Inside the Arctic Circle



arctic circle



We got an early start to catch the bus to Dalvik. This is the departure point for the thrice weekly, three hour ferry service to Grimsey, the only part of Iceland that is actually inside the Arctic Circle. Unimaginably, people live there – 90 of them to be exact, and people have been living on this frozen, wind-blasted rock since 1200. It is very pretty in the summer. Rolling green hills are carpeted with buttercups, blooming dandelions and daisies. The jagged shoreline cliffs serve as home and diving platforms for literally millions of sea birds.

The birds were primary purpose of our visit; we learned a great deal of lore regarding the Arctic Tern and the puffin primarily. The puffin watching was a piece of cake as the cliffs were absolutely buried in them. All the key behaviors were on display so we were able to take excellent field notes, pictures and some good video for our classes. Plus they were mind-bogglingly adorable! We have seen puffins before in Alaska, but that was maybe three of them? These looked a bit smaller than their Alaskan kin also.



The terns were a bit more challenging. They were also everywhere, but they are kind of aggressive. It did make it very easy to locate the nests – these are the locations where the minute you step in that direction thousands of terns appear out of nowhere screaming and diving at your head. The puffins were incredibly indifferent to our proximity. You could be within a few feet of them before you’d rate a glance. The ducks and geese we encountered around Myvatn were the same. This bird watching thing is easier than expected! The main difficulty has been honing our identification skills. Do you have any idea how many types of gulls there are? They all look alike to the untrained eye, and our eye training is still at the baby stage.

All in all it was a wonderful day. The local café served these marvelous crispy-fried camembert rounds (served incomprehensibly with Pace picante sauce), giant, whipped cream topped mugs of hot chocolate and very tasty French fries – the healthy lunch we packed sat in the bag.

Tomorrow we pick up the rental car and prepare to take our chances with the feral sheep (in summer the nation is open range, and the sheep have right of way).

More Grimsey pictures at the link below.

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjAgdXJq