In one of my more less-thought-out ideas, riding Icelandic horses in the countryside of Iceland seemed to have great appeal. I love horses. I love riding them. I love how they smell. I love the way they move. It just seemed a natural fit: one day left in Iceland = one day of horseback riding.
So we booked ourselves a day trip with Eldhestar.
This day-long tour started off at the horse stables where we were fitted for riding and weather gear. It was a lot of fun riding, although our tour guide, Maia, seemed to take two of her duties very seriously: keeping the riders in single file and making sure they were riding with both hands on the reins.
My horse, Frissi-Frisk, was a strong, steady lad, and quite intelligent. During a couple of dicey 
moments on the lava, I wasn’t sure who was taking whom for a ride, but he seemed to know better than I how to negotiate the trails. Since my survival depended on this beautiful creature, I deferred to his better judgment.
The views were spectacular on the ride up to Reykjadalur Valley.The long ride up the mountain was over volcano terrain and harsh rocky trails (lava rock from the volcano Hengill) but the horses managed just fine.
Some of the trails we rode on followed the hot springs river and the steam was pouring off the river. But it was a long ride, and by the time we got up to the valley we were ready to take a break.
We dismounted in this lovely valley and unsaddled our horses and left them to enjoy their grass salad while we popped open the saddle bags and had some lunch of our own. This left us just enough time to relax in the hot springs. We skittered up the hillside and down the next with swimsuits and towels in hand heading toward the rising steam. Along the way, we found a nice depression in the hillside and changed into our suits.
Then made our way over the hill and down to the steamy river pools and relaxed in a warm stream.
Ahhh!!! This is bliss!
Only twenty minutes to relax in the hot tub, then it’s time to saddle up!
In a few places on our way back down the mountain there were some fairly rocky/steep/treacherous parts, so we had to dismount and walk our horses down the rough patches of unforgiving lava. It seemed a reasonable safety precaution and it was a welcomed break from hours in the saddle.
On one particular stretch, the ground was wet and slick and the lava was really jagged and unstable. I had a firm hold of Frissi’s reins in both hands and we were doing fairly well negotiating his four hooves and my two wobbly legs. But then “it” happened. I lost my footing and went into a certifiable whooptie loop. Before I even took flight, I felt bad for my poor Frissi having to endure whatever was to befall us(pun intended!). Surely this should have ended in a disaster greater or equal to the volcanic eruption that had ground all European flights to a grinding halt. But it didn’t.
My beauty, my Frissi, saved my ass. Even with me shrieking and flailing and jerking Frissi’s reins with all of my weight on a downhill dive, this once-upon-a-time stallion carefully and majestically kept his composure. As soon as he saw me falling he dug in his hooves and angled his neck to catch me and stop my fall short of a six week hospital stay. He didn’t move. He just held his position until I was able to gain my footing again. It was only after I was stable that my champion relaxed his neck and footing.
I’ve never seen a horse more calm, cool and collected in my life.
That’s my girl! Love, Mom
What a wonderful story. Been watching for updates on your blog. Sounds like you have the true adventurers spirit. Looking forward to more updates. Enjoy each moment.