Reykjavík Grapevine - 20.05.2016, Qupperneq 14

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“Very good food,
excellent service
and a very friendly
restaurant.”
“Amazing seafood in
this little town...”
“Not to be missed. Food fabulous and
staff wonderful ... This spot is worth the
trip to the small village alone.”
raudahusid.is
Búðarstígur 4, 820 Eyrarbakki • tel. 483-3330
just 10 minutes from Highway 1, the Ring Road, via Selfoss
open 7 days a week year-round
1
1
Selfoss
Hveragerði
Eyrarbakki
to Blue Lagoon
ca. 50 min.
to Reykjavík
ca. 45 min.
to Þingvellir,
Gullfoss, Geysir
ca. 45-60 min.
39
“One of the best
restaurants in Iceland.
Fresh lobster, amazing
cod fish!!”
In Defense
Of Bananas
On Iceland's famous
banana industry
Words
JÓHANNA
PÉTURSDÓTTIR

Photo
KELLEY REES
Bananas have been in the news a lot
lately, as a metaphor for dirty politics.
We thought we’d restore their good
name, so we went to have a look at
the biggest banana greenhouse in Eu-
rope, situated just off Iceland's Ring
Road in the town of Hveragerði, about
a 45-minute drive from Reykjavík.
We met up with Elías Óskarsson,
manager of the greenhouses owned
by the Agricultural University of
Iceland. He’s studied at the Univer-
sity himself and knows everything
there is to know about each and ev-
ery greenhouse plant, and is genu-
inely passionate about the subject.
We got an interesting and extensive
tour around the greenhouse and let
me tell you, there is a lot we didn’t
know about bananas.
Each plant can only make one clus-
ter of bananas. After that it needs to
be cut so others can grow. Surprising-
ly, it’s not hard at all to grow bananas
in a country as bleak as Iceland. “It’s
more difficult to keep them in check
because they keep on growing at a
fast pace,” Elías says.
Because of the abundant geother-
mal heating and water available, it is
not expensive to operate the green-
house, even without any profit from
the crops. “It would be expensive if we
wanted to make a business out of it,”
Elías says. But this is not their inten-
tion.
The 500-square-metre green-
house was built in 1950, for the pur-
pose of experimenting with growing
bananas for consumption. At the
time—due, in large part, to World
War II—it was difficult importing
bananas, amongst other fruits.
Eighteen months
“But as the bananas need eighteen
months to be edible it quickly became
clear that it wasn’t viable,” Elías says
laughing. “We carried this plantation
on because it’s definitely an attrac-
tion for tourists.”
Moreover, the greenhouse has a
significant educational purpose, al-
lowing students at the university to
partake in the agricultural process.
Aside from bananas, they also experi-
ment with growing strawberries, to-
matoes, aubergines, green peppers
and chilis. As a professor, Elías over-
sees these practicums in addition to
looking after the greenhouses.
“Usually we take the bananas
down and hang them on that fig tree
and there they carry on ripening,” he
says. “The students and tourists can
then try them.”
Hundreds of people—mostly tour-
ists—come visit the greenhouse ev-
ery week. “We used to have guided
tours for 700 ISK per person but there
was too much traffic so I stopped it,”
Elías says. “We need to take care of
the plants as well.”
When asked his opinion of the
banana in relation to Icelandic poli-
tics, Elías says without hesitation:
“Well, I don’t agree with throwing
food away. There are better ways to
have an opinion than to throw stuff
and try to hurt people.” That’s not to
say that he’s happy with the current
political situation. He adds, “I think
it’s all corrupt and they seem to think
about their own benefits rather than
to think about the country.” That’s
another reason he doesn’t like ba-
nanas being associated with politics.
INTERVIEW
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 6 — 2016
14
None other than Bill
Gates may be invest-
ing in the fancy lux-
ury hotel that’s to be
raised next to the Harpa concert hall.
And we say “may be” because the only
source for that is one of the people
who works for the construction com-
pany building the hotel. Meanwhile,
a lawyer for that same company has
been very tight-lipped about the whole
thing. So maybe Gates isn’t involved at
all, maybe his associates are, or maybe
it’s some other guy named Bill Gates
and not the guy from Microsoft.
The Blue Lagoon was once one of
Iceland’s pearls of natural tourism.
Today, it has become a fairly sprawl-
ing and comprehensive spa of sorts,
although not for everyone. As of now,
you can get a prescription from the
doctor to visit the Blue Lagoon for free
as a part of the treatment for psoria-
sis. The mud in the lagoon does have
demonstrably positive effects on the
skin, but both visiting the Blue Lagoon
or buying skincare products made
from its silica mud can prove fairly ex-
pensive. Hopefully free admission will
soon be applied to others!
Words Paul Fontaine
NEWS IN
BRIEF
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