West Coast Excursion

The weekend before last (wow time flies!) I was invited to join my friend Gummi for a trip to his family’s cabin on an island off of the west coast of Iceland. The drive from Holar was fairly uneventful but upon reaching the coast, we parked his car in a farmer’s seaside field where his dad was waiting for us in a boat. After a 15 minute boat ride, we arrived at an island no bigger than a soccer field where Gummi’s mom was waiting to greet us.

This idyllic setting has been the family's summer cottage home for the past 15 years. The island, called Bjargey or “Cliff Island” is also home to several Eider birds which are coveted for their down which can sell for over $300/kg. Of course it takes quite a lot of down to make a kilogram, but nevertheless, the birds are beautiful in their natural setting.

Bjargey as well as Toftarey, “Island of Ruins” are both owned by Gummi’s family and are 2 of countless islands and rocks that freckle the body of water called Hvammsfjordur.









I had a fantastic weekend as both I and another friend Tyler (a Canadian finishing off his masters degree in Holar) were treated to a personal tour of the area. We saw spectacular rock formations, more species of birds than I can count; including puffins, terns and a rare breeding pair of Icelandic Sea Eagles - 1 of only an estimated 35 breeding pairs alive in Iceland. We also visited islands with nests and collected eggs and mussels for a birthday feast for Gummi which included leg of lamb cooked on an open pit BBQ (Gunnar’s Grille).

The evening, capped with a spectacular sunset, was spent watching pairs of Eiders frolic in the tidal current in front of the cabin.



Many thanks to Gummi and to his parents, Sikka and Gunnar, for the magnificent weekend. Say not goodbye but see you again!

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Traditional Icelandic Cuisine

Last weekend was my weekend of Icelandic gastronomic sampling. I was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to taste some of the culinary delights that have been staple dishes for Icelanders since the time of the first Viking settlers. My friend Broddi happens to have been able to borrow the necessary equipment (a large pot, cauldron in fact) to cook one of his favourite traditional meals – boiled sheep heads. Now before you start thinking that Icelanders must be barbarians to eat these, I must tell you that it is for the succulent taste of sheep heads that they have chosen this meal – and I was lucky enough to be invited to the feast. The heads were tasty, and not surprisingly tasted rather like lamb. Nowadays because of Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (Mad Cow) the brains of the animal are removed. However there is still plenty of meat thus a half head can make a substantial and fulfilling dinner. Trying desperately to show my gratitude for the meal and perhaps trying to prove a warped sense of self worth, I ate as much of the head as I possibly could, devouring all that was physically edible. These pictures show before, during and after our meal.

The other traditional dish that I was able to sample was seabird eggs. Broddi bought 6 Guillemot eggs at the supermarket as an appetizer to our meal. The pretty mottled pastel blue eggs were a real treat. They are collected from the rocky cliffs of the nearby island of Drangey at this time of year only (egg laying season). We boiled them for 7 minutes and then cracked open the sturdy shells to reveal a translucent egg white and a treasured golden yolk. The pointiness of the egg is an evolutionary trait that prevents them from rolling off of the rock ledge/nest and into the ocean. Having this conical shape, they tend to roll in a circle and hence back towards the center of the nest.

Other seabird eggs that I was able to try this past weekend were gull and goose eggs from the Hvamms Fjord on the west coast of Iceland. I’ll post pictures of that trip soon.

I would like to thank Broddi and Christine for being the gracious hosts you are and for giving me the opportunity to try traditional Icelandic cuisine. I hope I didn’t come across as the overzealous tourist taking pictures of, instead of taking pleasure in, the experience. And thanks also to Bjarni for showing me that the ear and the palate are indeed edible. Yum!

An Evening Hike

One evening last week my friend Allan and I decided that the weather was just too nice not to be outside enjoying it. For some time I had been wanting to climb the peak that watches over Holar and here was a fine opportunity to stretch our legs, get some fresh Icelandic air into our lungs and enjoy the outdoors. Also, Allan climbed the peak last summer and since arriving in Holar earlier in the week, had been wanting to climb it again. One of the luxuries of the northern summer is the fact that it never really gets dark. So at 7 o'clock in the evening we set out on our hike that was to take between 4 to 6 hours. Armed with water, smoked salmon, crackers and camera, we ascended the peak. We scurried up the mountain side with nothing other than the direction up to guide us. For the most part, a path was unneccessary but there were a few times when I was thinking that should I slip, it would be a long roll to the bottom. Here are a few pictures from the hike. To view individual images of the collage, click here. To view a slideshow of the pictures, click here.

Here is a photo of our route. Click the photo with your mouse to view our path.