Winding Down

Around Reykjavik - July 19, 2022

Woke up today quite excited because I get to start the day doing one of my favorite things - horseback riding! But, even better, horseback riding on Icelandic horses through lava fields.

When we get to the stable, my poor mom keeps asking me if they will give her instructions on how to ride a horse. I'm starting to question if this was a good idea but I'm sure there are a lot of people that go horseback riding in Iceland without any experience. I mean, Iceland is the only place in the world where you can ride an Icelandic horse with five different gaits.

As we get suited up, I hear my mom ask for the easiest horse to ride and the owner says that he has horses for inexperienced riders...phew. I can rest a little easier now. That is until I watch my mom try to get on the horse and I start getting a little nervous again. I'm scared watching her so I can only imagine how she's feeling. She asks how to steer the horse, but I can tell from her expression that she can't understand a word of the instructor's explanation. I try to get close enough to give her a brief overview, but she can't hear a word of what I'm saying either. She gives me a frightened look, so I yell "I'm sure it will be fine...The horses will follow each other."

She doesn't believe me.

The first hour of the ride was slow paced and took us through green meadows and into a stunning lava field with red formations that look like they were just pushed out of the ground, which they were.

I'm already starting to get a little sore when the trail guide says, "we are going to run now." Oh boy, I really don't think this is going to go well. Mom is just barely maintaining her balance and now we are an hour into riding. I can't imagine it is getting any easier for her and now they want us to run. As promised, we run...and run...and run. The entire time I am watching her, panicked that she is going to fall off. We slow down for a short respite and then off we go again.

What I failed to comprehend in advance was that we would be on horseback for almost three hours and that they would have us spend much of the last two hours, running.

While the ride was really beautiful, I would caution you - if you are with a person who has never ridden a horse before or are going to do extensive hiking the next day, I would think twice. For all other situations, I would highly recommend the ride. It really was a beautiful way to see the landscape.

We arrive back at the stable and my mom dismounts - or rather falls off the horse. She tries to stand up straight but freezes half-way up. She can barely move. I have to say that I can barely move at this point. As I start to walk over, she gets into an upright position. She's a trooper!

It certainly was a rough ride but worth the view. However, I would say one time horseback riding in Iceland is definitely sufficient!

I planned on a 4-hour hike up a volcano this afternoon but - very fortunately - I was notified that it was cancelled. I'm kind of glad because I'm not sure if either of us would have survived hiking up to the top of a volcano after three hours on horseback.

We decide to spend out extra time at the Perlan which I would highly recommend adding to your Reykjavik itinerary. The Perlan has a huge real ice cave inside it and a northern lights show for those of us that were not able to go glacier hiking or made the decision to go to Iceland when it has 21 hours of daylight.

The ice cave is over 100 meters long and was built with 350 tons of snow

After the Perlan, its only about 5:30 so we decide to hit our favorite spot in Reykjavik one last time, the Sky Lagoon! We find a convoluted way back to the hostel to get our bathing suits on and have a beer, actually two.

For some reason, our path back to the hostel kept crossing over much better-looking paths

After the second beer we realize we are hungry, and we have to find a hotdog stand before we can go anywhere!

We finish our last night relaxing in a geothermal pool and having some more drinks. My mom decides to give me a breakdown on her thoughts about Iceland.

"It's cold and rainy and I'm not coming back."

I ask, "didn't you love the landscape?"

"I did, and I'm glad I came but I'm still not coming back. I don't want to go anywhere cold again."

"That seems a little excessive, don't you think?"

"No, I don't want to do anymore cold countries - Okay?"

"Alright...." I didn't promise, I just acknowledged.

Plus.....

...I had my fingers crossed!