Dear Cha-Wel-Dor-Sue,

Pat and I chose Iceland for a trip this summer, not only to temporarily escape the heat, haze, and humidity of mid-summer in Connecticut, but also to see this wonder of nature called "The Land of Ice and Fire". It is a rugged island in the north Atlantic just below the Arctic circle, a land of remarkable contrast that is continually being formed, transformed and reshaped every day. It has many ice caps and innumerable glaciers with their run-off glacial rivers, towering waterfalls, hot springs and geysers, active volcanoes, some of which exist below the glaciers and which during periods of intense activity cause tremendous melting of the ice and devastating floods. There are mountains, beautiful fjords, extensive lava beds, and vast sand bars of pumice or volcanic ash. All that Mother Nature has to offer can be seen in Iceland and this is what attracts geologists and naturalists to this unusual island. Approximately one-eighth of its surface area of 40,000 square miles is covered with ice, or more than twice the area of all the glaciers in Europe combined! The temperature is quite temperate due to the effect of the Gulf Stream, but the strong winds add a considerable chill factor to the weather pattern, and we actually endured a snow storm as we drove out of Akaureyr on July 17th!

Iceland is of interest to all who would like to know more about how our continents and land masses were formed, as it is the youngest of our Earth's land masses. Surtsey, a few miles off the southwestern shore of Iceland and a part of the Westmann Islands, was born only 20 years ago, when a volcano suddenly erupted out of the sea; today, it is still growing. Some 65% of the island is uninhabitable and consists of glaciers, lava beds, mountains, volcanic ash beds, etc., and except for moss on the lava, there is nothing that grows in this inhospitable environment. The island straddles the mid-Atlantic ridge, a spreading zone, extending from Greenland to Scotland, and which represents a submarine mountain range of volcanic origin lying below the surface of the ocean. Hekla is the largest volcano and still smokes a bit today. Approximately 1,000 years ago, it erupted and cast such a pall of ash over Europe, that it was noted by many historians on the continent, and was considered for a while as the true Hades. Both the typical cone-shaped volcanoes and the so-called explosive volcanoes can be seen in great numbers, and it was the latter type, the Laka volcano that erupted in 1783 and which caused the largest lava mass ever recorded on this Earth. Laka was really a fissure with many small craters lying on the surface and that erupted over a period of five years. At one point in our tour around the island, we drove for over 26 miles over its lava bed, and an equal distance over fine black sand of glacial origin called a sandur.

The capital of Iceland is Reykjavik and has a present population of approximately 85,000. Most of its growth has occurred since World War II, when nearby Keflavik served as an allied air and naval base for our military operations against the Nazis. Prior to this time, Reykjavik had been slumbering for almost 1,100 years! Many of the new homes being built there are of concrete to enable them to withstand the frequent earth quakes and tremors that occur on the island, and also because all wood for construction must be imported as there are virtually no trees to be seen anywhere. All the homes and business establishments in Reykjavik are heated with warm water from the hot springs in the area, and some of this is piped over distances of approximately 30 miles (geothermal energy). Electricity is abundant and cheap, being obtained from hydroelectric power plants. In fact, imported oil is used only for fuel for airplanes, motor vehicles, and to run many forms of machinery. Iceland is almost energy independent!

Our tour was a 12 day tour from New York City and this allowed us one day in Reykjavik after our arrival and one day in Reykjavik after we had circumvented the island on the rim or perimeter road, which, incidentally, was only completed ten years ago! We traveled by bus with a group of 36 people, half of whom were from Germany. Our nights were spent in their "summer hotels" or their so-called Hotel Eddas, which during the academic school year served as boarding schools for the children in those areas. Our accommodations were very plain and adequate, except for the fact that there were very few toilets and very few showers. The food and service were superb in all respects and fish and lamb were frequently served. No one could complain about the quality or the quantity of food.

Iceland's chief industries are two in number and they are, first, fishing, and second, agriculture. The fishing industry serves not only to provide the natives with food but also provides the chief source of export income. Cod, haddock, halibut, salmon, herring, and catfish, are caught in large numbers and we had the pleasure of visiting a fishing village and witnessed a large trawler coming in with a three days catch of fish and also a smaller trawler coming in with a catch of lobsters. We were also fortunate in following this fresh catch of fish through a processing plant, where the fish was properly dressed and packed for shipment. It is interesting that some fish was preserved by salting and some was prepared by drying, but most were quick-frozen or canned. One would certainly never hesitate to purchase any fish coming from Iceland or its crustaceans after seeing the immaculate and efficient operation performed by the local people, many of whom were school children working during their summer vacation. Our tour also included a visit to a whaling station and we arrived just after they had completely dissected a whale and I managed to get a few pictures of its huge skeleton which was still on the dock. It is interesting that virtually all of the whale was utilized in one form or another and much of the meat was destined for Japan. The Icelanders are in favor of harvesting whales according to a strict program that will preserve the species, but they are not in favor of indiscriminately banning all whaling.

