Iceland is just a hop, skip, and jump from Greenland and within a day of our cruise ship departing Greenland, we docked at the first of five ports as we made a circle around the island, ending in Reykjavik. Most of our port stops took us through fjords (narrow inlets from the ocean that do not have an outlet) to small fishing villages and from the villages by bus to be amazed by glaciers, waterfalls, hay bales along a fjord, ancient houses with grass roofs, a museum with the remains of a village damaged by a volcano, geothermal pumping stations, sustainable salmon pods, and, in Reykjavik, a just-erupted volcano that was still spewing smoke and nearby there was lava rock bulldozed to form a barrier to protect surrounding areas.
People: The highlight of this trip was being able to walk in the small villages and talk with clerks, tour guides, and friendly people tending their gardens. We learned about life in Iceland from our tour guide in Isafjordur who attends nursing school in Denmark but is earning money in Iceland on her summer break; when she graduates, she plans to do mission work in Africa. From our teenage age guide in Heimaey we learned that she had attended grade school until she was about 12 and now attends high school in a nearby but larger town that has a boarding high school. Throughout grade school, she was the only girl along with three boys in her class. She missed having girlfriends and now is overjoyed to have roommates and doing “girl-stuff”. Our guide in Akureyi told us that her city attracts people from the United States who can work remotely. The town is appealing because it is safe, has community resources like playgrounds, community centers, shops, movies, and sports fields. This is a place where everyone watches out for each other; the kids can ride bikes and play safely in the neighborhood. Another guide spoke to us about sustainability. Most towns are powered by geothermal energy, salmon and cod are raised in “floating nets” submerged in the clean water of the fjords (Whole Foods sources their fish from Iceland) and biking, hiking, and camping paths run throughout the country.
Now we understand why Iceland is rated one of the Happiest Places in the world!
Places: While we enjoyed the people, we also looked for places to sample traditional Icelandic food. In Djupivogur we found a food truck serving hot dogs which are made from lamb and served in a bun with mustard. At the grocery store we saw a package of salted cod (dried and sold in plastic bags) which our guide likes to dip in melted butter and eat for a snack. We also found a small jar of shark, fermented in whey, which we looked at but did not purchase! In a refrigerated case, we noted the Icelandic yogurt, Skyr, a thick, high-protein low-fat yogurt which is now sold in grocery stores in the US. On a trip to the farming areas inland in Suoavikurhreppur, we devoured an Icelandic waffle with fresh churned butter and blueberry jam.
Pies: Happy Marriage Pie. In Seydisfjodur, we spotted a grocery store and went first to the bakery section to look for a pie. Success! The nearby clerk spoke English and translated the ingredients printed on the package.
She also told us the saga (a story handed down through generations to keep morals and memories alive) of the pie. According to this saga, the pie is made by housewives to serve their tired husbands as they come home from work, thus keeping the marriage happy! The pie, made with oats, brown sugar, butter, and rhubarb (which grows wild around houses and in parks), tasted like a rhubarb crisp.
We took the pie back to the ship to eat later. Our server brought us a boule of vanilla ice cream to complete our “portside picnic” overlooking the tiny village where we were docked.
A rainbow completed our journey in Iceland.
