Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.06.2008, Síða 26

26 | Reykjavík Grapevine | Issue 07 2008 | Destination
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It’s Friday morning, around quarter past nine and
me, the photographer, and an older Danish man
and his wife are being driven to Laxnes in Mos-
fellssveit by Þórarinn “Póri” Jónasson. He and
his wife Ragnheiður founded Laxnes Hestaferðir
exactly 40 years ago last May. He tells me that he
and Ragnheiður started off with only twelve hors-
es but today own more than a hundred and get
approximately 10,000 visitors a year. He also tells
me that he originally moved to Laxnes with the in-
tention of opening some sort of country club, but
that people from Reykjavík had considered Mos-
fellsveit so ridiculously far away that they couldn’t
be bothered to go all that way to get out of town,
which is ironic given that the city has expanded
so fast that Laxnes is now pretty much as close as
you can get without still being in town.
When we get there we meet Ragnheiður for
the first time, as well as two Danish girls working
for them. We quickly suit up, ready our horses
and head off with one of the Danes acting as a
tour guide. Unfortunately her horse stumbles soon
after we start and hurts itself, so she has to walk
back and the other Danish girl takes her place.
I’m a born and bred city kid and more likely to
see beauty in a drain-pipe than a waterfall but in
all fairness the valley is absolutely amazing and
I’m quite surprised by how far from civilisation it
feels.
Simply put, Laxnes is the ideal place to go
if you want to ride but can’t or don’t want to go
too far. The riding tour is fantastic for beginners
although I can imagine that more seasoned rid-
ers would get a bit bored after a while. Given how
much the immediate countryside around the
Reykjavík area has changed in recent decades, I
find it nothing short of amazing that this place is
still as unspoiled as it is and it is definitely worth
visiting. After all, who can say what it will look like
after another 40 years at the rate we’re expand-
ing?
Text by Oddur Sturluson
Photos by GAS
City Slicker
Rides Again
TRIP PROVIDED BY:
Laxnes Horse Rental
Tel.: 566 6179, www.laxnes.is