Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.07.2013, Side 8

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8 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • July 15 2013
When Chicago author Stephen Markley hopped an Icelandair
flight to Reykjavík last summer,
he had no idea that a year later,
he would be promoting his
book about the trip and longing
for authentic blueberry skyr. In
April, Markley released Tales
of Iceland, or, Running with
the Huldufólk in the Permanent
Daylight, through his fellow
traveler Matthew Trinetti’s
indie publishing and lifestyle
company GiveLiveExplore.
Iceland was a catalyst
for the development of
GiveLiveExplore and its foray
into publishing, explained
Trinetti via email. “Before
our trip ... Steve and I had no
intention of working together
... But our experience together
in Iceland inspired us to give
this a shot.” The guys enlisted
award-winning Icelandic artist
Sigga Rún to round out the book
with a handful of illustrations.
Markley credits Trinetti’s
social networking savvy for
the connection, but Trinetti
said they “serendipitously
stumbled upon each other over
Twitter.”
Contacted via email,
Markley explained that in his
opinion, Iceland’s appeal is a
combination of the personal
connections possible in
such a small country and the
stunning nature he admits he
had a difficult time describing.
“Reykjavík on any given
weekend feels like the most
exciting small town on the
planet,” he said, adding, “and
I mean that in an extremely
complimentary way.”
Living in the city, Markley
said, he doesn’t “have a lot of
opportunities to get out and
see vistas that don’t contain
glass, concrete, and steel.”
Iceland’s nature made such an
impression on the guys, in fact,
that they decided to donate a
portion of Tales’ proceeds to
SEEDS, an Icelandic nonprofit
dedicated to humanitarian and
environmental projects in
Iceland and around the world.
Just months after Tales
of Iceland was published,
Markley and Trinetti are
about to head off to Ecuador,
where Markley hopes to find
inspiration to write Tales of
Ecuador. In fact, if all goes
well, the plan is to create
an entire series of anti-
guidebooks that Markley
hopes can “serve either as a
companion when visiting a
place or as inspiration to get
there someday.”
And what advice would
Markley give to someone who
is inspired to visit Iceland after
reading his book? “Take some
time to understand the place
you’re heading to. I’m very
pro-travel, but I feel like it has
also become commodified in
many ways ... Americans and
other Western people vacuum
it up like any other consumer
product. Learning about
Iceland’s history, its politics,
its environmental challenges,
and its recent banking crisis
was actually one of my favorite
parts of the whole trip. It made
me far more appreciative of
the experience.”
Julie Summers
Battleground, WA
Tales author has
more stories to tell
Matthew Trinnetti, Mike Bojoanowksi and Stephen at Skógafoss
PHoto: MattHew trinetti
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At 10 a.m. June 15, 2013, women got together to walk in support of cancer research. This walk was the seventh
annual Kvennahlaup Women’s Walk in
Gimli, Manitoba. After the walk, the women
were treated to muffins and bottles of cold
water at Gimli Park.
Margret Kernested and her sister Christine
Dann have organized the event since they started
it in Gimli after attending the Kvennahlaup in
Winnipeg. Thirty-five women registered to
walk the event in Gimli. Participants can walk
the full five-kilometre distance or the shorter
three-kilometre path. Among the walkers were
Consul General Hjálmar Hannesson and his
wife, Anna.
Anna brought her dog. She said they do
not allow that in Iceland. There were four dogs
in all, as well as a few little boys, including
Margret's grandson.
The weather cooperated, and the walk
along the lake and through the town was much
enjoyed by all who came out.
Four-legged walkers at Kvennahlaup
Signý McInnis
Arborg, MB
PHoto: eLva Jónasson