Tomorrow will be the third anniversary of JP's accident. It's been a rough road, to say the least. Losing my beloved companions Ziggy (my dog) and then Jerry (my cat) recently took me on a downward spiral. I felt I needed to take a break in order not to break down. Initially I had thought of going to Europe, visiting my best friend Stephanie, my brother and nephew, as well as seeing the Marbacher Hengstparade. But then I decided I needed something completely new and challenging, somewhere I hadn't been before.
My friends Michel and Patricia had raved about a trip to Iceland, so why not Iceland? But what to do? Well, horses, or course! I contacted Equitours (Equitours.com), a riding travel agency based in Wyoming (JP and I had booked with them years ago). As luck would have it, the agent handling Iceland tours happened to be German and has the same first name as I do. Biggi had been to Iceland and done the tours. She was super to correspond with and answered all my questions. It was meant to be: "Iceland, here I come!"
Travel to Iceland is easy, direct flights from Detroit to Reykjavik are daily and reasonably priced. I arrived the day before I was to meet the group and used that to visit the famous Blue Lagoon. It was quite beautiful, and luckily not overly crowded. I soaked in the hot waters, which was a relief after the long flight and bus trip.
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| Blue Lagoon |
The following day it was time to meet the group at the bus station. I was a bit apprehensive, after all, I was about to spend a week with strangers in close quarters. After a bit of 'fremdeln' (being a bit shy) all went well. My fellow 10 travelers turned out to be amazing women from all walks of life. We had a fun time together throughout the trip. No dressage queens in sight LOL.
Stefnir, who owns Hekluhestar (Hekluhestar.is) together with his partner Anita, picked us up and off we went on the Golden Circle tour by van, visiting the Thingvillir National park, Gullfoss and Geysir on our way to the Hekluhestar farm.
I had been a bit leery about the accommodation. The description noted "bunkhouse style shared accommodations" - and I do not share well. Luckily, Karin and Rebecca (the Swedish mother-daughter team) and I got assigned the most charming new guest house, and I got my own room.
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Guesthouse
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We learned that Stefnir and Anita are continuing their family's business that started 30 years ago. The farm has about 100 horses, the horses are born at the farm and stay in the vast pastures their entire lives. Anita assigned me Funi (Flame), She proudly pointed out that Funi is a true five-gaited horse, doing walk-trot-gallop-tolt-pace. I liked him immediately, and he turned out to be an awesome traveling partner.
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| Lunch break with my trusted steed Funi |
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"There is no bad weather - only inappropriate clothing"
Sporting waterproof oilskin pants and jacket, as well as waterproof boots and helmet cover
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The entire week was just pure joy. Sometimes the weather didn't quite play along, on the longest riding day it was raining and sometimes sleeting, but that didn't deter us from having fun. Like they say: "There is no bad weather, only inappropriate clothing". The pace was fast, lots of tolt and gallop up and down hills. The horses were so surefooted and well behaved, so one could truly "sit back and enjoy the ride".
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| Funi (on the right) and friend |
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| River crossings are no problem |
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| What a view! |
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| The Icelandic horses are living in herds in huge pastures |
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| Stefnir is an outstanding horseman and a very passionate tour guide. We learned so much about the history of Iceland and the life on the island. |
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| A good roll after a fun ride |
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| Following the horses to dinner - Pasture for our steeds, wonderful home cooked meals for us. |
After the day's ride we were treated to home baked cakes and hot drinks, and every night Anita spoiled us with delicious and healthy meals (always with vegetarian and GF options). After a sauna it was falling into bed happily tired.
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| Sauna |
Usually we packed our lunch, but on Wednesday Anita surprised us with a traditional Icelandic buffet in an historic barn. This barn also held the entry to the oldest man-made cave in Iceland, monks dug it about 800 AD. There, in the dark cave, Stefnir played traditional Icelandic horse songs on his accordion. It was so beautiful I almost cried.
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| Looking forward to lunch in a historic barn |
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| Lunch is served. Entry to the cave is on the left. |
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| Stefnin playing the most touching Iceland horse song. |
On the last day we visited Vik, the most southern village in Iceland, which is famous for the black beaches and basalt rocks. This country is truly breathtakingly beautiful.
I had one more day in Reykjavik before heading home, which I truly enjoyed. The only nail-biting moment during the entire trip was the bus ride to the airport... the bus driver got lost due to a road closure, and a few passengers had to come to the rescue with google maps to help him find the way.
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| Viking ship sculpture |
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| Reykjavik downtown |
Truly, this trip has been transformative for me. I hadn't been that happy, relaxed, and carefree in the three years since the accident. It gives me joy, strength, and appreciation of the people and horses I was privileged to spend time with. JP is happy for me, I'm sure.
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| Stefnir, Anita, and Funi: Can't wait to see you again next year! |
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