The second important economic activity on the island is agriculture and this consists almost exclusively of raising grass or hay, with the two crops being gathered during their brief summer season. They harvest it when it gets anywhere from 8" to 12" high and this is done in order to enable them to get in the second crop. Hay is used to feed their cattle and also their wonderful Iceland ponies, those magnificent "Stallions of the North". For almost 1,000 years, these sturdy animals provided the only transportation available and this meant crossing mountains and glaciers! Only recently have the motor car and airplane been used to any great extent. Some million to two million sheep are also raised on the very short grass on the hills and in the valleys and most of these are slaughtered in the fall for the tender lamb meat and their hides. The wool consists of many colors and while white seems to predominate, many brown and black and some even with shades of gray were also seen. The weaving of sweaters, dresses, hats, gloves and so forth is a long established art in Iceland and has been a cottage industry dating back many centuries. It is interesting that no dyes are used in the complicated designs that are woven into their woolen products.

The abundance of hot water has also stimulated the growth of a hothouse nursery business, where vegetables and flowers and even a few bananas are raised! Most fruit, however, is imported, and is naturally expensive. In fact, virtually everything in Iceland is imported, as there are few natural resources to be developed. Living costs are high and inflation is indeed a real problem. Socialism is the way of life, although some four or five different political parties do exist. It is, and has always been a true democracy, and its Parliament is the oldest Parliament in continuous existence in the world! We visited Thinyvellir, where the Icelanders formerly gathered once every year in August to conduct their affairs of State and to write their laws. As a consequence of their extreme isolation, the Icelandic culture is very provincial and for many years, their sagas, Eddas, and Skaldic poetry were their only achievements. They lived initially in sod houses after the early settlers had stripped the land of all the trees that were present on their arrival in 874 A.D. We visited many small villages and found them pretty much alike, but we were particularly impressed with Seyoisfjordur, where one takes the ferry to the continent or to such places as Bergen, Bremerhaven, and the British Isles (Three to four days journey.)

As I noted above, the food was excellent and abundant and we were introduced for the first time to dried fish, which one chews as one would munch on sugar cane. Apparently, this was the food that was employed by the Vikings in their long voyages. We also enjoyed Skyr, which is a dairy product and vastly superior to our yogurt. We did not have any of their singed sheep heads or any of their famous blood sausage or smoked lamb.

Our only disappointments were that we only had one day in Reykjavik and saw very little of this interesting and relatively new city, and we saw nothing of Akaureyr,the cultural capital of the Norch. We merely drove through Husavik, an important fishing village, and we saw nothing of the northwest fjord area. Thus, while it may seem that ten days in Iceland would provide more than enough time to see its many attractions, we found that we could have spent a day or two additionally in Iceland. Had we the additional time, we might have made the short flight to Greenland, as two of our tour members did.

Perhaps the highlight of the entire trip was on the morning of our departure, when we had the morning free, and together with another couple, charted a four passenger small plane and spent some two hours in the air, seeing many things from the air, which we had visited on our bus tour. This enabled us to fly over the Westmann Islands and to see Surtsey close at hand. While the sun was not shining, our visibility was good and we did get a better idea of the terrain and a closeup view of Hekla.

Ruth and Amos Friend had been to Iceland and had enjoyed it very much and it was largely on their recommendation that we chose to make this trip. For this, we are thankful.

Lutheranism was decreed as the state religion in Iceland in 1550 and some 97% of the people presently belong to this church. Roman Catholicism was the prevailing religion prior to 1550, at which time, its Bishop, Jon Arason, was captured by the followers of the Reformation, and together with his two sons, was beheaded. Bishop Arason was one of the greatest leaders Iceland ever had and people there today still regret his untimely and brutal death. On our trip around the island, we stopped and visited many small churches and came away with the conviction that the church probably plays only a small part in the lives of the present Icelanders.

Camping out in tents is very popular in Iceland, as it is in all of Scandinavia, and we visited Skaftafell, a beautiful camping area lying at the foot of Mount Hvannadalshajukur (2,119 meters), the highest peak in Iceland. We saw tents of all shapes, sizes, colors, and construction, and it was obvious that people enjoyed the outdoor life, especially those few who lived in the few urban areas, such as Reykjavik or Akaureyr.

Love,

DAD

CEJ/ngb