Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.05.2017, Page 57

Island Life
Weird & Wonderful News From Around Iceland
Words: Paul Fontaine
Things To Do Outside Reykjavík
Good news, lumpfish fans!
Fishermen in the Westfjords
celebrated an announce-
ment from the Ministry of
Fisheries that lumpfish sea-
son has been expanded
from 36 days this year
to 46. This news is
sure to come as
welcome relief
to anyone who
feels 36 days
is just not long
enough to really
enjoy lumpfish
fishing.
An ambulance was involved in a four-car pile-up in Fjarðarbyggð, East
Iceland. As the ambulance was descending a hill, it turned a blind
corner and tail-ended a small tour bus that was parked on the side
of the road. Fortunately, nobody was injured—especially fortunate,
really, as the ambulance was totalled.
55The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 07 — 2017
Place:
Borg
Situated outside the town of Borgar-
nes north of Reykjavík is this hill-
ock where notorious Viking Skalla-
Grímr Kveldúlfsson supposedly
settled in the late 800s and claimed
a vast swathe of Iceland as his own.
“Borg” can mean “fortress” in Icelan-
dic, and one look at this mound tells
you why: black, craggy rocks crenel-
ate its crown, and it rises high above
the surrounding countryside. A trail
leads to the top, where a monument
to Skalla-Grímr himself stands. GD
Hike:
Eldborg
Located at the heel of Snæfellsnes,
the peninsula north of Reykjavík,
this spatter cone crater stands 60
metres above the serrated lava fields.
The medieval Icelandic “Book of Set-
tlement” claims it erupted when Vi-
kings were first anchoring their ships
here in the mid-late 800s, but Eldborg
is dormant, having last blown its top
around 3,000 BC. It’s a short, steep
hike to the summit that rewards
you with a striking view of the coast,
and the Snæfellsjökull glacier. GD
Activity: Romp with
the goats at Háafell
The Icelandic goat stood on the
brink of extinction until one
woman, Jóhanna Bergmann Þor-
valdsdóttir, made it her mission
to save them. Today her goat farm
of Háafell in Borgarbyggð is thriv-
ing: go there to buy milk, cheese
and meat. Oh, and you can play
with the very goat that the drag-
on Drogon snatches in season
four of ‘Game of Thrones’, which
somehow lived to tell the tale. GD
Photo: Art BicnickPhoto: Wiki CommonsPhoto: Grapevine Archives
People are still driving off-road in
Iceland, despite strict laws forbid-
ding it. An abandoned jeep was found in
Hellisskógur near Selfoss, and locals alerted
authorities to the situation. The driver, who was
contacted shortly thereafter, admitted to driving
off-road and then abandoning the vehicle after
he got stuck. As one might imagine, he has been
formally charged.
In perhaps the most
adorable news we
have ever reported, an
all-white calf from a family
in West Iceland was born in the Reykjavík
Zoo. Even more adorable, the calf’s name is
Rjómi Sultuson, which literally means “Cream Jams-
son.” Because the calf’s father was a bull named
Jam, you see. Patronyms must be respected, even in
the animal kingdom.
I C E L A N D I C R E S T A U R A N T & B A R
Tasty tapas and dr inks by the o ld harbour
T a b l e r e s e r v a t i o n s : + 3 5 4 5 1 7 1 8 0 0 - w w w . f o r r e t t a b a r i n n . i s
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Tel: +(354) 519 5000 . elding.is . elding@elding.is