SPONS IS AN IDIOTTTTTT.
Today was another Reykjavik day for me, but for the first time I’m 100% thankful. Although I’ve come to realize it’s differences from Ölfus, the structure is genuinely really nice and I enjoy the girls as a collaborative work team much more. Ölfus tends to be every-woman-for-herself, but here in Reykjavik, I feel like we really have each other’s backs. They also make me laugh, like really laugh—so hard that we’re all wheezing and hanging onto our seats, and probably concerning the tourists when they learn that we ARE the adult instructors in charge of their safety today. At least they know if they fall off, we’ll all just laugh it off together, and maybe that makes for a happier group.
Both tours went well, I rode Snot both times. In the morning we were very good with our time, and I got to experience the forest route for the first time! It was a single file dirty track through a dense Christmas tree forest right next to the city, as well as a longer way to meander back to the barn. In the front it was quiet, and it felt so nice to watch the light catch through the branches and just breathe. At one point in the (more hectic) afternoon I had 3 hand horses with Lisa (on Darri, and she started out with two hand horses before giving me two and she took my one, so I can’t imagine the stress she was feeling). The boss did a cute little thing before Lisa and I started off onto the tour with our horde of kids where he chased after me, reassuring me that Icelandic riders did not have their stirrups as high as I did, and proceeded to lengthen my stirrups by 3 holes on each side as I was holding both hand horses. Pretty messed up of him to do that if you ask me. I rode all the way to the photo stop with my feet dangling out of the stirrups—I may as well been bareback. Honestly I might’ve ridden more comfortably bareback as its easier to stay on if the horse sprints off weirdly. But come on...it's Snot.
Afterward Axelle and Iti did the drop-off, which apparently went very crazy in traffic because they came back half laughing half cursing each other—having had a race of sorts to see who could get through traffic faster. Axelle of course won, but in all fairness she had an easier car to drive.
We talked for a while, and it had come out at lunch that my birthday is tomorrow, so we decided to have an adventure. We practiced some ground mounting (which I’m getting better at if done from the right side of the horse for some reason) but poor Axelle could barely get on Drofn. Iti and Lisa of course mounted circles around us: jumping on horses left and right, over the bum, from running along the side. Iti made the funniest video about it after when Axelle finally got on, and we all headed out to find some waterfalls. I watch it, literally every time a minor inconvenience happens because it makes me laugh so hard.
As Iti navigated us along the Rvk highway, and I captained our not-so-trusty Toyota, we arrived at our first waterfall in a small town. We walked up a steep hill to the top, laughing at Axelle’s horror stories with kissing strangers, and enjoyed a quick view from the top before taking off our shoes and wading across it to climb down to the bottom on the other side (finding out later it was in fact a protected waterfall and natural space which was illegal to trespass on…), then headed out for waterfall #2.
Considerably more impressive than the first, and on the edge of Thingvelir National Park, we wove down a dirt road (carefully) and hiked (or sound of music ran/danced) over a horse pasture to the coolest little valley. We decided it would all be for nothing if we didn’t go all the way down to the waterfall, so we made our way down the muddy slope all for me to decide at the bottom that I better swim in it. I stripped down to the undies, and after some encouragement got titty-deep in the FRIGID water for 8 minutes. I didn’t touch the back of the falls because at that point I was in danger of not feeling my feet at all, plus bodies of water without any sort of carnivorous reptile or fish seem like fantasy land to me, so I called it quits, got out & dressed, and we explored around more while Lisa ran off to touch some snow packed up on the mountain. I will pause to say Lisa’s ascent was notably impressive, considering she scaled the rock wall to the right of the falls and crossed the top all in a matter of 10 minutes. We all found it hilarious that she was so keen to climb—seeing as she insisted on wearing a helmet for our ground mounting ordeal, but she made it to the snow and was overjoyed.
As we sprinted through the grass (looking probably either severely intoxicated by multiple substances or mentally ill out on field trip, or a combination of both Iti and I laughingly determined) we practiced our curse words in French and German, and made some jokes about Spons (god bless his soul). It was the most fun, and I didn’t want to go home to Ölfus. I’m definitely starting to get some Reykjavik FOMO! We went to a food court after and shared some pizza (I also had a beer, woohoo look at me being a partier) to semi-celebrate, and Lisa and I played on the kid slide much to the disapproving look of most of the surrounding parents. When I went home, All We Know was playing on the radio, and the sun glow through the mountains was glorious. I hope tomorrow is a good birthday, we have full tours, and then have to take horses to the viking house for another meet-and-greet with some kids from 6-8-ish. Should be fun, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I admit feeling super cool when I get to take horses there for people to pet and ride in a circle. I can’t really put into words why, but I feel very main character and horse girl lmao. Plus, afterward Elisa promised we could do some galloping videos. :)
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