Lost in translation?

Wow, a week has flown by and so much has happened—an earthquake, a hurricane and family matters at home, an excursion day, show and goodbyes at Baer, a final Iceland adventure into the interior, and transition to Ireland. I am still trying to catch my breath. So follows a series of posts to try to catch up…

Final days at Baer were wonderful. We spent an evening horseback riding, which was really fun and interesting. The Icelandic horses have a special gait that many do naturally called the tölt, which is kind of like a trot but lifting the front legs quite high. It is very rapid and prancing and lovely to watch. Not being a rider myself, I was quite happy to amble about at a walk, a bit like a swaying rocking chair. We were all grinning ear to ear by the end, just from being around these beautiful horses. My daily walks often included a stop to chat with a stallion that Emma nicknamed “Fabio” for his fabulous hair and manly ways.

A little instruction

"Fabio"

Steinunn took us on a daylong excursion, first stop Hólar, a town founded in 1106 and historically important as one of 2 bishoprics and essentially the capital of northern Icealnd. Hólar was the last remaining stronghold of Catholicism in Iceland during the Reformation. There is a beautiful little church there as well as some sod houses perched on a hill and an agricultural college, all in a town of around 100.

Abandoned farmhouse

In Hólar church

In Sauðárkrókur we visited the fish factory, where part of the processing includes tanning the fish skin into “fish leather” that is used in shoes, bags, and other very pricey accessories. A few pieces will come home with me for bookbinding projects…

fish leather

We went on to Skagaströnd, on the next fjord west, and the location of NES, another artists’ residency where I will go for a month next summer. It is completely different in structure, with artists sharing a large common studio and living in 3 different houses in the town. The studio is a former fish factory and sits right on the edge of the water. The town definitely has some quirky aspects, with a recurrent cowboy/country theme that apparently comes from a local DJ’s love of American country music.

On the road to Skagaströnd 

The studio at NES

Cowboy culture in Skagaströnd