Note: Icelandic Roots Samkoma Member Lee-Anne Fox describes herself as a phone-based hobbyist photographer and "photogenic Iceland is a dream for me!" Since joining Icelandic Roots she has enjoyed participating in the live events where she often shares her immense enthusiasm for Iceland. Lee-Anne Fox wrote this article in the U.K. where she resides. Samkoma members have full access to all member-only Icelandic Roots events. And you do not need to be an Icelandic descendant to become a Samkoma Member. Details here.
By Lee-Anne Fox
Some of you may recognize me from the Book Club Zoom calls - I'm a big reader and love to read anything set in Iceland, about Iceland, or by Icelanders! So I've never joined a book club because my To Be Read pile is too high already to add books I'm just not that bothered about! So when I saw the Icelandic Roots book club I thought 'At last! People after my own heart, and books I'll actually want to read!'
The first meeting was at 1 am my time so that was tough, but it was a book I'd already read. I couldn't resist joining.
A couple of the book selections have been in my top reads this year (Burial Rites already was!). Be Still the Water and Mother of Light were wonderful!
When the clocks change, midnight is a bit easier than 1 am, and the earlier Samtal Hour (or Book club) that have been at 5/6pm UK time have been great for me.
Iceland came onto my husband Jon's radar through the Bárðarbunga eruption and a colleague's visit, so in Oct 2015 he organized a family trip to Reykjavík. He made all the plans as I was rather in denial about the cost of such a holiday with no guarantee of seeing aurora, which was our hope!
We spent very little time in the capital, instead driving out and back, miles each day visiting waterfalls (my favourites), geysirs, glaciers, geothermal pools (not the Blue Lagoon) - everything was stunning.
The only tour we did was whale watching, and briefly saw a minke. We even saw a tiny glimpse of Aurora. A lot of the places we visited were lesser known at the time, so we had them to ourselves, although now thanks to Instagram and other social media, everything is pinned on Google Maps for all to find. When we left I said to our teen girls 'well, I hope you enjoyed it, as we won't be here again!' Famous last words - within a couple of months, after viewing our holiday photos and remembering our adventures, I found myself longing to return after all.
We arranged a ring road trip for the following October, adding more wonderful sights - including an incredible aurora display outside Akureyri - to our album. I had picked up a Kindle special offer and read Ragnar Jónasson's mystery Snowblind before we went. When we found ourselves at Hofsós too late for the pool, we spontaneously decided to go on to Akureyri via Siglufjörður so that I could visit the book's location. And thus the passion for Icelandic books began and hasn't abated.
I'm now twenty Icelandic visits in and every time we come we have incredible experiences that just make us love Iceland all the more. We've been every year except 2020, have seen active volcanoes on three occasions, and Aurora many times.
I've hiked the incredibly beautiful Laugavegur trail and attended the Iceland Noir Book Festival twice, meeting many wonderful people, including the multi-talented Quentin Bates, translator of Ragnar Jónasson's Snowblind.
Bates is the author of the Officer Gunnhildur mysteries set in Iceland, all of which I'd read before I met him. He's a good friend now and I regularly proofread for him and the small independent publishing company he's a partner in, Corylus Books, who bring many enjoyable reads in translation to market.
2018 was a difficult year for me with an 'empty nest' and family mental health issues. I threw myself into all things Icelandic, planning more trips, and trying to learn the difficult but beautiful language as a means of distraction, which was a real help, comfort and escape.
It's also been rewarding when speaking with Icelanders as well (I'm sure my attempts provide entertainment if nothing else). They are so welcoming and generous with their time and encouragement, which is so kind when you consider the overwhelming number of visitors they have to endure. I think there's something in the stark bleakness and wild beauty of Iceland that just resonated with me in that darker time and cemented my passion.
Either that, or I must have brought a pebble home in my shoe on that first trip. We overheard an ICESAR volunteer (Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue) on the volcano hike saying if someone takes a rock home from Iceland they leave a piece of their soul behind.
My colleagues ask me 'Haven't you seen it all by now?' But the answer is always no, and I don't think we'll ever tire of it! You can see the same place multiple times and find it looks beautiful in a different way each time, with different light, weather, seasons, time of day, and there are always new places to see each time as well.
There are apparently 10,000-odd waterfalls, and I've currently only seen about 0.01%, so that should keep me busy for some time yet. The other question we get asked a lot is about moving there, which we would love to do at some point, although Brexit has now made this MUCH harder. I don't know if we would stay forever, maybe for a couple of years to see the seasons all through. It might depend on what our daughters were up to - perhaps when we retire we'll be able to consider it more seriously.
In the meantime, we'll just keep visiting, reading, learning, making new friends, and keeping up with Icelandic Roots online.
I feel a bit of an oddity at the meetings, being just a dedicated enthusiast rather than having any Icelandic roots myself, but Iceland has certainly laid roots of her own in my heart and soul!