GastroShark

Owing to the American disposition for huge amounts of food, Sharky is getting fat in Chicago, Boston and Martha's Vineyard. So far I have eaten local delicacies such as a Chicago hotdog, Italian Beef, cornbread, muffins and more muffins, lobster, clam chowder, grapeade, ribs, corn on the cob, etc etc.

Groan.....I'll be eating nothing but lettuce when I get back to Iceland.

It's not often that polar bears manage to get to Iceland. They sometimes hitch rides aboard floating icebergs from Greenland but it's now June and there is no ice in the sea. So the huge adult polar bear which was spotted in the north of the country must have swam here from Greenland, or from an iceberg near Greenland - a journey which takes several weeks.....

Anyway, he's been shot. The authorities had run out of tranquiliser and the environment minister couldn't risk it running around eating Italian tourists, so she ordered its execution. What a nice lady.

See it roaming around here and dead here. 

Map showing every tremor that day (large earthquakes as stars)My first earthquake - what an excitement! I had always imagined my first to be nothing more than a slight rumble, as Reykjavik often has very small earthquakes which are barely noticeable. But the one that hit Iceland on Thursday was different. I was at work when it struck, the epicentre being near Selfoss in south Iceland, about 1.5 hours drive away.

The scary thing about earthquakes is that you never know when they happen or how big they are. But I was rather pleased when the walls of the office started shaking - finally my first earthquake! The pleasure soon turned to terror as the office kept on shaking and images of the ceiling collapsing sprang to mind (I grew up in an old house where collapsing ceilings were a common hazard). So I hid under my desk til my boss came out and started laughing - apparently seeking shelter under an Ikea desk is no protection from falling iron girders!

Damage to Selfoss consisted of cracked walls and every shelf being emptied of its contents, but Reykjavik got off scot-free. Except for a little candle holder which fell off my TV at home, which is the only evidence I have of that most unusual Thursday afternoon..... 

Have a look at the earthquake's full power in a bar in Selfoss here. 

For anyone who's ever asked me, "but why Iceland?", here are all the answers.

It's long, but good. 

On Monday the Icelandic government issued this year's whale quota for our hungry stomachs! 40 fresh little minke whales will be caught which means I'll no longer need to buy the 2006 frozen meat from the market. And at 4 GBP a kilo, it means I can afford some healthy protein this summer.

Whale steaks on me! 

Thursday officially marked the beginning of the First Day of Summer in Iceland according to the old Norse calendar. The first month of the 'nightless days' is called Harpa and ends with the 'harvest month' in mid-October.

And as is tradition, rain pours down on this first day of 'summer' and this year was no different. After what feels like months of no rain (we had a little snow instead), we finally had the first drops on Thursday as I was hiking up a mountain outside Reykjavik. Luckily I had bought my waterproof trousers but my fellow adventurer was soaked, though we still toasted the summer in with beers at the summit.

Well I had to be the first in culinary history to try it!! Everybody says that the best and only way to cook whale is to quickly pan fry it over a high heat, as you would a fillet steak. But I discovered that my guest for the weekend had forgotten his 1kg of minke whale meat in my fridge and as I coudn't face eating it all as steak, I decided to make a whale stew.

I took a trusted recipe for Beef Bourguignon and substituted the beef for whale. 3 hours later and after a long gentle bubble in a very slow oven, the monstrosity emerged. Removing the casserole lid, I immediately smelled whisky. Strange I thought, but yes, it was the distinct smell of the sea that you often get in Islay whiskies. A dip into the gravy revealed a deep, concentrated, beefy jus with only a slight fishyness. The problem arrived with the meat itself.

I was surprised that the meat was tender, having next to no fat and being cooked for so long. But it was the taste that was revolting. Imagine a cross between beef, fish and liver and there you have it. The flavour becomes far too strong with this method of cooking so I'd advise anyone to stick to the old method of quick flash frying. This way you get a delicious mild, beef-like flavour and a butter-like texture which blows all other steaks clean out of the water!! hmmm...a bit like whaling i suppose......:-/

It seems like Winter's chilly embrace may finally be loosening its grip. The ice and snow are melting little by little, the storms have stopped and the sun has been showing itself for the first time in goodness knows how long. That's not to say that Spring is anywhere near yet - the temperature is still vascilates between minus 2 and plus 4 and the Golden Plover still hasn´t arrived.

