Sometimes on your trips, you meet people that just take care of you. They fix things for you, introduce you to fun activities, makes amazing stuff possible and over all contribute to radically improve your experience of a place.
I already introduced you to Gunnar, who invited me to motorised outdoor action with big tyres and water splashing in the "Monstertruck-episode", but Samuel Örn Erlingsson was no less of a door opener. He is into the other kind of horse power. The one that comes one by one, on four legs...
A classic pose. It is time to leave the high pasture.
The horse gathering is a social event.
Herd of Icelandic horses in Skagafjordur
Samuel Örn Erlingsson in his right element.
sun - snow - rain ... in one day
Samuel Örn Erlingsson
The days spent with Samuel were truly rewarding. Just by being himself he demonstrated the Icelandic culture of hospitality. It was an adventure from the first time we met, when Samuel was one of the drifters riding across Kjølur.
We had delicious, tender horse meat in his home with his wife Ásta (a famed athlete), we made traditional food - Slautur -with his mother and sisters and we travelled to the south and the north in order to ride and check out horses.
Wherever we came, Samuel had friends, and I slowly realised that he is some kind of a hotshot or celebrity on "The Rock", after serving many years as a sports commentator and "horse man" in Icelandic TV. It is said a book could be written about all his fun/erroneous statements when he was the "expert commentator" of all exercises in the winter Olympics, years ago, when they only could afford to send one reporter ...
They breed both for physical quality and looks, making a thousand shades of brown ...
Skagafjordur horse gathering
Going to Skagafjordur was special. You will see in the episode that the horses are driven down from the high mountains and gathered in the valley, before split between the farmers. There's singing og the great local tenors, drinking, competitions and an extremely social warmth. I was allowed to do pretty much whatever I wanted, and riding across Iceland some weeks before had made me rather comfortable on horseback, so this was pure fun.
Eating horse meat
Yes, I am a horse lover in double sense. The dinner in Samuels place was among the best. The cut is rough, but tells you a little story about the tradition of eating the horses:
Most tourists spend far to little time on Iceland, barely allowing time to visit the "The Golden Triangle" of Gullfoss, Geysir and Thingvellir. These are all well worth seeing, but please show this island of sagas more respect, and venture further and stay longer. Let my series be an introduction, even if my three months there only allowed me to explore the western half of Iceland.
The bike
I chose the bike, with a trailer as main mean of transport. A Trek / Gary Fisher Genesis 29" was the perfect bike for the job, along with my Bike Bob trailer, with suspension on the wheel. They did a great job on the long stretches of rough gravel and wet dirt.
The powerful falls at Gullfoss.
Paul Olai-Olssen and a "teddy-horse".
A beautiful multitude of colours.
The Horses
Riding an Icelandic horse is one of the most Icelandic experiences you can have. This cosy creature reminds of a crossing between a teddy bear and a camel. For hundreds of years, it has been bread towards reliability and sturdiness. It should "tölt" (the typical Icelandic gait) well and generally behave as a nice horse. If it fails in this, it will be eaten, as horse meat is among the best I have eaten. The result is a wonderful race of multicoloured, hard working horses that has been kept isolated from all other horses ever since the viking-era.
Samúel Örn Erlingsson became a good friend.
Crossing one of several rivers.
Àsa and her dog.
The trip
Arranging a ride in Iceland is very easy. I contacted Ishestar, but you can find several alternatives. What seemed a good alternative to me, was to join the trip from Kjóastaðir, situated near the southern end of the Kjölur trail. You should of course choose route according you your riding skill, in order to complete and enjoy the adventure. This I did not, but my background as a kayaker (balance) and long distance biker (endurance) did to some extent compensate for my total lack of horsemanship.
Hot pool and women - and cold bjór!
Undertaking a somewhat tough journey with 25 people you never knew before is a fascinating social experiment. The participants differed greatly in age and background, but ...
... a pleasant and surprising bonus for a single male traveller, was to realise that the majority of horse-tourists consist of charming women from all over Europe. This definitely boosted my spirit in times of hardship and pain... ;)
Àsa, Hjalti and their bunch.
The nature
Landscapes of Iceland are something else. From the plane it seems that the lava flows have just frozen, and on the ground you will many places se steam and hot springs, escape routes in case of volcanic eruptions or other signs of thermic activities. The Island (referred to as "The Rock" among locals) are alive, in multiple meanings of the word...
No place is like Iceland, go explore, and make sure to enjoy the following episodes that will be presented her on Pauls Planet Blog!
