North Iceland - Iceland - page 466

DRANGEY
The tiny rocky islet of Drangey (drown-gay), in the middle of Skagafjörður, is a dramatic
flat-topped mass of volcanic tuff with 180m-high sheer cliffsides rising abruptly from the
water. The cliffs serve as nesting sites for around a million seabirds (lots of puffins), and
have been used throughout Iceland's history as 'nature's grocery store'. Grettir's Sagare-
counts that both Grettir and his brother Illugi lived on the island for three years and were
slain there. Brave (foolhardy?) saga fans come to the area to recreate Grettir's feat, swim-
ming the 7km between Drangey and Reykir.
Drangeyjarferðir ( 821 0090; www.drangey.net ; tours adult/child Ikr9800/5000) offers
four-hour boat trips to Drangey, departing from Reykir (near Grettislaug) at 11am daily
from June to mid-August; call the day beforehand to book. Sea-angling trips can also be
arranged.
TRÖLLASKAGI
Tröllaskagi (Troll Peninsula) rests its mountainous bulk between Skagafjörður and Ey-
jafjörður. Here, the craggy mountains, deep valleys and gushing rivers are more reminis-
cent of the Westfjords than the gentle hills that roll through most of northern Iceland. In
great news for travellers seeking spectacular road trips, tunnels now link the northern Tröl-
laskagi townships of Siglufjörður and Olafsfjörður, once dead-end towns that saw little
tourist traffic.
The journey from Varmahlið to Akureyri along the Ring Road (Rte 1) measures 95 very
scenic kilometres, but if you have some time up your sleeve and a penchant for getting off
the beaten track, the 186km journey between those two towns following the Tröllaskagi
coastline (Rtes 76 and 82) conjures up some magical scenery, and plenty of excuses to pull
over and explore.