Reykjadalur Hot Springs and Horse Rides

Our last full day in Iceland!

This morning we packed up our stuff and checked out of our hostel. We headed back towards Reykjavík and stopped at Reykjadalur along the way. It required about an hour hike each way (we did it in 45 min but we were hustling) and then you can find hot springs, mud pools, and a hot river which you can get in and enjoy! The hike was pretty easy but steep and narrow in some spots. There was also some horse manure since some people rent horses to ride up. But the hike was really pretty and the end reward was worth it! Towards the end of the hike you're walking among the hot springs and sometimes the steam is so thick you can hardly see in front of you. The hot spring pools are too hot to enter but then you come upon a river and which is the perfect temperature to soak in. The further upstream you go the hotter the water is. We found a nice empty area where the water was very comfortable so we soaked there and enjoyed the nature all around us. I wish we would've budgeted more time to spend there since it was so nice! But too soon we had to dry off and change. There aren't changing rooms there but they have built up walls for a bit of privacy and we each held a towel up on the open side to help. 

Near the end of the hike back down we were approached by a woman who had been following us and she asked if we were headed back towards Reykjavík because she needed a ride. Lucky for her we were, and we were happy to return the favor since we had just yesterday hitched a ride from someone. Her name was Denise and she was very friendly. Originally from Malaysia but now she lives in Oregon with her husband. We had a nice chat with her on the 40 minute drive back to the city where we dropped her off.

Then we had a 2pm horse ride tour with Íshestar which was really cool. We did the 2-hour Lava tour and really enjoyed it. When we arrived it was rainy so we geared up in all of their rain gear. But that was unnecessary; as soon as we started riding the weather cleared up for us! It turned in to a beautiful sunny day for a horse ride through the lava fields. I had really wanted to do a horse tour in Iceland because I wanted to experience the tölt gait which is unique to Icelandic horses. It is a smooth, four-beat gait which can be at various speeds. It was amazing to feel this! As soon as we sped up my horse naturally went into this gait and then it was so smooth to ride. I've never experienced that before. 

My horse's name sounded like Sentri but I'm sure that's not the correct spelling. He was an all-black horse. They had lots of beautiful horses! The group started pretty big but shortly into the tour they split us up into beginners that only wanted to walk and those that wanted to go a bit faster. Of course we went to the faster group. But almost everyone else went into the other group so our group ended up being only 6 people- and that included the two trainers. So that was really nice. We still mostly walked but we got to speed up several times which is when we got to experience the tölt. The guides were very friendly and informative so we learned a lot about the horses and the area during the tour.

After our tour we were still a bit early to check into our airbnb so we decided to go to Ikea which was right on the way. I'd never been to Ikea before so that was an experience! We obviously weren't looking to buy but we just strolled through quickly until our hostess was home. 

We're staying with Anna Maria at the same place we did at the start of our Iceland time. It was nice to come back to a familiar place and a friendly face for our last night. She also surprised us with dinner and wine! She baked langoustine, which are these small lobsters that Iceland is known for, with some bread and garlic butter and it was delicious! She said it was a common meal or appetizer around holidays so she wanted to share it with us. It was so nice!

Tomorrow we fly back to the states! I can't believe it's already over!

Íshestar sponsored our horse-riding tour but all thoughts and opinions are my own