Snowblind

Travel Guide

“The red stain was like a scream in the silence.”

“The snow covered ground was so white that it had almost banished the winter night’s darkness elemental in its purity”

Welcome to Siglufjörður, a quiet fishing village in the northern most part of Iceland where snow is as much a character as everyone else. Where a comforting light ay illuminate the immediate space but where the gloom envelops and smothers before the scream has even been formed from the depths of your throat. Closer to the Arctic Circle than Reykjavik, this is a chillingly desolate landscape.

This is a community closed off in many ways – and not just because of the tunnel which connects it to civilization. The people here are secretive and they have lived here for centuries, entire families have their roots here and a fierce level of protection surrounds them.

“The ring of mountains protecting the town was almost entirely white that night and the highest peaks could just be glimpsed.”

Ari Thór Arason: a rookie policeman is on his first posting, far from his girlfriend in Reykjavik. A woman’s body is found by a child who sees a ‘snow angel’ but there is no child innocence and honesty found elsewhere – secrets and lies are deeper than any snowfall or avalanche.

Those who live here talk about you behind your back, a small local amateur dramatics group are blurring the line between what goes on the stage and what happens behind the scenes..
Ari is the only outsider, well Ugla is from Patreksfsfjordur but it’s as if Siglufjörður is a mask over her mouth.

Silence and snow reign and woe betide anyone who tries to fight the snowblind.