Drangey in Skagafjörður
There aren’t many places in Iceland where the summer evenings are more beautiful than in Skagafjörður. The wide fjord opens to the north, and the two and a half islands in the fjord complete the picture. Drangey Island, pictured with the rock Kerling, lies in the middle of the fjord. Uniquely diverse birdlife is on the island. The most common are thick-billed murre, common murre, razorbill and puffin, and black-legged kittiwake and fulmar. The island is first mentioned in Grettir’s Saga. The outlaw Grettir Ásmundsson lived there for the last three years of his life with his brother Illugi and the slave Glaumur. Grettir the strong was killed in Drangey in 1031. Another island in the fjord, Málmey, had a small population from the settlement era until 1950 when the house burnt down with a family of 14 people. Since then, the island has been deserted. It is said the island is cursed and that no one can stay there for longer than 20 years. It was also not allowed to bring horses to the island; the housewife would then go crazy. Just south of Málmey and north of the village of Hofsós is Þórðarhöfði, an island that is not an island, as it is connected by a small neck of land to the mainland.
Skagafjörður 18/07/2021 19:51 200-600mm
The picture: Looking west from Höfðaströnd to Drangey in Skagafjörður
Photo and text: Páll Stefánsson
