On Life in Iceland
Okay so I´ve been in Iceland far too long to not have blogged about it yet. The reality is that the minute I stepped off the plane I´ve been working my ass off rafting and kayaking down the East and West Glacial Rivers near the north coast of this strange island. I´ve been writing, just not typing. Time to play catch up.
Iceland is amazing on so many levels. First of all, this was one of the last places on Earth for people to find. The first settlers from Norway came about 1100 years ago, although there is talk of some Celtic monks who stuck to a tiny island in the south. Supposedly the Celts came in 870 but there is no hard evidence of their life there. We do know that the first boat loads to hit the island consisted of about 400 hardcore Vikings, a point I´m reminded of everytime I go rafting and hear the battlecry, or pick up a beer. Viking is the top seller and a bargain at about $8 bucks a can.
For most of the populated history of Iceland poverty has been the state of things. They ate a lot of sheep and fish when not drinking through the dark winters. Yes dark. Iceland isn´t actually all that cold despite the name. Average January temperatures are about the same as London.
There were famines, and civil wars, volcanoes and more famines. Iceland really didn´t come into its own until 1944 when it gained independence from Denmark and really started to prosper. World War II treated Iceland really well. The US airbase at Keflavik is now the International airport which started a healthy flow of money into the country that seems to have never stopped. The country is now one of the richest per capita in Europe and is just barely behind Norway as one of the world´s most expensive travel destinations. It´s a good thing I´m working here.
Tags: Eurasia: Marco Polo-in' it, Iceland
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