ICELANDIC FISH STEW

PLOKKFISKUR

Iceland may not be known for its great culinary tradition, far from it. But in Iceland have many high-quality ingredients. Exist a few classics, that don’t seem to go down in popularity despite the ever-growing variety of food options in supermarkets and restaurants around the country. And I’m not talking about anything rotten or smelly, like fermented shark or skate. I’d like to show you one of Icelandic food classics: Plokkfiskur.

Plokkfiskur is basically a simple fish stew. The name literally translates to “plucked fish”, is a traditional Icelandic dish made from fish, potatoes, onion and bechamel sauce.  The result is a creamy delicious food, is very popular among the locals and tourist alike, and perhaps one of the most appetizing dishes from the Icelandic cuisine.

Many restaurants will have their own version of how to make Plokkfiskur.

This traditional dish is preparing with a few ingredients: White fish (such as haddock or cod), potatoes, yellow onion, wheat flour, milk, butter, salt and pepper. Some recipes may additionally include ingredients such as bay leaves, chives, curry, chicken stock, bearnaise sauce and cheese. Like any classic dish a few variations may exist, but all include those first few ingredients.

When you visit Iceland don´t forget taste this delicious, traditional and different dish. 

 

Traditional exotic dishes ( Hákarl )

Hákarl (an abbreviation of kæstur hákarl Icelandic)  is a national dish of Iceland consisting of a Greenland shark or other sleeper shark that has been cured with a particular fermentation process and hung to dry for four to five months. It has a strong ammonia-rich smell and fishy taste, making hákarl an acquired taste.

Fermented shark is readily available 

in Icelandic stores and may be eaten year-round, but is most often served as part of a þorramatur, a selection of traditional Icelandic food served at the midwinter festival þorrablót.

Fermented shark contains a large amount of ammonia and has a strong smell, similar to that of many cleaning products. It is often served in cubes on toothpicks. 

It comes in two varieties: chewy and reddish glerhakarl from the belly, and white and soft skyrhakarl from the body. 

The meat of this type of shark is toxic if ingested fresh. Traditionally, the Vikings learned to let the meat of this shark ferment when they realized that i if ingested fresh that it was edible. Nowadays, you can taste it in many restaurants and it is usually accompanied by an Icelandic liqueur made from fermented potato called Brennivín.

Would you dare to try it?

Traditional and exotic dishes.

Svið is a traditional dish in Iceland, but would you try it?

Svið is an unusual and unique dish from Iceland, consisting of a singed, halved, and cooked sheep's head. The head is cooked in an open fire (to remove the fur) and consumed.

The dish is traditionally served with a side of mashed turnips, rhubarb jelly, and mashed potatoes, especially during the traditional Icelandic mid-winter festival known as Þorrablót.

During the festival, is laid out a buffet-style for hungry revellers. The dish could include blood pudding, wind-dried fish, seal flippers, fermented shark, and ram testicles. This is a big buffet, but for Vikings.

Originally, the dish was invented at a time when people could not let any part of meat go to waste. Although Svið has a reputation of being tasty, some may find it strange to look at the eyes of the lamb when this is going to be eaten.

Now you know the Svið dish if you would have the opportunity to try it…. would you?

PLACES TO VISIT

 

PLACES TO VISIT 

   💭  Horseback Riding

The Icelandic Horse is arguably the country’s most famous four-legged resident.

 Is a unique breed, so much so that it’s forbidden from outside breeding to maintain its unique genetics. Any horse that leaves the country can never return.

By choosing to partake in a horse riding tour, visitors guarantee themselves a tried-and-tested method of experiencing Icelandic nature. Touring by horseback has been common throughout the centuries, during which time the original Norwegian breed developed into the animal we know today.

💥Price: 120-160 USD per person

💧Visit Lake Mývatn in North Iceland

Here you will find clouds of the winged heathens buzzing and whizzing around the lake shoreline, making the use of netted-hats and long sleeves an absolute necessity.

Winter absolves that problem completely, and even in the summer, the flies can do little to detriment the sheer gorgeousness of the lake’s surrounding area.

Visitors here will be able to look upon the Skútustaðagígar pseudo-craters, the geothermally active Námaskarð Pass, and even Dimmuborgir, or “Dark Fortress,” an area of strange yet hauntingly beautiful volcanic rock formations.

💥Price: 60-300 USD per person

💧The Blue Lagoon

The Blue Lagoon holds the privilege of being Iceland’s most famous spa because of its healing silica mud, warm and soothing water, charming surrounding, and billowing steam stacks.

If the Blue Lagoon is out of your budget, there are always other spas that offer similar experiences, such as the Secret Lagoon near the Golden Circle and the Mývatn Nature Baths in the north.

💥Price: 40-300 USD per person

    💧  Dettifoss Waterfall in North Iceland

Falling 44 meters from the Jökulsá á Fjöllum river, Dettifoss crescendos with a mighty crash into the Jökulsárgljúfur Canyon below, creating one of the most spectacular and dramatic natural sites available to visit in Iceland.

Dettifoss is accessible by Route 862 and makes just up one part of the Diamond Circle, the northern counterpart of the more famed Golden Circle sightseeing route. Alongside Dettifoss, visitors to the Diamond Circle will also visit such attractions as Húsavík, Ásbyrgi Canyon, and Lake Mývatn.

 

💥Price: 80-200 USD per person

      💧Enjoy Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon 

In a country made up of countless awe-inspiring natural attractions, it might seem hard to pick out just one that outmatches the others, and yet Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon takes the crown every time.

After all, it is a still lake decorated with glittering icebergs, groaning and crunching against one another as they make their way from Breiðamerkurjökull glacier to the Atlantic Ocean.

