Stories from the Natlantic

Questions for you, dear listener. Answers to be given by you, to yourself, for yourself.

25 minutes of questions and no answers, from the Natlantic.

Icelander Halldór Guðbjörnsson has been a shoe maker, a professions mainly consisting of repairs, for half a century. We gain insights into his career, the profession, and the hobbies outside of work, including Judo, which he has practiced since 1963. Link below to his Judo club.

www.judo.is

We hear the story of Katelyn Jarvis, and her non profit Peace Stamps, upon her arrival in Iceland, with nowhere to volunteer. From an early career in volunteering, she has taken the full step, away from her former traditional job, into one that entails 195 stamps, and the hope for world peace. 

Link to Peacestamps website

We join Icelander Björn Ragnarsson on a personal journey down the Camino de Santiago through his memories and reasons behind his choice. Confronted with darkness, the search for light led him to the pilgrimage which starts in France and ends in Santiago in Spain. Along the way was the process of self discovery, shedding the past and overcoming personal stuff. Known as the Road of Jacob in Icelandic, it is an international attraction with a reach well beyond its christian origin as a pilgrimage. 

We meet Jean Philippe Boussut on his bicycle at the edge of Reykjavík, in middle of winter. His journey becomes clear as he tells us the story of how a small town sports teacher got on a bike, and pedalled out into a world of adventures. His project L´Odyslande combines his love for biking and exploring the world through less populated regions. Having biked from Belgium to the most northern part of Norway, he set his sights to Iceland. We encounter him on his second trip to Iceland, as part of his 600km journey. 

We hear the story of Grampa Dave, through the people who knew him and keep his memory alive. From building self sustainable houses in Canada, to paragliding over the Icelandic and South African terrain, Grampa Dave made an impression wherever he went. 

Music by FM Belfast

After a short journey along the south coast of Iceland, we enter the small town of Vík í Mýrdal, where a young man shares his story of despair turning to hope. 

We encounter two Icelandic storms, which lead us into an exploration of stormy weather in other countries, and finally how the North Atlantic storms influence those that are far away from solid ground. 

Oversleeping, awoken by a friend, heading out to hike, conversations around a holy mountain, orchestra of ice, and finally, the story of a man who set out on foot a 103 years ago, facing the dangers of Iceland´s highlands, armed with love.

On a midsummer night in Reykjavik, Iceland, we meet Leann McIsaac, and embark on a musical journey into her past.