My previous landlord, Jon Orn Gudmundsson (KT: 200468-4659), was the most difficult and unreasonable person I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. He worked by day as the head of online corporate banking at Landsbanki, a prestigious Icelandic bank, but he also deposited over 250,000 ISK extra per month (2,000 GBP)  in renting out rooms and a flat in the house on Skolavordustigur 30 where he lived.

People who rented rooms at his house were vulnerable young foreign students coming to Iceland to study and who needed basic accommodation. Rooms at Skolavordustigur 30 were, however, some of the most expensive in Reykjavik; a small room cost 45,000 per month whilst a large room hit 60,000. Tenants were also asked if they could pay cash, as Jon was keen on not arousing the suspicion of the tax authorites.

Tenants were not given written contracts, instead they were on 1 month verbal notices. One month after moving I moved in, a list of 21 rules were presented to me:

The 21+ rules of living at Skolavordustigur 30, abridged - [my comments in brackets]:

2. Visits after 23.00 are prohibited. Exceptions can only be made if every tenant and house owner agree together and with at least one week in advance. [so expect angry 4am phone calls or shouting landlord if you let your friend stay the night]

3. Smoking is not allowed in front of the house. [smokers must proceed to pavement]

5. Downloading from the internet is not allowed. Monthly Internet limit is 3000mb for all usage on the house. If the limit is exceeded the Internet gets limited. [for 6 people would it not have been wiser to get unlimited Internet?]

9. Cooking after 22.00 is not allowed [if you're hungry, tough luck]

11. If you use slippers, use soft bottom slippers [?!]

14. Washing machine and dryer are only accessible on designated washing days and only between 16.00 and 20.00 [I couldn’t go away at weekends as I needed to wash my clothes Sat evening]

17. The gate should be closed on your way in and out of the house [the gate had no latch so blew open in the wind anyway]

20. Candles are not allowed [forget trying to make your room cosy in winter]

Not following these house rules can result in cancellation of rent without further notice [what a sweetheart...]

Additional unwritten rules:

No not leave any trace of alcohol in tenants’ kitchen [landlord’s children might come upstairs and lick the empty wine glasses clean]

Do not tap too loudly on computer keyboard [my personal favourite]

Indoor light chains need to be certified [they could explode and burn down the house]

When cooking, small window must be open and extractor fan on [otherwise landlord will come upstairs and tell tenant off]

Don’t make smelly food [landlord doesn’t like home-cooked food - he prefers take-away pizzas]

No guests allowed in the kitchen [it could be considered a party]

From 1^st March 2008, fixed cooking times to be established for all tenants every day of the week and no cooking after 7pm.

NB: Landlord can break any of the above rules if he wants. Examples include; loud banging at midnight, loud music, constant noise of pet bird, taking tenants’ washing times, banging front door loudly, frequently disconnecting the Internet, smoking indoors....etc etc

Needless to say I didn´t think paying one of the highest rents in the country was worth living like this and I left after 4 months. By writing this, I'm making sure that I don´t forget this unpleasant chapter in my life in Iceland and I'm also highlighting the growing problem of greedy landlords in Reykjavik exploiting foreigners who don't fully know their rights or what is standard rental practise.

All change! After last week's deluge of snow and freezing temperatures, the mercury rushed up to tropical temperatures this week. 9 degrees felt so swelteringly hot that off came the mittens and scarf! And whenever the weather changes so drastically, so people seem to get sick. I am no exception, and on Weds night was struck down with a cold just I was enjoying yet another bottle of Cloudy Bay Sauv Blanc over a light supper in Gardabær. 

Accompanied by the milder weather has been the sudden, but very welcome, increase in light. I am no longer walking in the dark to work which means the really dark, depressing days are finally over it seems. How many months of darkness has it been? I started complaining at the end of October, which makes it almost 4 months.

For today's, mid-Feb, light comparison:

                   Sunrise         Sunset

Reykjavik         9.27            17.55

London           7.17            17.11

Malaga            8.07            18.56