60 swims across Iceland

Celebrating a big birthday with a bigger swim adventure

Hvitserker

How would you like to celebrate your 60th birthday?

For Icelander Kristín Hjartardóttir, the plan was clear: she wanted to feel the joy of being alive by challenging herself to swim in 60 different places in the sea around her native Iceland. She tells Laura Hall about the sacred feeling of swimming in the midnight sun, listening to her instincts and her favourite places to swim, leading to her beautiful and most poetically-named book, Fær í Flestan Sjó – synt í íslenskri náttúru (Can be found in most seas, swimming in the Icelandic night). 

How did your book, and your swimming journey around Iceland, start?

Finding new and exciting places for swimming was something that I had been contemplating for some time and it was during the spring of 2019 that the idea came to me; as my 60th birthday was coming up, maybe I could swim in 60 different places all around Iceland. I had been practising wild swimming for quite a long time and found it a worthy objective to travel around the country and compare different places of outdoor swimming that I had visited through the years, as well as finding and experiencing some new and surprising places. 

How did the year of swimming unfold?

These turned out to be some of the most exciting trips that I had ever taken around my home country and vastly different from my previous visits to many of these locations, because looking for a perfect place for wild swimming gives you a fresh perspective on nature and changes the entire experience of being there. Some places that were very well known to me and I had visited numerous times before, somehow became brand new; on the other hand I came to know some new places like they were old friends. To me, wild swimming is the best way to connect with nature. And to complete the experience and fully connect with the concept of mindfulness, I finished my 200-hour yoga teacher training at the same time.

These turned out to be some of the most exciting trips that I had ever taken around my home country and vastly different from my previous visits to many of these locations, because looking for a perfect place for wild swimming gives you a fresh perspective on nature and changes the entire experience of being there.

What was the best experience you had?

I have to say that it was the element of surprise, especially when finding an astonishing place to swim without any previous knowledge about it. For instance, when we were travelling late into the night with the summer sun still up (it never goes down in mid-summer in Iceland) and still hadn’t decided where to stay. We were at Barðaströnd on the west coast, where the sands are golden, and it almost feels like you’re visiting a somewhat sacred place. Not even the birds have visited there. We parked the car, found some pillows and blankets, and then feasted on left-over cheese and crackers and a bottle of Chablis on the beach. Our car had suddenly turned into a five-star resort with a view that couldn’t be matched anywhere, and with the quiet and calm sea humming lullabies for us. As soon as we woke up, I stepped into the playful waves for one of the best morning swims of my entire life.

Did you ever feel like giving up?

I have never given up on swimming per se, but there have been moments when I´ve decided not to swim at certain places, if I realise that the conditions are not ideal, despite having travelled a long way and being perfectly prepared for a good swim. These moments are based on some inexplicable instinct. In Skálavík, for instance, I was about to go in, but couldn’t stop thinking “don´t do it, don´t do it!” There were no obvious signs of danger there. The sea was rather calm and easy to jump in, sunny weather and a sandy beach. But no, I packed my things after walking the beach back and forth and never really realised what it was that prevented me from going in. And I still don´t know. But this is very important. You should always think of safety above all else and make sure never to get caught in a place or situation you cannot back out of. If you´re not sure that this is your moment, you should step back and just enjoy being there. Enjoy nature and enjoy the moment. During your next visit the same place might be more welcoming and your feel for it might be completely different. But you should never throw caution to the wind.

Fjallsarlon

Kristín’s top five swimming spots in Iceland

Langisjór

Located at one of the most beautiful places in the midlands where the main beauty lies in a kind of nothingness amongst black sands, glaciers, and some glowing green moss. The water is terribly cold there, though.

Fjallsárlón

A dreamlike moment of swimming amongst the floating ice as the glacier itself slowly sneaks in the water with you. You might even be joined by curious seals.

Skjolfjorur

Skjólfjörur

The North Atlantic Ocean welcomes you in Vopnafjörður after driving one of the craziest mountain roads in Iceland from Egilsstaðir (Hellisheiði Eystri). Wild creatures of black rock seem like they have come from the mountains and are watering in the sea with you.

Orlygshofn

Örlygshöfn / Gjögrabót

You enter the sea from an old pier sliding into this wonderful embracing sea. White beaches like you were in the Caribbean, except for the icy temperature of the water.

Grafarlandafoss

On your way to visit Herðubreið, one of the most beautiful mountains in northern Iceland, there is a tiny waterfall called Grafarlandafoss. A small crystal-clear pond in front of it is a wonderful place to swim. Among the black sands and endless lava formations this heavenly spot is hidden away, surrounded by green angelica.

 

MORE ON OSS SWIM TRAVEL

  • Iceland’s Best Hot Pots by OSS Founder Kate Rew. With volcanically heated water spouting up all over the land, Iceland is a swimmer’s paradise. Here are 24 of the best pools and pots
  • Kristín Hjartardóttir is on Instagram @60iscool. Her book, Fær í Flestan Sjó , can be ordered online.
  • Kristin was interviewed by OSS Contributor and journalist Laura Hall (@hello_laura_hall)
Laura Hall