While some visitors choose to partake in a Zodiac boat tour, others are content to sit on the shoreline and watch as the playful seal colony dips and dives around the heaving chunks of ice.

Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon is increasing in size each year due to the ever-growing effect of climate change on the Icelandic glaciers.

💥Price: 140-500 USD per person for 2-3 days

TRANSPORT

If you want to travel to Iceland from Mexico it is necessary for you to check.

What probably fly connections you need to program, taking in count that there is not a directing flying to that country

The most common connection could be fly from Mexico City to EUA

The companies that run services between Mexico and Iceland are United Airlines, Air Canada, WOW Airlines, Delta, Icelandair, United Airlines, and five other airlines fly from Ciudad Juárez to Keflavík hourly.

The price range ranges from 36000 to 60,000 Mexican pesos

How to fly to Iceland?

Iceland has a low-cost airline, with new aircraft and great service: “WOW Airlines”. This airline only flies from the United States for the moment to Keflavík (Reykjavik) by direct flight.

Another flight option is departing from New York via the "Icelandair" airline (but their economy tickets are more expensive).

Both airlines connect with Europe.

The best transport to get from one place to other while you are in Iceland is by Uber.

 This is an estimate to travel from Mexico to Iceland.

IDA

AIRPLANE | Mexico - New York, JFK (for Interjet, $1,979.43MXN round)

TRAIN | New York, Penn Station - Boston, Back Bay Station (for Amtrak, $49USD one way)

AUTO | Boston, Back Bay Station - Boston, BOS (on Uber, $27.90USD per way)

AIRPLANE | Boston, BOS - Keflavík, KEF (by WOW Airlines, $167.96USD round)

COMEBACK

AIRPLANE | Keflavík, KEF - Boston, BOS (by WOW Airlines)

AIRPLANE | Boston, BOS - New York, JFK (by JetBlue, 116.10USD one way)

AIRPLANE | New York, JFK - Mexico (by Interjet)

 

Air tip #1

If your intention is Iceland leaving Mexico, the best option for comfort and cost is via Los Angeles by WOW Airlines.

Bonus tip
You do not need VISA to enter Iceland as a tourist, only valid passport, although you must be aware. Any questions, go to the Embassy of Denmark in Mexico.

Ariadna Ortiz.

 

ACTIVITIES TO PERFORM

 

There are a lot of activities to do in Iceland, here you have some of them...

Have a Dip in a Natural Hot Pool, hot spring tours make for fantastic getaways and are the number one way to counter jet lag or a hangover. They are also an excellent place to have a friendly chat with other people. 

Do the Golden Circle with Snowmobiling or Snorkeling, driving the Golden Circle can be achieved in a few hours, along the way you will find attractions such as the famous Thingvellir National Park, the Tectonic Plates, the spot on which the Icelandic Parliament used to sit in ancient times, and the Strokkur Geyser.

Witness the Northern Lights, this natural light display occurs only in the winter and only at the earth’s highest elevations, so join a tour with a Northern Lights guide. The guides know the best and darkest vantage points. 

Have a Night Out in Reykjavík, Downtown Reykjavík is full of bars, coffee houses, restaurants, and social events. Most establishments offer 'Happy Hour' for at least three hours. They will often offer other discounts to keep you happily drinking. 

Visit Viking World, here you will find a replica of a Viking ship from the 9th century called the Icelander which had the claim to fame of sailing across the Atlantic in 2000. You can explore the ship and wander underneath the hull as well as learn more about Viking history.

WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather in Iceland

If you're planning to visit Iceland, the most popular travel time is during the summer of May through August when you can enjoy lots of daylight hours. December is also popular for the winter holidays and seeing the Northern Lights, although it will be quite dark during that time and you will see very little—if any—sunlight at all.

Iceland, near the Arctic Circle, has a cold, temperate climate due to the North Atlantic Current that carries Gulf Stream warm water north. That means that even though winters are cold, Iceland generally experiences higher average temperatures than other places in the world located at a similar latitude.

Iceland's climate includes conditions typical for a Nordic country, but there are some variations between different parts of the island: The south coast tends to be warmer, wetter, and windier than the north, and snowfall in winter is more common in the north than in the south. Known as the Land of Ice and Fire due to its many volcanoes, Iceland is always subject to the possibility of volcanic activity.

Iceland has four seasons, although sometimes it doesn't feel that way. The weather changes all the time.

People who lives in Iceland said, 'if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes'. Many people think that Iceland is constantly frozen, but that is not the case.

Fast Climate Facts

•          Hottest Month is July (57° F / 14° C)

•          Coldest Month is January and February (36° F / 2° C)

•          Wettest Month is September (4.6 inches)

Spring in Iceland

Spring first arrives in April, bringing with it warmer temperatures and the first signs of green grass and flowers.

Temperature averages range from 39 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) in early April to 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius)

Summer in Iceland

Summer is the height of tourist season in Iceland, and in midsummer—during the entire months of June and July—daylight takes over during a time known as the Midnight Sun, when there is virtually no nighttime darkness.

It never really gets hot in Iceland due to the Gulf Stream bringing cooler air into the country throughout the night less summer.

Fall in Iceland

Keep in mind that because the Gulf Stream brings milder air from the Atlantic Ocean in contact with colder Arctic air, the skies are frequently overcast with driving wind and rain and abrupt weather shifts—you might just experience four seasons in one day!

October through December is also the rainy season in Iceland, making outdoor adventures harder to find.

Winter in Iceland

In midwinter, there is also a period of no sunlight and darkness prevails during a phenomenon known as the Polar Nights, which is a perfect time to view the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights).

Thanks again to the Gulf Stream air, winters are typically milder than elsewhere in the world. In fact, New York's winter is much colder even though it's technically further south on the globe.

 

Ariadna Ortiz