North Atlantic

Iceland on the wing

The T-shirt sums it up: Don't F**k with Iceland " We may not have cash but we've got ash!

Cash refers to the fallout from an explosion: The effects of the global financial crisis on Iceland. Traditionally based on geothermal energy, fishing and agriculture, Iceland tried to reinvent its economy through financial services; one observer described it as "Wall Street on the tundra". The results were disastrous, with the economy collapsing in 2008.

But we are not here to study that phenomenon. Our interest is Iceland's geology and biodiversity, not its finances. But Iceland didn't seem to want us. Several planned visits were disrupted by volcanic activity.

The most famous recent eruption"the cloud of volcanic ash disrupted global air travel for weeks"was that of Eyjafjallajkull in March and April 2010. A T-shirt provides assistance: Eyjafjallajkull is so easy to pronounce 'Ay-uh-fyat-luh-YOE-kuutl-uh'....more    

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