Ride three, part two

After our hike, we saddled up and headed out. 

I was on yet another new horse, this one a big, strong gelding named Hreggur.

At this point, it really didn't matter. He was my seventh horse in three days. 

We crossed the river again.

Riding in Iceland is all about water.

Not that anyone was complaining. We all enjoyed the water crossings.

The next crossing was a smaller and warmer.

This part of Iceland - well, all of Iceland - has a lot of geothermal activity. The stream was steaming because the water is hot.

We followed it to its source, and the steam became more and more apparent. 

Karin told us the water was one hundred degrees celsius here and warned us not to touch it.

We broke for lunch in an area that will eventually be a luxury hotel with hot springs fed by that stream.

You can see the early stages of construction on the hill behind Karen and Grettir.

Of course, we also had to hike downstream a bit to touch the water in an area that was safer. It was so warm!

After lunch, I had another new horse. 

Lucky number eight was a long maned mare name Fimma.

Karen had ridden her early and warned me that her gaits were really rough. 

"She trots a lot," she said. Then she looked around to see if Karin was listening, then added conspiratorially. "I posted."

Posting - or standing in the stirrups in any manner - was strictly forbidden, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

Fimma trotted for me, as well. I also posted.

We rode through a lot of wide open, empty spaces.

I figured out how to get Fimma to tölt. She was still uncomfortable, but at least I was able to sit.

It's a good thing you're pretty, little horse.

Meanwhile, Karen was having a great time on my friend, Grettir. This was the first time we'd switched horses with one another, and it was fun comparing notes.

We saw Hekla, which is one of Iceland's most active volcanoes.

We galloped together as a group.

We rode through a bunch of sheep pens.

We'd been seeing sheep in the distance on and off all day.

Suddenly they were everywhere.

This little lamb was separated from his family.

He followed us for a while before running off into the distance.

Safe travels, friend. I hope you found your mama.

This was a really enjoyable ride, 

I was absolutely not ready for it to be over when we rounded a corner and saw the Eldhestar trailer.

Fortunately for all of us, Karin had another surprise up her sleeve.