Horses and streams

I spent today horseback riding! Icelandic horses are special for a few different reasons, but the one that I found most interesting is the particular gait they are able to do. It's called the tölt and when the horse is doing it, it feels like you are floating in the air. It takes skill though and through a combination of squeezing my legs and holding the reigns just the right way, I was able to get my horse to do it for only seconds at a time. One of the leaders of the tour told me this gait means that the horse always has at least one foot on the ground at all times. Icelandic horses are also smaller than other horses I am used to, but don't dare call them ponies!

We rode through some mountains and at times we were riding along really sheer cliffs! We stopped for lunch a the confluence of two streams, one freezing and one very hot so that you could choose to sit in very hot water or lukewarm. It was so relaxing to be in the mountains, at a chilly 8 degrees and soaking in a super hot stream.