Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.04.2017, Page 10

Words:
Paul
Fontaine
Photos:
Art Bicnick
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Our readers are aware that the num-
ber of tourists to Iceland is grow-
ing at an accelerating rate. Yet you
might be surprised to learn that
while the number of tourists who
die in Iceland is likewise increasing,
it is not increasing in proportion with
the number of tourists: in fact, the
number of tourists is far outpacing
the number of those who die here.
That said, tourist deaths do happen,
and forensic pathologist Dr. Sebastian
Kunz recently compiled a comprehen-
sive report on how they die. He spoke
with the Grapevine on how you can
keep from dying when visiting Iceland.
Natural cause of death
"The main cause of tourist deaths in
Iceland are cardiac and pulmonary
events, which means a natural cause
of death,” he told us. “That being said,
the main reason is, people come over
here, some of them are at an advanced
age, and they do things they wouldn't
normally do. When you're on vacation,
you tend to do things you wouldn't
normally do: hiking, climbing, snor-
keling, diving, stuff like that. And [if
you] do that in an environment you're
not used to, especially if you have a
pre-existing condition, without con-
sulting a doctor beforehand, or per-
haps while thinking your physical
condition is much better than it actu-
ally is, you'll eventually over-exhaust
your body.”
This is the case whether you’re
hiking in the hills or going snor-
keling in Silfra, the freshwater ra-
vine in Þingvellir National Park,
where a handful of tourist deaths
have occurred. Dr. Sebastian ad-
dresses this issue in particular.
Literally breathtaking Silfra
“The main incidences at Silfra were
not related to any wrongdoing of the
organisers of the diving team,” he
told us. “Even if you don't have a pre-
existing condition, diving in Silfra can
be quite breathtaking, so to speak. If
you're fit, it shouldn't be a problem,
but you still have to be careful. It's dif-
ferent from diving or snorkeling in
Miami, where you have very warm wa-
ters, than when you have water that's
about 4°C. It also depends how deep
you go. In Silfra, you can go
quite deep, and you have to
ask yourself if you've gone
that deep beforehand.”
In addition, there’s also
the question of renting a car
and taking to the open road.
“As anyone who has
driven in Iceland can at-
test, if you drive in stormy
weather in a rather large
car, you have to know how
to handle it,” he says. “There
could be people who've
never driven in snow and
icy conditions or in high
winds before. It's not their
fault; they just don't know that you
can easily get kicked off the road.”
Even the flight over to Iceland could
be hazardous to your health, although
not in the way you might think. If
you’re flying over to Iceland from
further away than western Europe
or eastern North America, you might
want to consider the risk of a pulmo-
nary embolism.
“If you fly long distances, you've
been sitting in a not very good posi-
tion, considering your blood flow,” Dr.
Sebastian explains. “And if you have
a pre-existing condition, or you're a
smoker, or maybe a little overweight,
a clot can develop in the lower legs,
which then makes its way to the heart."
To prevent this, he recommends wear-
ing compression socks, or simply get-
ting up and walking up and down the
aisle a few times during your flight.
Training = probably
not dying
Your vacation to Iceland does not need to
end in tragedy, however. Dr. Sebastian of-
fers some common-sense advice for
any would-be visitor to Iceland.
“It is very advisable to train,”
he says. “And by training I
don't mean a daily eight-hour
exercise, I just mean maybe
doing some cardiovascular
exercise once a week a few
weeks before you come
here. Some people would
be amazed with how little
they actually exercise. If
you just sit in front of a
computer all day, and then
drive home, and you're not
going to the gym, you're
not really exercising that
much. People underesti-
mate that. Even if you're active in your
life, you're not actually as active as you
think you are.”
In early 1943, observant Reykvík-
ingar might have seen a naked
man running past their window
and even, on occasion, climbing
up trees. Sightings were mostly in
southeastern parts of town, with
spotters ideally situated in base-
ment apartments with windows
facing the street.
One such was a teenage girl
living in Sjafnargata, close to the
Leifur Eiriksson statue. At 9:30pm
one evening, she saw the naked
man on the street and did the only
sensible thing, alerting the wres-
tler living upstairs. Said wrestler,
with the imposing name of Vagn
(Wagon) Jóhannesson, leapt into
action and raced into the street,
where he saw a man with his
pants around his ankles and his
shirt drawn up towards his chest.
As we can assume Vagn prac-
tised the Icelandic form of wres-
tling, this presented him with a
problem, as the whole point of
glíma is to grab people by the belt
before throwing them down. Nev-
ertheless, he gave chase while the
naked man raced over garden walls
and snow-filled streets. Finally, a
struggle ensued, but the naked
man held the advantage of giving
his opponent little to hold on to.
Police arrived on the scene and
finally apprehended the man,
who by then had been subdued by
the wrestler. He was taken into
custody and found to be an Amer-
ican soldier, diagnosed as suf-
fering from mental problems.
Interestingly, he was arrested on
February 14th, perhaps marking
the first Valentine’s celebration in
Iceland. To the press, he became
known as the Reykjavík Tarzan.
Words: Valur Gunnarsson
10 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 05 — 2017
Reykjavík
Tarzan Arrested
For Nudity
ANALYSIS
BLAST FROM THE PAST
Some wrestler, back in the day
“When you're
on vacation,
you tend to
do the thing
you normally
wouldn't do”
How Not To
Die In Iceland
Cardiac and pulmonary events are the
main cause of tourist deaths

Dr. Sebastian Kunz at work
in the Reykjavík morgue
Don’t Fight the Power. Feel It.
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