The Tina Belcher in me today was pleased, for today, we got to ride horses! And not the invisible kind (like Jericho) nor the porcelain kind (like Horse-lain), but the Icelandic type.
We also went hiking in some pretty valleys and visited Geysir, but horses!
We set out early for Geysir and Gullfoss, two of the three attractions in the Golden Circle (read: tourist central). Tour buses were already chugging along in front of us. We hurried along to try to beat the buses and their occupants but it was already too late.
First: Geysir. The geyser from which the word in English is derived. The ground around Geysir is dotted with smaller geysers and hot pots. Hverir was much more smelly than the hot pots at Geysir (thankfully), so we didn’t relive too much of the Satan’s butthole smell.
Right now, Geysir isn’t erupting. How does this happen? This is like…your thing, Iceland. The geyser, the first one known to modern Europeans. Apparently, it takes breaks now and again and it hasn’t been erupting since 2016. Rude.
Instead, the nearby Strokkur was going off with regularity – so we got to see that go off twice. It sprayed nearby people who were too close. It was a lot of people who didn’t notice where the ground was wet where they stood downwind of it…they ran shrieking as the water rained down.
After Geysir, we visited Gullfoss, a large, two-tiered waterfall that was also tourist-laden as it is part of the golden circle. It was cascading down a wide river and thundered loudly. It reminded us a bit of the raw power of Dettifoss, but we stayed much dryer.
We had enough of tourist hordes – other humans, ugh! Our next stop was þjórsárdalur valley, a park which contains waterfalls and some good hiking. We bumped along a 4WD road to get to Gjáin – and encountered a few cars that definitely did not have 4WD on the road. They seemed stuck-ish…and slow.
Gjáin was sneaky. We drove across some desolate volcanic plains and parked a little ways away. Approach the cliff, however, and you would be pleasantly surprised. It was actually a verdant valley with several waterfalls, caves, and alien plant things sprouting everywhere. This was truly a hidden gem, and it was filled with locals there for a picnic with their families and pets.
On the way back, we went to Stong, ruins of an ancient Viking farm. Stong was buried by an eruption of Mt Hekla in 1104, and was unearthed in the 1930s, in the first official archeological dig in Iceland. Only the foundation remains of the ancient farmhouse. It is now protected by a shelter and you can walk around the foundation. Neat!
It was also near Hjaltharfoss, a split waterfall downstream from a power plant. We are beginning to think that Iceland has more than enough waterfalls for the rest of the world – share a little, sheesh.
Finally, the highlight of the day – ponies! Or rather…the Icelandic horse. And…I would also call this the mane event. Small, stocky, and wild manes, these small horses are everywhere on the island. They were brought over to Iceland sometime in the 9th and 10th centuries and are still used today for shepherding, but mostly they carry around tourists now. I got to touch them over in the Eastfjords.
Our horses waited for us in a fenced-in area, some of them chewing on the fence. Our German guide was saddling them up for us – it would be just us four. Hooray! I haven’t ridden a horse since I was 8 and in girl scouts, and I distinctly being frightened of the giant horses.
The Icelandic horses…not so much.
My horse was named Chocolate – our guide warned me that Chocolate liked to be in the lead and she also liked to eat snacks. Lunge for snacks, even. Perfect. We are made for each other. I mounted Chocolate and she made for the gate, ready to go out and eat tasty snacks, or be ridden, or both.
We set out across the plains, horses in a line. Our guide told us that they like to race so being in a line is best. I got a good view of horse butts.
Chocolate was mostly well-behaved until we got through a fence and she made right for some lupines. I went into the bush. Apparently the best ones are inside the bush. She got a snack for the road before I managed to get her out.
Icelandics have a special trot, the tolt – which is kind of a faster gait made for difficult terrain. We tolted across a field and forded a stream. Birds flew up before us, and we ambled through more streams, past a big waterfall, and across lava fields from Hekla’s bigger eruptions.
On our way back, we passed through a valley of lupines. It was the valley of temptation for Chocolate. Stay strong, Chocolate. But she didn’t – she kept trying to rapidly grab and eat anything we walked past. It was food to go! Our guide said I was actually doing decently with this rebellious and extremely hungry creature as her mouth was not yet fully green. Yessss. I am the horse whisperer.
We bounced through more sandy fields and rocky streams before returning to the paddock. Our horses were very happy to have their saddles off and we bid our farewells before heading home to Selfoss.
Tomorrow, it was an early start as we are swapping travel companions and must be off for Keflavik very early…it’s apparently 1.5 hrs from our current location. Oops.