Iceland - 4

ÍSLAND - 4

Back in  in Austurland (East Iceland)

Thursday 10th - Thursday 17th August 2017

The weather was perfect when I flew back to Egilsstaðir and you could clearly see Vatnajökull, the largest ice-cap in Europe which is almost 90 miles across. During the flight Lucy read 'Lagarfljótsomur' (The Serpant of Lagarfljót) in her Icelandic folk tales book and was very excited when she realised that the lake is near Egilsstaðir, so she persuaded me to stay for the night. I found a room and she disappeared with a few cans of Viking lager to see if she could spot the monster. It made me laugh to learn that the English translation is the 'worm' of the lake. In the morning I found her surrounded by empty cans near the water's edge. She was really excited because she had seen it. Of course it could have been the beer talking ...... But I like to believe that she did see it.

 Back in Seyðisfjörður

I returned to Seyðisfjōrður for my last week in Iceland and I was pleased when several people remembered me and welcomed me back. It was also good to be reunited with my bike, which I cleaned,  checked over and went for a spin. I climbing up the mountain pass and on the way down I stopped to photograph some Icelandic horses. 

The Icelandic Horse

The Icelandic horse is small, strong and stocky but always referred to as a horse not a pony. They are relatively free from disease as it is illegal to import horses into Iceland and any that get taken abroad for shows or competitions are not allowed to return. The horses are also unusual because they have two gaits in addition to the typical walk, trot, and canter/gallop of other breeds. 

Concert in the Blue Church

Lucy remembered that there was a concert of East Iceland music in the Bláa Kirkjan with a band, (two guitars, saxophone, flute, grand piano and drums) playing their own and traditional Austerland music. They had heard that Lucy had been studying Icelandic music and invited her to join them. 

Hinsegin Dagur ( Gay Pride) 

During my last weekend in Iceland it was gay pride in Reykjavík and I knew that there would also be a parade in Seyðisfjörður on the Saturday. They started putting up the flags on Friday night and I went down to see what they were doing and someone recognised me and invited me to join the parade.

The next morning Lucy was up early and I found her sitting on the float waiting patiently for the parade to start. There were very few tourists in the town that weekend and most of the hundreds of people that turned out were Icelandic. There was a really good atmosphere and it had the feel of a village fête with local families and children joining in when we walked all around the town and the lake. If you search  hyr halarofa on Facebook you should find the photos including some with me in them.

After the parade Lucy joined two students for the pub quiz and somehow came second and won a bottle of special pride ale. This went to her head a bit and I later found her crashed out on the bed.

 

Gender Equality

In October 1975 about 95% of Icelandic women, whether in work or at home, went on strike for the day. They walked out of their work places and refused to cook, clean or do child minding duties. This was the beginning of the campaign for equality and things have improved to such an extent that Iceland has been named as the No 1 country for gender equality for the last seven years. This year they became the first country to officially require gender pay equality. Also in 2008 Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir (who I met in London last year) was elected as Iceland's first female Prime Minister, and the world's first openly lesbian head of state. 

Last Day in Iceland

Finally my month in Iceland came to an end and I spent my last day packing my bike, parcelling up all of Lucy's Icelandic memorabilia to post home and went for my last walk around the town. I also cut my hair. When I was in Reykjavík I went in to see if the barber would cut women's hair. He replied, "When I feel like it".  When I asked if he felt like it, he replied, "No, but come back about four and I might." I didn't really trust him so before I got the ferry I took the kitchen scissors to it. I thought it looked ok, but later I noticed some very thin patches. Kausher, who cuts my hair at home, will have a fit when she sees it. It is a good job that I will be wearing a bike helmet for the next week or so. But Lucy can't stop laughing. 

Goodbye Iceland

They let the bicycles on first, (there were four of us) so as soon as we got on board Lucy rushed to find the best window seat to wave goodbye as we began the 48 hour ferry crossing back to Denmark.