Reykjavík Grapevine - 18.10.2008, Qupperneq 22

Alda / Student, iceland
FM Belfast’s stage presence is just amazing and you
can always expect a crazy show whenever they play.
They are one of the best Icelandic bands today, no
question.
Edda Guðmundsdóttir / fashion designer, iceland
I really liked SpaceVestide on Wednesday and CSS’s
concert was a mad party. But I have to mention the
biggest downside with the festival, which are the
queues. They ruin all the fun.
Marcino / cSS manager, uS
For me, CSS was the best band. FM Belfast was also
really good. The best part of my weekend was tho-
ugh dinner at the Seafood Seller. That was one of the
top three meals of my life. I’m very impressed with
the festival, especially with all the financial troubles
going on in Iceland. Despite everything, people are
so energetic and ready to have a good time.
Whale watching and deep sea fishing with Sjá-
varferðir is an ideal way to spend an afternoon.
Ísafold, which doubles up as a tour boat and an-
gling vessel, takes you out to sea from Reykjavík
harbor where four types of whales swim around
– killer whale, dolphin, humpback and minke
whales. Minke whales are calm creatures, and
unlike their brethren – the humpback and the
dolphin - do not leap out of the ocean like circus
performers. The whales curve out of the ocean
for air, sounding like a bus with an air suspen-
sion and the daredevil seagulls compete with
the minke’s for fish. And then there are puffins!
The tour also includes a 20-minute angling ses-
sion.
see
shit!
FRIENDLY ADvICE FROM THE GRAPEvINE
jOuRNALISTS ON WHERE TO WITNESS
ICELANDIC LANDSCAPES, INSPIRED BY
YEARS SPENT ON THE ROAD.
WordS BY grapevine JournaliStS
Thanks to the development of new technology
designed to tackle the problems of frigid water
and severe weather, Iceland’s waters have be-
come the new frontier in diving and a revolution
is happening meters under the surface.
Underwater explorers have traveled the world
for decades, building a legacy of adventure and
romance. But until now, Iceland has been left all
but untouched. According to Tobias Klose, own-
er of the Reykjavik based dive company Dive.is,
today cold-water recreational diving is becoming
a trend but diving here is more than fish-gazing
and underwater tourism. Diving in Silfra at
the Þingvellir National, which is considered by
many well-respected divers to be one of the top
five sites in the world, is an amazing experience.
With a visibility that is unrivalled — on a good
day a diver can see over 100 meters — and deep
canyons created by the divide in the American
and Eurasia continental plates, diving here feels
like an epic adventure even if you’re just going
down a few meters.
DiVinG in
siLFRA
The Westmann Islands is the ideal remote mi-
lieu for an exotic off-the-mainland excursion.
Replete with an ethereal terrain, the island is
a Mecca for Iceland’s famous quirky little auk
birds known as puffins. A striking off-the-beat-
en-path archipelago 7.4 km from the southern
coast of Iceland; the largest and only inhabited
of these islands is Heimaey.
Heimaey has a population of 4,036 and a quar-
ter of this island-hamlet is draped in a hellish
post-apocalyptic landscape. In 1973, the island
became caked in volcanic ash expulsed from
Mount Eldfell, swallowing up a large segment of
the village. Astonishingly, only one person died
from the disaster. More than three decades later,
houses still remain buried in the aftermath and
are an amusing sight to behold.
Despite the overwhelming puffin kitsch that
permeates, the little birds don’t wander the
streets. Their habitats are among the insanely
treacherous steep cliffs that line the island.
While hunting for puffins here, TV chef Gordon
Ramsay nearly died after careening 85-metres
off one of the island’s crags, tumbling into to the
sea below.
Overall, a trip to the Westmann Islands is a won-
derful excursion for Iceland completists who
love the raw outdoorsy kick that this country can
provide.
THE
wEsTMAnn
isLAnDs
wHALE
wATCHinG
Atli Fannar / editor of monitor, iceland
Dynamo Fog and Boys in a Band were both insane.
Boys in a Band announced that Icelanders and the
Faroese should team up and form an alliance. I think
that would be a brilliant idea!