reach Grímsey - 3 hours - even though it left from Akureyri, which is 44 km away from Dalvík. That is why it was called "express".  And it was for sure a speedy boat.

Earlier on the same day, I had gone whale watching with the same company as runs the Arctic Circle Express - the Ambassador, which has now merged with Elding Whale Watching. I was in awe on that tour as we saw so many whales. And when I heard that there would be some whale watching on the Arctic Circle Express as well I was so excited!

We left the harbour at 6 pm and sailed through the lovely Eyjafjörður fjord - all 60 km of it - and stopped on the way for almost half an hour in the feeding ground of the Humpback whales where we had been earlier the same morning. And again we saw myriad of whales blowing and fluking and at one point I even saw 3 whales blow in a row!  It was magnificent!

Puffins in Iceland

The puffin which breeds in Iceland is the Atlantic puffin. It is sometimes called the "prófastur" in Icelandic, meaning the dean - as it is so distinguished looking. What makes the Atlantic puffin stand out is the big orange, red and grey beak and the bright orange feet.  The beak loses this colour in the wintertime, but I have never seen that as the puffins stay out on the ocean in the wintertime.

The puffin stays in Iceland from mid-April until mid-August when it starts to leave the country. In wintertime, the puffins stay on the ocean and they don't come back until the next breeding season.

Up to 60% of the Arctic puffin colony breeds in Iceland so there is a very good chance of seeing puffins if you visit Iceland during the nesting season of the puffins. The wings of the puffins are a little too small so when it flies it flaps its wings very rapidly - it is very cute to see a puffin fly :) The puffin wings are perfect for catching fish though. Our guide told me that they have an activity on Grímsey, to dive with puffins, I think it is called. The sea is very clear around Grímsey island, so that must be a great thing to do!

Almost the whole group gathered by the cliffs to see the puffins. I noticed that the puffins were a bit afraid of humans - as if I went too close to the edge the whole colony on that cliff got scared and flew away. In some other locations in Iceland, like on Látrabjarg cliff, the puffins are so used to humans that they don't budge and it looks like they are even posing for the camera :)

Puffins in Iceland

Be extra careful not to go too far to the edge. The puffin burrows can make the ground closest to the cliffs hollow and dangerous to tread on.

Even though the puffins look so cute they have a powerful bite if they feel threatened - as the multi-Michelin Chef Gordon Ramsay found out the hard way when he was kissing a puffin in the Westman Islands in Iceland.  

You can find a video of the puffin biting Gordon's nose in my travel-blog on the Westman Islands.

Puffins in abundance at Grímsey island

We got some good photos of the ever so cute puffins, but as the sun was seated so low in the sky then an orange hue was surrounding them. It was so special and I was reduced to tears by this beautiful sight.

A handful of the group had hiked to the Arctic Circle monument, which is almost the exact location of the Arctic Circle. We had crossed the Arctic Circle on the boat before we came ashore, so I opted for the puffins and the church. But I want to visit that monument next time I visit Grímsey island.

The group photographing puffins at Grímsey island

I visit all the churches I come across on my travels in Iceland and was happy to be able to visit the church in Grímsey, which was built of driftwood back in 1867.

Before this church was built there was a turf church in Grímsey.

On the way to the church, the road lies close to the nesting areas of the Arctic tern, which fearlessly attacked me over and over again the whole way to the church.

Miðgarðakirkja church in Grímsey

I used to be very afraid of this bird, but now it almost makes me angry, so I just yell back at it. I would have needed a stick as our guide had though.

Usually, I carry an umbrella with me and open it when I am attacked. I have found that to be the safest way to avoid getting a hole in my head.

Protecting myself from the attacks of the Arctic turn on the way to church

I made it in one piece to this beautiful Lutheran church. These churches are like a gem to me each and every one of the 378 churches in Iceland.

The altarpiece in the church dates back to 1878 and is a copy of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece "The Last Supper" painted by the noted Icelander Arngrímur Gíslason.

Miðgarðakirkja church burnt to the ground on the 22nd of September 2021 - a great loss :(

The altarpiece in Miðgarðakirkja church

Grímsey island lies so far north that during summertime the sun never stops shining - the days last for 24 hours. The same is true here in South-Iceland where I live, but the days last even longer so far up north by the Arctic Circle as they are located on 66°33,3 North.

On equinox on the 21st of June, it must be wonderful to see the sun touch the horizon and rise straight away again.

On the other hand, living so far up north, the inhabitants are also affected by the extreme winter darkness.

The Arctic Circle runs through Grímsey island at 66°33,3’N. I have heard it jokingly said that the Arctic Circle once ran through one house in the middle of the bed of a married couple. So the husband was north of the Arctic Circle and the wife was south of it :) I don't know if this is a true story or not, but it could be.

Playing chess by the outside chessboard at Grímsey

We stopped by a monument and a chessboard. A wealthy American, Daniel Willard Fiske (1831-1904), who was both a scholar and a librarian, donated a chessboard to every home on Grímsey island, as well as a library on chess - and after his death, the islanders inherited the Willard Fiske Grímsey Fund.

Daniel Willard Fiske had heard that the Islanders were skilled chess players, and as he was very fond of chess himself he decided on presenting them with such a generous gift.

The monument for Daniel Fiske

His monument is a chessboard and a sailboat above the harbour. Daniel Fiske never set foot on Grímsey island but circumnavigated it once and pondered on the resilience of the islanders living so far up north.

Back in the time when Daniel Willard Fiske was so kind to the Islanders, several baby boys were named Daniel on the island in honour of the benefactor of Grímsey :)

The Islanders also have an annual celebration on Daniel Willard Fiske's birthday on November 11th.

Dolphins playing in the sea by the boat