Yesterday Lena, Kat, (who is one of the newly arrived Snorri Interns here in Hofsós for summer 2018) and I went to Kolkuós after work to spend some time with the horses. The horses are all fat and sassy, enjoying the lush spring grass in their seemingly endless field. Their lips are stained green from the grass, and it looks like they are wearing a questionable shade of lipstick. None of these horses are trained to ride, and some of them even pretty wary of people getting too close. A fair number of them are plenty curious though, and they were very happy to get some neck scratchies and snuggles from us.
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| Snoopy horse |
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| Brand new baby |
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| One year old |
The horse photos are courtesy of Kat, who was wise enough to bring her phone with to snap some pics when I was not.
Today was the big Iceland vs. Argentina World Cup soccer game. The level of excitement today was insane. I could practically feel it in the air the moment I stepped outside this morning. We actually closed the Emigration Center for a couple of hours (this is unheard of) so we could go to the community center here in Hofsós and watch the game on the big screen. I am somewhere near the bottom of the list of people you could consider a sports fan, but here today in all the chaos and excitement and Icelandic pride, I fell well within the range of average on that list. Maybe even slightly above average. The game ended in a tie, which is considered a great victory against a team like Argentina. Here is a video of the crowd at the community center cheering and celebrating at the end of the game this afternoon.
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| Hofsós was especially sunshine filled today |
On my after dinner walk tonight I head for higher ground, my path a familiar one just a short drive from Valgeir and Gunna's farm. I have had several opportunities to hike around here the past two summers, exploring, picking blueberries, and contemplating life. Some of the sheep Lena and I have chased this week have been relocated to areas along this route so I keep my eye out for familiar sheep faces, or at least familiar rear ends. The few I see eye me with severe distrust. They've been burned by me before (figuratively). I give them the two pronged "I'm watching you" gesture and keep walking.
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| Suspicious sheep butts |
The wind that has been blasting us here in Hofsós for the past two days has died down this evening and the air is still and smells of mountain grass and moss. A few drops of rain make an appearance but I don't take them seriously. The clouds above me are not threatening. The sound of the waterfall I follow up the mountain ebbs and flows as I weave through the little hills up and around it. The white noise is soothing and perfectly compliments the cries and chatter of birds, and occasional distant bleeting of sheep. I take off my headphones and turn off the hiking mix on my iPod to enjoy a more natural soundtrack.
When I return to the house, Viktor is waiting for me and challenges me to a rock skipping competition. "I'm terrible at that," I tell him, which seems to make him even more excited to begin. We spend the next hour or so skipping rocks on the edge of the lake. He makes up rules for different competitions, making sure I don't get have too much luck on any particular challenge. Tonight my record is 6 skips, a personal best. It is nearly 11pm when we turn back to the house, and Viktor still displays a shocking amount of energy. I make sure to stay well ahead of him and the rope that he has managed to procure.
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