Iceland hasn’t been hit by the pandemic quite like most other countries have. Few permanent residents, very few tourists, vast space and clean, crisp air meant that the virus had little chance to spread up here in the North of Iceland. Travel cancellations are the one noticeable sacrifice which meant we had to stay in our little safe, but chilly and remote place.
However, there is something that I generally really really miss in our remote part of the world – pandemic or not: a variety in fresh produce.
Imagine a supermarket in a remote 3000 people town close to the Arctic circle with 3 hours of daylight (≠ sun) in the winter time! Right! Meat and fish is their USP! But you can also always count on cucumbers, red peppers, tomatoes and Chinese cabbage, which grow in geothermal heated and artificial lighted greenhouses.
Miraculously this year a group of people somewhere in the East of the island appeared to feel the same way, and decided to do something about it. They started importing organic fruits and vegetables and shipping them all around Iceland in boxes. We had to wait a while until they started sending from their remote town to our remote town but we can now enjoy a delivery every other week, if the weather plays along. We even received a box when landslides hit the headquarters of the company!
My favourite part is that you don’t get to choose. They decide and pack a box of surprise fruit and veggies for you. And we’ve so far not been let down!
Catching the little daylight and the veggies in one shot.
Bette(r) Days celebrates the things that did not suck in 2020. Each day in December, we’ll be posting about the highlights of our collective garbage fire of a year, type-related or not.