Day 4

The Night before our hosts had asked us if we wanted to go to the big day of sheep dividing called, Rettir. We were happy to join them thinking it would be interesting to see. Early the next morning we got up and were on the road by 8:30am. We got there and they had not yet put the sleep into the big circle pen. We climbed up on the wall and then a couple minutess later the sleep were left in and the owners started catching their sheep. Anyone there could jump in, ask for the symbol to look for and help sort the circle of sheep!

We only where there until the tourists started coming in the big coach buses! We then left, parting ways with our host, and we went to see some other sites for the day. We started out looking at many different waterfalls. (I forget the names) You could go right up to the waterfall, may people went behind it. We did not because we did not feel like putting on our ponchos. Next waterfall, was a huge falls called the Skógafoss waterfall. You could walk right up to the falls and get wet, and that is just what we did. You could also climb 300 some stairs to the top, to look out and down over the fall. There was also a path, that took you to the source of the waterfall. Initially we tried hiking up a little ways but soon realized the distances that appear short in that vast space were too far to hike for us that day. There were sheep everywhere too. Landon, Bria, and Jack were running and climbing over the hills in the wind and sun.

After the falls, there was a museum with a cafeteria. For lunch we had traditional Icelandic Lamb stew. It was very delicious but expensive. Bria and Landon did not now really like it that much. Everyone else liked it. I (Elizabeth), loved it! In the museum were, airplanes, cars, trucks, and lots of Icelandic wools and souvenirs. Bria purchased a pair of thick warm socks. Next to the museum was a little village of turf houses, that they had set up for people to go into and look around to see what it was like back when they were common housing in that country. Turf houses have grass growing on them and inside is dirt and stone.

There was barn/museum of all the house goods that would have been in the Turf houses. There was also a section of clothes that the ladies would have worn. Very Viking indeed! We did not spend much time in there before we went back home. On the way we stopped at the store to find dinner. Mom thought that she would pick out some sausage. Later Google revealed it was horse meat sausage. I think we all enjoyed it.