Many Icelanders do not eat hákarl, I've discovered, though it's readily available in stores. Despite this anecdotal evidence to the contrary, I remain convinced that hákarl is simply a prank Icelanders play on foreigners to see who will put disgusting things in their mouths.

I won't abuse you with any graphics descriptions of some of the other Þorramatur (Thorramatur, a winter feast) delicacies, I've discovered, like súrsathir hrútspungar (check if you really must know).

In Thor's Forest

While last year's Fanfest afforded me , this year wasn't the same. I was able to get outside Reykjavík and tour a bit of the countryside, ending up in Þórsmörk--Thorsmork, or Thor's Forest, a valley about two hours' drive away from Reykjavík that's named after Thor, the Norse god of thunder. To get there, you follow Route 1--a ring road that runs around the circumference of Iceland, the preferred route of tourists who take the "Golden Circle" journey of the country. Our guide, Luli, told me that to do it properly you needed at least a week, though you could easily double that by diverting off to side roads and coastal routes.

Iceland is an incredibly geologically active environment, as it sits atop the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the continents of North and South America are pulling away from the Eurasian and African continents bit by bit. Iceland is at the forefront of harnessing geothermal energy--Reykjavík was recently voted the greenest city on Earth, despite having a less-than-adequate public transportation system and a dependency on privately-owned cars. More than once on our trip, we were subject to the side effect of such unusual geological activity in wafting, invisible clouds of sulfur-tinged steam, heavy with the stench of rotten eggs.