So both EPI and I are suitably appalled that they felled that poor wayward polar bear today. Tempered only slightly by the fact that the location where it was wandering is precisely where we have a hiking trip planned later this summer, and the fact that the weatherman interviewed on Kastljós this evening – the one who knows all about icebergs – said that this guy could possibly have friends. As in, travel companions.
EPI: Picture it: we’d be walking along and we’d see one of those coming towards us
YT: Holy crap.
EPI: I wouldn’t shoot it, though. I’d put it to sleep.
YT: Oh yeah? What – sing it a lullaby?
Apparently the Ministry for the Environment has been inundated with calls today from incensed animal lovers protesting the bear’s demise. Reports vary; some say it was foggy and the bear was about to disappear into the fog and they would have lost sight of it, so they had to shoot it. Others say they should have laid a trap for it, then shot it with a tranquilizer gun. It’s hard to know whose side to take, although I do lean towards the former – it really does seem that a lot of hasty decisions were made. The cops, for instance, should have closed the road where it was seen wandering; instead 50 or so spectators showed up, which just created more panic.
AND NOW, THE EARTHQUAKE ROUND-UP
Since last Thursday and until today, quake news has commanded the attention of the media. It has now transpired that many people in Selfoss and surroundings lost their homes and other property. A total of 23 residential homes have been declared unfit to live in as a result of the quake and there have been 2,000-3,000 insurance claims for various things. Happily the cottage that my father and his wife own [the one I sometimes sneak off to] remained in one piece, despite being a mere 30 minutes’ drive from the epicenter. A few people were injured last Thursday, but thankfully there was nothing serious, which is quite miraculous, really – there was a story in the paper about a heavy cupboard that crashed over a baby, which nonetheless escaped without a scratch. No doubt Sharon Stone would say that we have good karma. There have been consistent tremors since the big quake last Thursday, all around magnitude 3 or 4, but these seem to be tapering off now. Meanwhile, the vets in the area have had their hands full attending to all the animals who were traumatized by the quake – send over your dog and horse whisperers, please! Oh, and incidentally, there is now a shortage of skyr because most of it is produced in Selfoss, so if any of you Americans have headed to Whole Foods lately for your skyr fix and haven’t found any – you’ll know why.
TWO POSTS TODAY, COUNT EM!
This being Iceland, the weather is completely different now from what it was this morning – it’s cloudy and blustery and it rained a little bit earlier. We had pretty high temps today, though: highs of around 17°C. It’s 11°C now [52F] and sunrise/sunset are the same as last post.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Right, so I never heard of skyr until now, and have spent several minutes looking it up. Must check the nearest Whole Foods for a taste before all in stock dries up (so to speak).
Oh! That is so sad about the polar bear. I’m sure it would have been expensive but I wish they could have transported it back to where it belonged. Sniff.
Does iceland actually export skyr? I’m in Canada but I’ll be in the states next weekend, in a place where they might indeed have a Whole Foods.
Violet – I should have provided a link. It’s done now. Incidentally, if you’re in NYC, there’s an Icelandic guy there who produces his own skyr right there – it’s called Siggi’s Skyr, and is available in gourmet stores.
Rozanne – Very sad and upsetting, I know.
RS – yes, skyr is exported and sold in Whole Foods. As is Icelandic semi-sweet chocolate (also very good, esp. the 70% chocolate type) and a bunch of other stuff (like lamb, I think …).
Poor old polar bear. It makes it a whole lot less cool that a polar bear managed to migrate to Iceland all the way from Greenland when they just ended up killing it. But it would definitely make the place a tiny bit less safe to have it wandering around eating sheep and people.
What is it with bears and hasty, irrational government decisions? After 170 years a bear finally wandered into Germany and the Environmental Ministry gave hunters the green light to kill the endangered bear a few weeks later.
Wish we had skyr here.
Can’t find
how does it taste anyway?
quark + some acid?
It’s smoother than quark — similar to thick yogurt — and has a similar acidity. Less tang and more body than yogurt.
Whole Foods has Icelandic lamb in the fall. They also have smör, a couple of kinds of cheeses (Stóri Dímon and another one whose name escapes me), and at least one brand of bottled water. No whale meat, though.
A skyr shortage would be bad, but not as bad as losing one’s home. So I think I can tough it out.
Now that the polar bears know what’s in store for them in Niceland, the next one will arrive in armor.
Sorry, that should be smjör. Guess I’m just a butterfingers.
tk – we got it!