Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SEXUAL EQUALITY IN ICELAND
Regardless of the tongue-twisting name, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir put Iceland on the map when
she became the world's first female president in 1980, high-profile proof of Iceland's approach
to
sexual equality
. However, treating women as equals was nothing new in Iceland. Ever
since Viking times, when every pair of working hands was required to farm, fish and simply
exist in such a harsh climate, the nation's small population base has catapulted women into
positions that for centuries were seen solely as a man's preserve in many other countries.
Today, things are no different: both women and men often work long hours, fulfilling several
roles, to keep the Icelandic economy ticking over. Generous childcare facilities provided by the
Icelandic welfare state have also enabled women to re-enter the labour market shortly after
having children, and work their way up the career ladder, often to the very top. Even the
Icelandic language
reflects the equal nature of society; there's often no specifically male or
female word for a profession - just one term applied to both men and women.
he
south coast
is marked by vast stretches of black, volcanic coastal sands punctuated
by tiny villages. Iceland's most rewarding hiking route can also be found here: the
Laugavegur trail
between extraordinary hot-springs scenery at
Landmannalaugar
and
Þórsmörk
's lush green slopes. Just offshore from the south coast, the
Westman Islands
sport the world's largest puffin colonies.
Iceland's barren
Interior
is best tackled as part of a guided tour - it's much easier to let
experienced drivers of all-terrain buses pick their way across lavafields and cross
unbridged rivers than to try it yourself.
When to go
Icelandic
weather
is notoriously unpredictable. In
summer
there's a fair chance of bright
and sunny days, and temperatures can reach 17°C, but good weather is interspersed with
wet and misty spells when the temperature can plummet to a chilly 10°C. Most
museums and attractions are only open from late May to early September, and it's at
these times, too, that buses run their fullest schedules. Although almost all of Iceland lies
south of the Arctic Circle and therefore doesn't experience a true
Midnight Sun
, nights
are light from mid-May to early August across the country; in the north, the sun never
fully sets during June. Between September and January the Aurora Borealis or
Northern
Lights
can often be seen throughout the country. In winter temperatures fluctuate at
7-8°C either side of freezing point and daylight is limited to a few hours - in Reykjavík,
sunrise isn't until almost 11am in December; the sun is already sinking slowly back
towards the horizon after 1pm.
TEMPERATURES AND RAINFALL
The table below shows the average maximum and minimum
temperatures
in Reykjavík, and
average
monthly
rainfall.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Max/min (ºC)
2/-2
3/-2
4/-1
6/1
10/4
12/7
14/9
14/8
11/6
7/3
4/0
2/-2
Rainfall (mm)
89
64
62
56
42
42
50
56
67
94
78
79
