The Icelanders: exchanging one set of oppressors for another
I am perpetually fascinated by people’s histories and how they inevitably manifest in their present circumstances. The same goes for nations. A nation’s history tends to manifest in its present, just...
View ArticleOtherworldly
Last year when we did our Ring Road tour, we spent the first night in a place called Þakgil, in the south. To reach it, you turn north at a turnoff just past Vík and drive inland for about half an...
View ArticleAbout the Icelanders: of laufabrauð and rotten flour
For centuries, Iceland was an oppressed colony. Among other things this oppression took the form of a trade monopoly, in which the Icelanders, by law, were only permitted to trade with Danes – our...
View ArticleAbout the Icelanders: those beguiling creatures known as elves
When non-Icelanders hear about the Icelanders’ belief in elves, they usually picture us believing in the existence of little leprechaun-like creatures with pointy hats, or tiny fairies that flit among...
View ArticleBeautiful Brúarfoss
This waterfall, called Brúarfoss [Bridge falls] is one of my favourites in all of Iceland. It is off the beaten track, tucked away inland, with no road save a hiking/horse riding track to access it. I...
View ArticleAbout the Icelanders: Elves as Prozac
According to the old folk stories, the Icelandic population had a curious relationship with the elves or hidden people [terms that are used interchangeably in Icelandic and mean the same thing]. The...
View ArticleAbout the Icelanders: the ‘rules don’t apply to me’ mentality
Yesterday I saw a man of a respectable age out walking his dog. The dog stopped next to a light pole, crouched down, and pooped – as dogs do. The man stopped, observed, and when the dog finished...
View ArticleThe bookdrop tour is ON
Today I am hitting the ring road [that circles Iceland] to distribute my books to retailers. We’ll be stopping in Höfn, Seyðisfjörður [two nights], somewhere near Húsavík [no accommodation booked yet...
View ArticleAbout the Icelanders: making up words
As many of you no doubt know [especially if you have read this], the Icelanders have a language committee that makes up new Icelandic words for things or concepts that pop up. By which I mean that...
View ArticleOut shooting birds
This week, instead of posting one picture, I want to post a few that I took during our ring road trip last week. Our final two nights were spent at Kolkuós, a historic trading post that some idiots...
View Article
