Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Thursday was our first full morning in Iceland, and we were met at our hotel by the bus to our next tour: Ishestar Farms.
Let me tell you a bit about the Icelandic horse. They are a very special breed and were imported to Iceland by Vikings. They're hardy, small in stature (almost pony-sized, but do not call them ponies in the presence of a farmer) and covered with long, thick hair to keep them warm in the cold wind. In other words, they are the ideal breed for a country like Iceland. Once you leave the city you find many of them in fields around the countryside, packed in herds and standing as still as statues. They say you can tell the direction the wind is blowing by the direction the Icelandic horse is standing. They are all practically wild animals, but this does not mean they are dangerous in the least, only that they haven't been broken. By nature, they're docile. Your typical horse in Europe and America has three gaits: walk, trot, and canter. The Icelandic horse has five. They can also tolt (a gait in which both legs on one side of the horse's body touch the ground at the same time) and pace (a smooth but fast gait, typically used in Icelandic horse racing). Until just a few years ago, Icelandic law stated that any native horse that leaves the country can never return in an effort to keep the breed pure, but due to the popularity of international racing, that has recently changed.
At the farm we suited up and headed out to meet our partners for the day. While the horses at Ishestar Farms may not have been wild as most horses you see in the country, they certainly had their own personalities. Mine, for example, liked to kick other horses that were too close behind. Virginia's preferred tugging on the reins. They say that an Icelandic horse can tell when its rider has never been on a horse before and will take full advantage of that. I totally agree.
We set out into the lava fields for the next two hours. Dead, of course, but large black rocks were scattered all around us with what little vegetation could survive clinging to the cracks. The whole place was unreal--rolling hills and flat areas of black rock set against the massive snow-covered mountains on the horizon.
For beginners like us, the instruction was simple. A little too simple. Pull on the reins to make the horse stop; kick it on the side to make it go. Again, even with these instructions, we could sense the horses' own willfull natures shining through. Virginia's horse wanted to go faster, sometimes attempting to follow the instructors as they rode back and forth along our snaking line of obvious beginners. It was only in the last fifteen of twenty minutes, she said, once we picked up a little speed, that she felt completely comfortable on her horse. Mine simply wanted to eat off any of the small bushes we stopped near and rub its chin on something solid.
Our whole group had split into two smaller ones: a faster path for advanced riders and the slow path for beginners like us. Halfway through the ride, our two groups met at a beautiful, clear stream that rushed over the landscape. By the time we returned to the stables, we were both tired and sore, ready to leave and happy to have survived the journey. It was quite an experience.
Once back in Reykjavik, we walked back to Laugavegur and got most of our souvenir shopping out of the way. We ate lunch at an Indian-Pakistani restaurant called Shalimar, which has apparently been praised by the Pakistani ambassador to Iceland and called the best Indian food outside of India by Indian tourists. I can believe it. It put any Indian food I've ever had elsewhere to shame. At night we took a bus to Perlan ("the Pearl"), a revolving restaurant located at the top of the city's hot water tanks, high above the city itself. The restaurant was fully booked for the night, but the cafeteria on the floor below was open for a few moments longer, long enough for us to enjoy some ice cream and look down at the lights of the city from the outdoor balcony that surrounds the entire complex.
The day had been long and exciting, and at last I was ready for it to end.
- comments