The 22nd May was supposed to be a rather normal work day. In the morning I woke up Sabira, went out and started preparing the horses. The customers arrived and I discussed with Sabira it would probably be better if I take the one hour tour as then I could start with the preparations for our long-planned hot spring guide ride as I am back. She agreed and so we went on our tours. I just had gotten down the horse when my phone rang. It was our manager, telling me that he just picked up the new girl (which new girl??? He didn’t tell us there would be a new one coming!) And would be in Ölfus in about 40mins. He asked if the apartment is clean and tidy and obviously it was not. We had been working quite a lot the past days and so there had been no time for cleaning. Well, I quickly said goodbye to the customers, dropped off the horses on their field and ran home. I tidied my room that I would share from now on and while the floor was still drying from the washing our manager arrived (30min after the call, he must have driven like hell over the mountain!). And that’s how I met Martin.
I wanted to help her getting her bags in as usually girls arrive with at least one huge suitcase but she only had her backpack which really surprised me. I personally had filled two huge suitcases. That gave us our first laugh. I learned her name (which was really weird to me as Martin is a boys name in Germany!) and that she was from the U.S. Soon I realised how cheerful and empathetic she is. Back then I never thought that this friendship would get so deep.
In the following days and weeks Martin turned out to be my lifesaver as I was more than happy to finally have a friend at work again. Always smiling Martin was there to have a good laugh or a deep talk whenever you needed it. I quickly learned to love her pasta as she would always cook a portion for me as well. After she left I (unsuccessfully) tried to recreate it but it was always missing something. Martins pasta was perfect, simple but with a great taste. Later she also introduced me to series and movies like ‚The Office‘, which I am still watching, and ‚Spirit‘, a kids horse movie that I had never watched – shame on me.
Since her arrival my days were filled with laughter at work and amazing fun rides in the evenings/at night. I tried to show her all my favourite riding ways in the area, we rode to a hot spring area and hiked up the Ingólfsfjall with Embrun and Fýlubrúnn.
We were holding speeches on top of the hayballs, trying gymnastic figures while waiting for our boss to bring us the car, ran or rode over fields in the middle of the night under the midnight sun and ate tons of ice cream.
Riding in the car with Martin (especially to Reykjavík and back) introduced me to a lot of new music as she had a Spotify-playlist for every occasion. The days where we were driving, jamming along to songs, I will never forget. I tried to find a song to describe Martin but there are just so many emotions in me when thinking of her that it was nearly impossible. But after about an hour and listening to many songs, there was always one part that didn’t fit, I finally found one:
Deep into the wild – Honoraries, Volunteer
Martin taught me to follow my dreams, to not let the system shape my life but that I am the one who is in charge. Thanks to her I am living adventures, make decisions with my heart. Just like her the song has many layers, is changing from loud to quiet, from comforting to motivating to accompanying to new adventures.
All in all it was an amazing summer that I wished would last forever. Martin has become one of my most precious friends and I am so grateful that I got to meet this beautiful soul. I think everybody in life needs a Martin – a friend that is always cheering on you and that you forget the time with. Someone who is supporting all your stupid ideas and dreams and helps you to make them become true.
So I hope, Martin, we will see each other again soon. My bet is a horse farm in Iceland, but we will see where our paths are leading us. :)
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