Orbis et Globus — Attraction in Akureyrarbær

We sailed the 35 nautical miles from Husavik to the island of Grimsey with our 10 m trimaran, Le Canard Déchaîné. It was a slow journey because of lack of wind. The arctic circle runs across the northern tip of the island and has moved north over the past years because of the change of the angle of earth's axis. So the old monument just north of Sandvik has been abandoned and replaced by this sphere. There is a hole through its center so you can move it by rolling it north or south. We just hope it's not going to end up in the Greenland Sea in a couple of years. To be absolutely certain to have passed the arctic circle twice, we circumnavigated the northern tip of Grimsey before heading south along the west cost to the small and well protected harbor in Sandvik on the southwestern coast. The coast guard waited for us there, eager to know from where...

We had a lovely picknick here 4 years ago, along with our 4 and 9 years old..! Not an easy ferry ride (from Akuyreyri) to Grimsey, and a 3kms walk thru the windy road in which even birds cannot hold their path while flying across the road, but moment that we will always cherish. There are many places in the world where one can get to Arctic Circle but the giant globe is one of those milestones, that is moved every year to mark the rotation of the earth and the movement of Arctic circle.

The island is remote, beautiful, pristine, stories around the Chessboard and the village library, and the giant globe.. all makes it so special. If you have a day around Akuyreyri - please visit this on...

A visit to the Orbis et Globus was on my "must do" bucket list for this trip. It did not disappoint. It was about a 40-minute stroll from the airport on a well-established path. It was easy to see early on. There is definitely some elevation change to get there, but not anything extreme. If you venture beyond the structure towards the north end of the island you can find date markers for past and future positions of the Orbis et Globus, but if you do that be sure to allow plenty of time. We were there the last week of May, and the weather was pretty mild. Also, there were thousands of puffins on the island...