Field work, Iceland

The best part of the week is always the two (occasionally three) days I like to call the weekend. With the drudgery of reading papers, fumbling through Icelandic language class and the general nothingness of Monday to Thursday behind me, I set off with Rán (pronounced: roun, with a rolled r) to do some field work in Straumsvík, near Reykjavík in the south of Iceland. Our objective was to catch approximately 50 male and female Arctic charr for an experiment that is to be conducted at Verið Station. We stayed in Reykjavík over the weekend, which gave me the chance to indulge in some of the many activities not available in Hólar or Saudárkrókur.

Downtown Reykjavík, Iceland

Instead of staying in a guesthouse, I decided to contact one of my Icelandic friends and see if it was possible to stay with her in the downtown area. It's always good to have a local to show you the good eats, places to steer clear of, and of course ensure that your lack of language skills doesn't get you in to too much trouble. Lilja certainly delivered. On Friday night we were on our way through the Christmas light strewn streets towards Sægreifinn (translates to 'Sea Baron' - which is ironic because he can't!) restaurant on Geirsgata 8, 101 Reykjavík. It's open daily, and at 750 kronur for a lobster soup you can't go wrong.

Downtown Reykjavík at dusk

Lobster soup at Sægreifinn is a must try for any visitor

The adventuresome diner will find a couple of other unusual temptations at Sægreifinn. First, there’s the not quite politically correct Minke Whale meat (a species that is not endangered and perfectly legal in Iceland). It is served two ways: heavily smoked on slices of bread, or skewered, flavored with soy sauce and grilled with vegetables. Either way, the meat is delicious and just about indistinguishable from tenderloin of beef. Interestingly, there is no stigma attached to eating whale in Iceland. It really puts a new spin on the debate about whaling - not that I necessarily agree that it is a good idea; but they are a resource that could potentially be managed as sustainably as any other after all. Divide in to groups of three and discuss ...

Minke Whale and Monkfish - extremely delicious if not dubious menu items

As you’ve probably guessed, Sægreifinn is not a sleek place. Rather, it has crude stools made from fish-packing containers, tables of barely finished wooden planks, plastic foam bowls and plastic spoons, and the ubiquitous nautical décor. I was particularly impressed with the dead animals adorning the walls; talk about appetising. Take a look for yourself - click the image to enlarge it.

Sægreifinn on Geirsgata 8, 101 Reykjavík

With my stomach full of lobsters and whales, It was time to get some rest before heading in to the field. Saturday was beautiful, and not really too cold, which was lucky considering I was going to spend knee (and sometimes waist) deep in almost frozen water trying to catch Arctic charr. Our target lake was in the lava fields of Straumsvík, about 10 minutes southeast of Reykjavík.

The un-named lake in Straumsvík about to be zapped

The most effective way to catch large numbers of fish in the short space of time usually allocated for field research is with electricity. An electric fishing machine is essentially a battery in a backpack that the operator carries. When the trigger is pulled, the machine discharges current through the anode (a metal ring on the end of a pole), which then travels through the water before the circuit is completed as the current returns via the cathode (a metal wire that trails behind the operator). This circuit creates an electric field in the water that interferes with the central nervous system of the fish, enabling them to be scooped up in a hand net for closer study.

Electric fishing is not as fun as Trout fishing, but it is easier

After nearly 6 hours of lugging that stupid 20 something kg backpack around, we decided to call it a day. I was so knackered that I had to head back to Lilja's for a little sleep before we headed out again for dinner. Reykjavík really comes alive in the weekend, in most part due to the fact that Icelander's love to party hard. Due to the excessively high price of alcohol, most people drink at home until around 2:30am before heading in to town until dawn. With a heavy schedule of work on my agenda, and a back that felt like it was already severely injured after day 1, I didn't dare to keep pace. Instead, we headed for a leisurely dinner of Seafood Tagliatelle and a few drinks at the trendy Vegamót bar/cafe/nightclub.

Sunday was amazing for one reason more than any other - I got sunburned. WTF? I guess it was my fault for not slip slop slapping on my balaclava. By late afternoon we had enough fish in our tanks to think about heading home. This, people, was a delicously good weekend - and wasn't it so much more exciting than last week's introduction to Icelandic tyres?