Forgive me. I wasn't correct when I said everything in Iceland is expensive. In fact, for about $1.50 you can buy all the shark meat you could ever eat and then some.

This shark meat, comes from a Greenland shark that is buried for 9 months until it is rancid, smells like stale urine in sweaty socks, and can be bought at the local flea market on Saturdays.

Did I mention the shark is fermented so that the neurotoxin in it has degraded fully?

Anyways, an Icelandic treat.

The old man I purchased the cubes of meat from gave me an approving look, or perhaps a sympathetic one, but it made me feel bold.

I was urged by my cohorts to not eat the shark until I had a shot of Brenavin (aka Black Death) to wash it down. They also suggested that a garbage can or toilet nearby would also be appropriate.

Well, I stuck the tub of shark cubes in my warm pocket and walked around Reykjavik all day. Hours later we remembered to get a green bottle of Brenavin and went to Andrew and Tara's (Roberta's cousins) hotel room.

I would come to learn many things about the rancid shark meat if Iceland, but the first and most important is to make sure you open the container in someone else's house, especially if it has been stewing in your pocket all day. The ammonia stink and our laughing brought the lady in the next room over out. She scoffed in what I imagine was admiration and hid back in her room.

I went first with the meat and being somewhat amateur I chewed for far too long. You should probably try to swallow it like a pill, every second makes it less likely you will be able to tolerate the morsel.

The taste is suitably foul but nothing compared to the smell which wafts up from inside your stomach (don't burp for at least 6 hours).

The Black Death chaser in relation comes across as merely hearty. I've heard awful things about this particular beverage but when paired with Icelandic shark bits it is wholesome and tasty. Even a couple days later Breniven tastes decent and perhaps you could develop a love of all food by starting with rancid shark.

I can't wait until I have a kid so I can test this.

Here is a link to a video of Roberta and I trying rancid shark.

In the end we decided rancid shark was enough local food for this trip.