The road to Eldhestar

One of the best things about going on a riding tour with a company like Eldhestar is that - adult beverages aside - everything is paid for in advance, including transportation to and from Reykjavik. After we returned from Lifland, we collected our luggage from the hotel and went outside to wait on the pony van.

Right on time!

We boarded the van...

Then it was hold on tight as we whipped through some truly atrocious city traffic. Boy, was I glad we weren't in a rental car! 

We reached the edge of town, and abruptly the van pulled over and next to another Eldhestar vehicle. We were told to collect our things and change buses. In retrospect, that was a sign of things to come.

The new van was nicer...

and so was the scenery.

It rained a little,

and then there were rainbows!

A little less than an hour later, we arrived at Eldhestar.

We checked in, met the other members of our group and - to my great delight - the five of us were immediately shepherded out to the barn.

Our guide, Karin - pronounced car-in, like my friend Karen, but with a rolled "r" - showed us to our box.

There, we were fitted with saddles and rain gear, which sounds a lot more complicated than it was. The saddles came in two sizes, regular and long, and the rain gear was also two sizes, XL and XXL. Okay.

We were also quizzed about our riding resumes. Karen and I were the only two horse owners, and while both of us had ridden gaited horses - her more than me - only Hanna had experience with Icelandics. We were specifically asked if we preferred horses with brakes. All of us said yes. I wonder, does anyone actually say no?

After that, it was back to the hotel for our first three course dinner. I'm a kind of picky eater, so I didn't know what to expect as far as food, but everything was wonderful... And pretty, too!

Everyone was excited, and our conversation lasted long after our dessert plates had been cleared. Finally, exhaustion overtook us, and we retired to our rooms. Our dreams were filled with volcano horses.