land of fire and ice and geothermal strawberries

by Geysir

Thingvellir

What a fascinating country...only settled by humans in the 9th century, leaving disputes further south in Scandinavia and looking for new land to settle, the settlers brought their naimals. In this land fruit trees rarely grow, although now some talented individuals in modern times have found ways to grow apple trees.
(apple trees in Iceland and more apple trees in Iceland),  There are five types of berries in Iceland blueberries, bilberries, stone bramberries, wild strawberries and crowberries.  They can be picked mostly in August.  We had crowberries to eat.

stone bramberries

http://katopick.blogspot.com/2008/07/berry-picking-in-iceland.html

http://www.icelandnaturally.com/news/archive/nr/1386

Icelandic strawberries with skyr, lucuma, vanilla and cream

Some vegetables such as cabbage can also be grown and there are herbs such as thyme.  Nowadays salad vegetables, cucumbers and even strawberries are grown in greenhouses, heated geo-thermally and even, in some cases lit with geo-thermally powered lighting.  Even strawberries are grown in greenhouses.

 In these types of climate, grazing animals are what makes it all possible to get nutrition that would otherwise not be possible through utilising the nutrition in the grasses through their milk.  In Iceland skyr is one of the traditional fermented milk products, it is like a cross between a yogurt and a cream cheese and very delicious.   Traditionally eaten with cream and sugar, I have been eating it with cream, lucuma, and vanilla.

Now a revival in raw milk products seems to be beginning in Iceland.  The pastures are particularly nutritious thanks to the long hours of sunlight in the summer.  I have noticed  the grasses and other green plants are extra luminous here, as if they have stored the solar charge for emission later, they seem to glow even more than in England.  Icelandic wool makes beautiful clothing and handling wool in winter has traditionally been a source of vitamin D3 in northern climes, through the lanolin.  In fact even today some vitamin D3 supplements are derived from lanolin.

between Laugadalur and Reyjavik

My first impression on arriving was the incredible freshness of the air and then the pristine water - spring water coming out of the taps!  The hot tap water smells sulphurous (think boiled eggs!) and is from a different source to the cold water.  The emphasis has been so much more on  fire than ice, with lots of bathing in geothermal pools  This country is not really that cold.  Asking the people who live here, they say it isn't even that cold in winter; they must feel a bit like we do when asked about raw food lifestyle and 'don't you get cold in winter?' ! And of course the Icelanders have got their heating systems sorted out so that a lot of the time I have been boiling.  In winter even some of the pavements in Reyjhavik  are geothermally heated!

Geysir on the Golden Circle

Connection to te Earth and elements is very much through the water and the air rather than through for example fruit trees of course.  It's about getting in the geothermal water, drinking the fresh water and breathing in the air, listening to the wind.  In Laugadalur is the amazing 'swimming pool' where you can swim, soak in hot tubs or even in hot seawater mixed with mineral water.

The Earth is beautiful wherever you go, wherever it is unspoilt.  You can almost hear the Eddas in the wind, the Norse mythology that was documented here.  The Icelandic language is an old Norse, protected by the island situation.  My thinking has been very clear here and as well as enjoying the amazing scenery and geothermal water I have been able to write and think to my heart's desire.  Clarity of purpose in this wild pristine land.  The Icelanders I have asked have told me how much they like to live here.  What is it about being here I have asked...'everything' came the response.  'We use nature' someone explained to me, and they didn't mean use as consume, they were describing an alignment to the power of the Earth which is palpable in the air here.

raw high, home grown strawberries and durian meets cream

strawberries in my Somerset garden

Over the last few weeks have really enjoyed the raw high at its best again - I'm the kind of person who can easily slip into eating too much of the wrong types of food when I'm under a lot of pressure and justify a bit of this and that.  After a while it can all add up and when I go back to eating a fresher lighter diet I really notice how much happier I feel.  It's been so nice to have some time settled working at home in the beautiful summer weather with the abundance of local and not so local fruits. After 3 days (in fact almost exactly 72 hours in my case) without deviation from what I know works for me in terms of sustaining that special feeling that can come when not eating any cooked food  I feel a transformation, a lift in mood, a different feeling and perspective on life, one which I much prefer.  It's like feeling more aligned with the life force and less in the clutches of mental and cultural conditioning. Anyway, a topic to endlessly come back to.

Meanwhile what have I been eating?  Right now, although eating some salad and raw vegetable soups too, I have been mainly enjoying the lovely summer fruits, both local and tropical..raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants, cherries (from Cheddar Gorge), mango and durian (bought frozen and thawed).  And complemented with my beloved raw dairy produce - local raw Jersey milk made into kefir and local raw Jersey cream.  I also have a few strawberries and raspberries  grown in my own little garden patch, cucumbers and tomatoes on the way.  Even to grow a small amount is a lovely fulfilling connected feeling.

kefir, mango, cherries, raw cream and vanilla powder

Breakfasts, which I eat several hours after getting up as I prefer to spend the early morning on drinks and maybe a little bee pollen, have been an adventure.  Lovely ripe mango with fresh raw cream or kefir and cherries, lucuma and vanilla powder sprinkled on.  Usually I mix noni powder and lucuma powder into the kefir as the noni complements the kefir marvellously because it opens up the pores in the intestines to allow the large tryptophan molecules in the kefir through.

kefir, mango, raw crea, cherries , vanilla and lucuma powder

Even occasionally I am having durian and cream for breakfast!   Generally durian is a fruit I generally like to eat alone intact but raw Jersey cream and durian seem to have a strange affinity to each other, at least in my taste buds and digestive system, that rich fatty but fresh feeling.  I feel euphoric afterwards and nourished for hours.  In this photo can you tell where the cream beigns and the durian ends?   See what I mean!

durian and fresh raw Jersey cream