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“fravelon ~ By Jonathan van Bilsen in ll No Ice in Iceland In the past two years Iceland has undergone exten- Sive difficulty in both the financial world as well as the environmental arena. The collapse of its economy two years ago was followed by the eruption of the country’s largest volcano, causing turbulence across the northern hemisphere. When | had the opportunity to visit Iceland, prior to the eruption, | realised | had no idea what to expect. Images of snow and sleet played through my mind. All | really knew was it was a small island way up north, somewhere. For those of you who are as unfamiliar with Iceland as | was let me give you some facts: Iceland is a four and a half hour flight from New York or Boston. (In the summer there are flights out of Halifax). The temperature, when | landed in January, was seven degrees. Twenty-five degrees warmer than Port Perry was the previous day. Apparently the Gulf Stream warms the Island. During the 40 minute drive from the airport | saw no snow. The capital, Reykjavik, has a population of 200,000 — two thirds of the entire country. | gaped in awe, totally shocked by the unexpected. Because Iceland is volcanic there are hundreds of geothermal springs, which now heat the entire city. Hot water is pumped from the earth, piped through buildings, under roads and back into the ocean. Imagine a beach in the north Atlantic with a tem- One of the many quaint, colourful houses which are commonly found throughout Iceland. 32 FOCUS - JULY 2010 Astreet in Reykjavik with its European styled buildings. perature 10 degree higher than the surrounding ocean. So what makes Iceland so interesting and appealing? In a phrase: the sophistication of the people; who appear far advanced of Europeans and North Americans, yet they live on the Arctic Circle. The economy flourishes. Islanders earn an average wage of $57,000 USD, $6,000 more than its closest rival. Comments like “Please don’t tip me, | earn enough,” were shocking. Education is free, as is medicine. There are 400 policemen for 300,000 inhabitants. There are 9 prison- ers per 100,000 people — in the U.S. that number is 900. The brother of a police detective (there are only six in