Iceland, Pt. 5

Breakfast at the hotel. Oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins is a staple as far as I can tell, and it became my preferred breakfast buffet choice. Hearty, warm, and (I think) healthy.

The rental car agency dropped off the car right outside the hotel, but had forgotten to include the GPS unit, so the guy drove us over to the office to get it. Before too long we were on the Ring Road out of Reykjavik. It felt nice to be leaving the city, with our own mode of transportation to take us anywhere we’d like.

Even though the weather was bad, we were determined not to cancel our appointment for horseback riding at Skeiðvellir. Our guide was a good sport and immediately began preparing us (and the horses) for a ride in the rain. She let us brush the horses; having never done this, I went for a gentle approach, and I had to laugh when the guide stepped in and gave the horse’s coat a much more vigorous rubdown.

We practiced in the ring first, where we picked up the basics. Then we “graduated” to learning one of the gaits particular to Icelandic horses, tölt. Then we were outside… and it was miserable! Even the horses didn’t want to be out there. The weather had worsened and we were pelted by rain.

At one point, Katelyn’s horse was like ‘nah’ and turned around to go home, ignoring all of her commands. She was forced to make him walk in a circle until the guide could come and set him straight. But it all worked out – it was still beautiful despite the rain and mist, and we even got to tölt a couple times. I got a little nervous on the home stretch as the wet conditions, smooth saddle, and my rain pants combined to make me feel like I would slide right off. You can’t squeeze with your legs to hold on or the horse will think you want to go faster. I tried to distribute my weight into the stirrups instead and made it back to the stable without incident. The horse gave me a (what I perceived to be friendly) nudge after I dismounted. I think he was just impatient to go back inside.

The stables had a very sweet herding dog and some resident cats. They greeted us as our guide made us cups of coffee to help us warm up before we parted ways. We made small talk; I asked the guide how long she’d been doing this, where she was from, etc., and I’m sad to report I don’t really remember her answers. I noticed there was a tip jar stuffed to the brim with foreign money and she mentioned they have to aggravate the local bank tellers once in a while by getting it all exchanged.

We thanked our guide for taking us out and decided to backtrack 10km to check out Urriðafoss – not a huge waterfall, but broad and powerful. The rain let up by the time we got there. The river was milky with minerals and sediment.

Afterward, we were eager to check in at Hotel Rangá. Its lodge style was very different from our modern hotel in the city. We were both reminded of the Great Northern from the show Twin Peaks.

Dinner in the hotel dining room was excellent. The owner, Fridrik, stopped by our table to say hello and check on us. He congratulated us on our honeymoon and told us he eats at the dining room every night. When he found out we were from the Bay Area, he mentioned that his daughter was looking at going to university in Berkeley. We both thought it was really nice that he took the time to chat.

Despite the damp, chilly conditions, we dipped into the outdoor hot tub just a stone’s throw from the room. The convenience couldn’t be beat, and it was, of course, warm and inviting, but the weather remained quite foul all evening. My head got quite cold from the wind and I resolved to bring a hat next time!