July 7, 2000
JANE GEORGE
Nunatsiaq News
REYKJAVIK, Iceland — It’s expensive, the housing is over-crowded and pricey, there are more glaciers and mountains than trees, and, for a couple of months during the winter winter, the sun doesn’t even peek above the horizon.
The people who live here are closely related, too, and speak their own language.
Does this sound familiar?
Iceland is somewhat warmer than Nunavut, with temperatures ranging from -11 to +18 C., but with global warming on its way, who knows?
On the surface, Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital city, doesn’t look like any town or city in Canada’s North, but it could provide a clue as to what Iqaluit might be like a century from now.
Only 100 years ago, in the early 1900s, Reykjavik was a considered a remote place, with a population of 6,600. Today it’s a booming city of more than 110,000 people, with more than half as many as cars, busses and trucks.
Of course, founded back in 874 by the Vikings, Iceland has had a long head-start on Nunavut.
Yet some things, such as the high cost of living and limited resources, are still a reality. In response, Iceland has created a nice little economy — one that’s largely based on itself.
During the summer months, Reykjavik’s population swells, as low air fares from Europe and the U.S. bring tourists in by the thousands.
And that’s a good thing, because Iceland’s cash-poor residents need every penny they can get.
Just imagine paying the equivalent of $5.00 for a loaf of bread, $15 for a pound of beef, $2.50 for a litre of gas, or $12 for a can of beer. The cost of living is so high most Icelanders have to work two jobs simply to make ends meet. Not surprisingly, there’s little unemployment.
Skuti, a bus driver who’s on strike for higher wages, says high taxes eat up his monthly wage of around $3500, and leave him with barely enough to scrape by.
He pays 40 per cent of his income on taxes to the government, and another 25 per cent on living expenses, including food. To save on the cost of booze, Skuti says "most Icelanders drink at home before they go out."
In families, he says, both parents usually work to make ends meet, and many even moonlight during their holidays.
Even then, a single-family home is beyond most peoples’ means, and 80 per cent of Reykjavik’s population live in two- to four-room apartments or multi-family dwellings.
Those lucky enough to own houses try to pick up a little extra cash under the table by turning their homes into "guest houses."
With tourism booming, it’s no wonder the guest house business is growing. Rooms at these popular guest houses run $80 a night, while in hotels the tab can easily top $200 a night — without food or drink.
It’s much cheaper, however, to get to Iceland than stay there. Tourists from Europe or the U.S. can buy round trip tickets to Reykjavik for a only few hundred dollars. These low fares are a good ploy to get people to visit Iceland, because once they’re there, Icelanders are poised to take all their money.
Much of Iceland is unlovely, covered with glacial and volanic debris, resembling the geological leftovers near Nunavik’s Raglan mine or Resolute Bay. With 200 volcanoes, Iceland is steaming, and unstable: there are geysers galore, as well as the occasional earthquake.
But Icelanders have taken the ugliness and danger out their environment. Instead, they cannily offer exciting tours to volcanoes and glaciers. One tour is called "The Golden Circle."
The "hot pots" — as Icelanders call them — of geothermic water have been tamed to provide heat and energy, as well as keep spas and swimming pools at a warm 29 C. year-round.
Icelanders talk up the Vikings too, who were the ancestors of 98 per cent of today’s Icelandic population.
There’s even a campy Viking restaurant near Reykjavik where you can eat in a fanciful Viking-style building, and wrestle with Vikings for your food.