From miles of black sand and gravel rise cliffs jagged and dramatic. In their shadows cast by the ever-present summer sun lie fields of treacherous and gnarled rock which create abrupt breaks in the plains. Rough yet virgin, the Icelandic landscape is dictated by the volcanic activity which insists on the island being nearly uninhabitable to any animals or plants. No birds nest in the trees for there are no trees to nest in. Instead, the rocky coast is littered with the habitats of seabirds. Few predatory mammals hunt openly for there is little prey. Instead, the sea has become the primary resource for both wildlife and humans alike. As nature struggled on land, so did the humans which decided to settle here, leading the early Icelanders to go looking in their surrounding waters.
Hakarl is a traditional Icelandic dish made from shark meat, toxic to eat without proper preparation. An industry exists around hunting sharks and making it edible. Not tasty, not a delicacy. Just edible. As a result of the fermenting process, a strong ammonia flavor remains, a flavor described to me as "feeling like someone is peeing up your nose." Tradition and taste recommend taking a shot of vodka to chase each potent morsel.
But gone are the days of struggling to catch prey to feed a tribe, gone are the days of dying from consuming poisonous non-domesticated animals. Icelanders have the technology to build cities and roads, to climb the mountains and glaciers once unreachable. They have farms and participate in complicated systems of currency and international trade for food and resources. So one begins to wonder why the contemporary Icelandic culture would continue to include the consumption of fermented, rotting shark meat.
With conditions as unique and stubborn as Iceland's, a culture as stubborn and unique are demanded to match it. Their prosperous fishing industry was born out of the lack of huntable wildlife ashore. To keep warm in their 20-hour-long winter nights, heated swimming pools use geothermal vents which burn from frequent tectonic activity. Their respect and appreciation of glaciers and volcanoes comes from all that they provide: clean drinking water and a healthy tourism industry. A socially-conscious democratic government works to make sure that the populace feels more welcome among each other than they were welcomed by the elements.
So when visiting Iceland, try to find some Hakarl to eat. And when you're tasting it, don't think of it as your newest favorite dish (it won't be), but rather as a symbol of the determined ethic of Icelanders, and the rich culture that has been created over centuries. Keep in mind the untameable beauty of the land and try to connect with why eating rotten sharks might be worth living in a place so beautiful.
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