Iceland: Love

Iceland: Our Fellow Travelers

Anke

Ed

Verena

Liane

me just dipping a toe in the Arctic Ocean

Katerina, our guide

Edeltroud und Konrad

Iceland: Now Come the Sheep

They had been scattered in trios all over one hundred square miles of highlands less than a week ago. Now they are all being driven toward one point, the holding area at the gate to the road leading back to their farms. 

They begin to come into view, just as the horses did, this time looking like long white necklaces floating over the landscape. Enlarge some of these photos to pick out the animals.

My companions are heading back for sandwiches after all the animals on our side of the valley have passed, along with shepherds on foot, on horseback and on an ATV.

Three days after the round-up in this valley, a giant early season snow storm buried northeastern Iceland, and many sheep who had not been brought down yet perished under the snow. This land can be harsh. The farmers' risks are great. 

Iceland: The Horses

Our small group of hikers, having gained some altitude, could see the horses and sheep begin cross our field of vision as they descended toward the pens where they assemble for the drive down the valley. They are moving steadily now.  Many of them remembered this last day of highland freedom from previous years, and where they were to go. It was a magnificent and unforgettable sight.

Look at them leap, negotiating this very rough ground with ease.

After a while, as we watched horses below us, we saw that a group was moving fast right toward us from above. We were hunkered down in a shallow gully. They came to the top of the last drop and saw us. They stopped and looked, and looked some more. They were curious. Then they dropped back and grazed and stood about. They came and looked some more.  Finally they saw where they would detour, which was so close to us that we could almost touch them, and then they disappeared down into the stream, joining with yet another group as they went.