Last week, the CMM students went on a short field trip to the fishing village of Flateyri, in connection to their latest course, Society and Natural Resources. Guðrún Pálsdóttir, who runs a fish drying and tourism company in Flateyri, guided the group around the village. She shared, with the students, insight into the history of the village and the economic and infrastructure development that took place after the big avalanches in 1995. They stopped at the beat huts, fish EG and the company she runs with her husband, where the students were offered some dried fish.

 

The group hiked up to the avalanche protection structure in the mountain above the village and stopped by the bookstore "Bræðurnir Eyjólfsson," which is now a museum. Jóhanna Kristjánsdóttir, the caretaker, met and guided the students through the museum. The tour ended in the fish factory Eyraroddi where Teitur Björn Einarsson, the manager, told the group about the company, its products and answered numerous questions from the students.

 

The trip was a good opportunity for the foreign students to get first hand information about the daily life of people in this small fishing village. Flateyri has faced serious problems in the last decade due to avalanches and the economic crisis caused by the reduction of fishing quotas.

 

The University Centre is very thankful to all the people in Flateyri that helped welcome the students.