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Akureyri (pronounced ahh-ku-RARE-ri) is the considered the capital of Northern Iceland, and friendly rival to Reykjavik in the south. Well, rival is a strong word, but northerners think they’re the best, and southerners also think they’re the best. From my limited experience of southerners from my last post, for now, I’d pass judgment and say northerners are better. And as the title suggests, I know no king but the King in the North! (It’s Iceland. Have to throw a Game of Thrones reference in there somewhere.)
I arrived in Akureyri to a similarly quaint and small airport. I later discovered Akureyri only recently began having direct international flights. You don’t see much in the pitch black ride from the airport into town. Although I knew Akureyri had some body of water near it, I simply couldn’t see anything in the endless night.
By the time I settled into bed that evening, I had been awake for about 56 hours (with < 3 hours of sleep to my name, during that time). I went to sleep around 9 pm and slept for 12 hours.
Table of Contents
1. Horseback riding in Iceland!
First on my agenda was a horseback riding tour, located outside of town. I was picked up by Disa, who owns the Skjaldarvik Guesthouse and offers the horseback riding tours on their property. Her daughter, Clara, just graduated from college with a degree in horse training and breeding. They have over 60 Icelandic Horses on their land. According to Clara, the top 3 sports in Iceland are: football (soccer), golf, and horseback riding.
Icelandic horses have been isolated since they were introduced to the island. Now, if a horse leaves Iceland, it cannot come back due to the different bacteria it would pick up along the way. In 2010, someone had brought their saddle back to Iceland from Germany and had not cleaned it properly. The bacteria from the saddle infected over 40,000 Icelandic horses, as well as cats, dogs, and some humans.
We rode in the snow for about 5 miles | 8 km, through what I could only describe as a winter wonderland. There are many horse owners around their land and when we would pass by other horses, they would walk along side us (behind their side of the fence) just to keep us company. Clara said that horses are very friendly and enjoy being in groups. When a new horse enters the group, there are temporary leadership struggles as the group adjusts to the new status quo. (you can’t sit with us!)
The horses have long hair in the winter, which sheds and their summer short hair grows. They enjoy being outdoors a lot and go out at least once a day. Luckily, Icelandic horses retain their body heat very well, and therefore don’t get cold in the Icelandic winters. I heard a story about a big snow storm that had swept through Akureyri. Some of the horses had inches and inches of snow on their backs from being outside, and continued the next few days with that same mound of snow on their backs!
2. The views… and Meet Dagur
The below is a view of the property and views that the horses enjoy on a daily basis.
Last but not least, on the property greeting everyone and overall having a marvelous time, was Dagur (or Day, in Icelandic). Such a friendly dog. He had joined us for the first 15-20 minutes of the ride, until we came across some workers from the guesthouse walking back, and he gleefully went back home with them. Such a sweet dog!
3. Golden Hour in Akureyri
After coming back into town, I rested for a bit and within an hour and half, ran out to catch the sunset. I left my action cam in the apartment to catch a time lapse of the sunset, or rather, the moon rise.
It’s a short walk from town to the banks of the Eyjafjörður. This is the sunset overlooking Eyjafjörður (Island Fjord) in Akureyri, which is the longest fjord in Iceland, at 60 km long.
What a gorgeous sunset to a beautiful first day in Akureyri! I loved that I got to go horseback riding in Iceland! It was so relaxing and so gorgeous to see the Icelandic countryside in winter.
Plans for this evening? A food tour and a Northern Lights Tour!
Lannie is a perpetual wanderer and loves to share her travel adventures and the food she eats along the way with everyone. She works during the day while bouncing around the world and dreams about new places and faces at night! She has a home on the magical Isle of Islay in Scotland, where the whisky flows freely and happily.
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