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.