A Tour of Iceland Changed Our Perspective

My wife and I recently returned from a week-long bus tour of Iceland.  Geologically stunning is an excellent way to describe the landscape that appeared in our bus picture windows.  Covering more than a thousand miles, we marveled at majestically rugged volcanic mountains and larva fields, countless waterfalls, steaming geysers and lush green hillsides.  Rustic overnight accommodations and indigenous foods were tasteful and interesting. 

All of this became a preface to our deeper understanding.  We were tourists, of course, but we began to realize that we were experiencing something more than a sightseeing trip with destinations.  This was a journey that offered a different perspective.  At every stop we felt as though we were building an understanding of how people interact with each other and their environment.       

Scholars call this cultural ecology. Think of it as open-minded awareness. Especially after returning home, we realized that few countries are more ecologically attuned than Iceland.  Icelanders connect with and deeply appreciate their environment.

 As we left the capital of Danish-flavored Reykjavik, where 60 percent of the country’s 370,000 residents live, we noticed clusters of the four million pine trees the country has planted since 2015. Centuries ago the Vikings stripped the land bare, so erosion is chronic.  Reforestation hints at the attention Iceland gives to their own renewable resource. Importing trees from overseas is forbidden.

Soon we visited one of the country’s six massive geothermal plants.  A resident geologist explained that more than a quarter of Iceland’s energy derives from underground sources. Combined with hydroelectric power, about 94 percent of the country’s residents have no home heating bills, nor do they need furnaces.  One of Iceland’s major exports is electricity.  Moreover, geothermal science has made Iceland a world leader in efforts to transform super-heated carbon dioxide into rock.

As we traveled on, sheep seemed to be scattered everywhere.  In the summer, after they return from highland grazing, the sheep are herded into clusters from which farmers cooperatively identify and separate their own by label.  We also saw small groups of pony-sized horses originally brought by Norse settlers.  Other breeds are forbidden from being imported, and exported native horses cannot be returned.  What makes these steeds distinctive is their unique gait which simulates riding on shock absorbers.

 We journeyed north to a coastal town surrounded by towering mountains.  Sheep farming, fishing, and music festivals are the norm in this isolated community for 200 residents.  Our host and his young daughter serenaded us, led a walking tour of puffin habitat and a fish factory, and explained how fairies and elves are an affectionate presence.  Thus social bonds, traditions, and economic necessity link community and environment.

Our tour director spent hours telling us hair-raising legends and sagas that describe the history of her country.   A full understanding of a country’s challenges can take a lifetime. Yet in a brief time we learned how life in a volatile land has enabled Icelanders to thrive. They take the country’s 32 active volcanoes in stride and track eruptions like weather reports.

We think the key to Iceland’s burgeoning success in tourism is how it integrates with, celebrates, and preserves its environment.  Even though our stay in Iceland was brief, we learned to appreciate not only the country’s natural beauty, but its sincere efforts to conserve and share that beauty while maintaining its traditional identity.