Putrified what?

May 17, 2016

Greenland Shark. That's what. No preservatives and no cooking process. It is only fermented and dried. The entire process takes about six months. The meat is poisonous if it does not go through this process. Greenland Shark is considered to be an Icelandic delicacy, but it is one that many foreigners happily do without. I actually did not mind the taste, but it is not something that I would casually eat for dinner. The texture was a bit rubbery and the meat had a strong seaweed flavor. Don't get me wrong--I have nothing against seaweed. If fact, I sometimes enjoy snacking on dried seaweed from Trader Joes. It is just not a flavor that I would normally associate with meat.

Everyone in the group was adventurous enough to try the meat, but I was probably the only one to go back for seconds and thirds. It isn't bad, but it also isn't good. It was definitely an interesting experience though.

When we went outside got to see where the meat is dried. It is all hanging out in the open, so flies and other insects have probably come in contact with it at some point. We also got to feed bread to some of the fowl. There was also a nearby enclosure that was full of sheep. We coaxed them to come up to the fence, but as soon as they started moving in our direction, a sheepdog sped across the ground and herded them back to the far side. It was pretty neat to watch the sheepdog do its thing. It's not something that you see everyday.

After we left the Bjarnarhofn Shark Museum, we ate at a cute restaurant in Grundarfjordur called Ru'Ben. I had fish and chips, one of my favorite Icelandic meals.

Once we returned to the hostel, we embarked on an intense hike through snowy mountains. We took the Egilsskarth trail that was marked by fluorescent orange stakes. We had to cross over many streams and trek across patches of snow. These efforts resulted in many squelchy hiking boots. A little less than half of the group turned around before reaching the summit. Some came across some really cool geodes near a medium sized waterfall. Once I reached the summit I was rewarded with a grand view of the town, the ocean, and the surrounding mountains. Dr. Ranson cut up an apple with his pocket knife to share amongst the group. It was much faster going down the mountain than it was going up. We used the snow and ice patches to our advantage. Some skied down using just their hiking boots. Jessie and I put on our rain gear so that we could sled down. We had a blast.

My day ended with a bowl of delicious chili and a hot, relaxing shower.

-HET