This was very nearly the best day I have ever had. I went Icelandic Horse riding, and checked out Geysir and Gullfoss.
Riding The Icelandic Horse has been a recent dream come true. These diminutive giants (yes, I know--a contradiction in terms, but really, how else to explain this beautiful, strong, sturdy, but short horse?) are 127 to 147 cm tall, and 270 to 410 kg. They can easily carry 1/3 their weight. They have lived in Iceland since around 800 AD, having been brought to the island by Vikings. The breed originated from Scandinavian and European Horse stock. There are roughly 75,000 Icelandic Horses in Iceland, some of these are wild herds.
The Icelandic Horse's best known trait is their remarkable character, being: willing, brave, happy, confident and gentle. They are easy to ride, and easy to handle, and many Icelandic Horses can adapt to the skill of the rider.
I met my horse, Skygrr (an English/phoenetic pronounciation of his Icelandic name.) He was a beautiful, rather large, multi-coloured Icelandic Horse, mostly in shades of light brown on the body mixed with grey winter coat, black legs, and a gorgeous brown, honey, black, grey, red and white mane and tail. He seemed quite bulky and sturdy, and had a lovely, confident, calm, "old-spirit" personality. We rode for about 2 hours, (which was perhaps a bit ambitious for my almost total lack of riding experience.) I hurt a bit now, but it will be interesting to see how I feel tomorrow! None-the-less, I experienced many moments of joy, fear, abandon, and exileration. Our group of about 8 started out slowly, as we were all novice riders. We started with the "tölt" (perhaps between a walk and a trot), and several times, we went into the "skeið", which is a faster speed. The horse moves its legs with alternating one foot / two foot support, which is a relatively smooth motion. I don't think I could hold a glass of wine without spilling it (as the tale goes...pardon the pun), but I didn't feel like I was going to fall off, and felt reasonably safe. Once, Skygrr even went very fast, I think he was moving in a more traditional gallop--basically, running.
We crossed grassy and bumpy-with-old-lava-eruptions Icelandic fields and meadows, went along lava-gravel horse paths, through quite a few muddy/swampy patches, a lava rock field, several small streams, and 2 larger rivers. At times the weather was almost spring-like, with little to no wind, and spots of pure Icelandic sunlight. Then it would suddenly change to very cold, windy, and definitely winter weather. Most of the ride was blessed with moderate wind, thin clouds, and about 4 degrees celcius. Towards the end, when we were crossing the very rocky and turbulent lava field (don't worry--it was not active), it started to rain heavily, and the wind picked up. The rain made pinging noises off my riding helmet, and ran in rivulets down my visor into Skygrrs mane. Skygrr didn't seem to mind the weather, in fact, it is a trait of Icelandic Horses to turn their noses into the wind (usually while stading in groups). Several times during the ride, Skygrr nudged up behind or beside other horses, and once, one of the other horses nibbled and licked at my boot while Skygrr was up against him. Apparantly, it is a trait of Icelandic Horses to follow the leader, with little to no direction from the rider to do so. They seem to be very social animals, enjoying the company of their fellow horses. This particular farm has about 80 Icelandic Horses in the winter, and 190 (ish) during the "summer" season.
One concern has kept this from being the best experience I have ever had; I am worried that the large number of untrained riders (including me), are not sufficiently instructed in riding techniques and horse behaviour to be as non-expoitative of the Icelandic Horse as possible. In 1 minute, I was given 4 instructions immediately before riding the horse,(including: left, right, stop, faster), and told nothing else. Several times, I asked if my riding "style" was hurting the horse, and I was repeatedly told "no". Likewise, I think the reign (the leash leading to the horse's mouth?) was far too short, and I'm reasonably sure it was causing discomfort to the beautiful horse I was riding. The reigns were so short that I had to bend and reach quite far forward to keep them loosely on the end of my fingertips. As I was second in the line of our group, it was a short while later that I noticed the other horse's reigns were at least 25 cm longer. I left the reign loose at all possible times (about 80% of the time), but even though I am not familiar with horse behaviour, I felt that Skygrr was experiencing discomfort. Once, when crossing a deep river, Skygrr bent down to drink, and I had to completely let go of the reigns so he could quench his thirst. I think, if I were to do this again, and I would like to, I would seek out a farm that provides a bit more technical lessons and background on Icelandic Horse behaviour.
While not dismissing my issues with the possible exploitation of these beautiful and magnificent animals, I would have to reiterate that this was definitely almost the best experience of my life.
After the ride, we went to the farm's restaurant for a light lunch of soup, bread, cheese, cold cuts, cucumber and tomato. In addition, two lovely students (from Malasia and Saigon, studying in Paris) offered me a taste of more traditional Icelandic fare, including many parts of the sheep (blood/cheek fat/liver/testicles), and Iceland's national alcoholic beverage, Brenniven (Icelandic shnapps--sort of mix between vodka, licorice, and gin). Yes, I sampled some of the sheep-based food (I won't say which), and 2 shots of the Brenniven (some of which I will have to bring back home). I won't be bringing home any sheep-based food. ; )
Then, off to Geysir (the World's most famous geiser), which was noisy (gurgling, steaming, bursting), hot (underground springs of water are super heated by underground lava flows) and smelly (more of that lovely sulphur smell that makes me crave devilled eggs). Apart from it being a total tourist trap, the pictures can do Geysir more justice than my words. It was raining heavily, so much of Geysirs' fury was diminished, but it was still beautiful.
After an hour of Geysir, we drove 10 minutes to Gullfoss, Iceland's most famous waterfall. It is about only 30 meters tall, with 2 drops, but it is still beautiful. (Nothing like our Niagara Falls, though!) The wind and rain was so vicious at this point, that staying outside and taking pictures was difficult. At least the wind was blowing me up and away from the sheer cliff drop into the river valley created by the falls! Sufficed to say, my previous quest for a rain and wind proof winter coat was successful, as I stayed warm and dry all day.
After another hour in a road-side tourist shack complete with tacky/expensive gift shop and deep-fried snack bar (and rude American's open-mouthed chewing their greasy burgers and fries...I know, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all...) we journeyed back to Reykjavik. I enjoyed the Tour-Guide's narration of Iceland's geographical and geological wonders as we sped through them; but as the driver was careening up/down/left/right/sideways, at no less than 100 k.p.h. over the narrow mountainous and rain-slicked roads, I was having enough trouble holding down my lunch without being able to take pictures at lightning speed. (Have I mentioned that Icelanders drive like they're posessed by their Viking ancestors?)
All-in-all, a great day. I was concerned for the Icelandic Horses who are subjected to hoards of tourists, and not impressed with the commercialization of Geysir and Gullfoss, but this was definitely the highlight of my Iceland Adventure. Tomorrow night, The Northern Lights (if the weather behaves). Thursday--Dog Sledding!!!
Direct Link to the photos of today: http://www.flickr.com/photos/smadventure/
Eldhestar Farm: http://www.eldhestar.is/
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