Spent another day chilling in the Eyjafjörður area. Quite literally floated on Ejafjörður while visiting the fjord’s biggest island, Hrísey.

We got a cold reception as we walked on shore in Hrísey after a 15 minute boat trip from Árskógssandur. The wind blew from the arctic north and was, to say the least, rather chilly. We argued that the best option would be to dive into the local swimming pool and seek warmth in its hot tubs. That visit was indeed warm and nice.

The swimming pools in Iceland are surely among the most important institutions of the country’s villages, as well as the larger cities. They have to some extent a similar role as pubs in Europe — albeit with different type of liquid flowing. They are the central meeting point of the villagers, where they can discuss politics as well as exchanging news and rumors. In Hrísey we chatted for a while with a local bather who informed us about the life in the island and the economic challenges facing the islanders.

After a short post-swimming stroll around the village we sat down at the town’s restaurant and kept ourselves warm with hot chocolate and a cake while waiting for the departure of the boat that would bring us back to the main island.

A nice day out and about was then crowned with dinner at the (to me) most famous restaurant in Akureyri, Bautinn.