Atlantica - 01.09.2002, Side 38

A TASTE OF THE OLD DAYS
Historically, people have not been champing at the bit to help
out with the round-up. As late as the 1970s, small farms had dif-
ficulty mustering enthusiasm in friends and neighbours to join
in and help. It tired out horses, took valuable time, and meant
leaving home for days on end.
Kristján Jónasson grew up in one of the major sheep-farming
regions of north Iceland, Skagafjördur fjord. He recalls a story
his father told him about nights spent in a traditional round-up
shelter in the not-so-distant past. “The dogs were fighting the
whole night through on top of the men. It had been raining all
day, and the men were all drunk. My father said it was some kind
of living hell — having violent dogs fighting on top of you the
whole night and stinking wet men lying snoring in an alcohol
stupor next to you, with no air and the horses in the back of the
room,” he laughs. “And that was in the ‘50s.”
Though attending a round-up today may not deliver such a
colourful experience, it will expose you to some of Iceland’s
most striking country, and deliver some insight into Iceland’s
disappearing rural culture. The farmers who run the show have
been doing it all their lives; they experience the land all together dif-
ferently than your average hiker at Landmannalaugar or Mývatn.
Seeing them in action offers a glimpse into how 95% of Iceland’s
population earned its keep until last century.
“It’s an experience seeing the old Highland heroes telling their sto-
ries. They’ve been up there every year since they were kids,”
observes Jónasson, who returns annually to Skagafjördur to partic-
ipate in the Laufskálaréttir horse round-up. “I’m sitting here at my
desk for months, and all of a sudden, I’m up there...on a horse, the
wind is blowing, and there’s a dog by my side. I’m shouting and the
sheep go running. I’m sleeping outside, drinking whiskey and eat-
ing sheep heads.”
Sound like something you might like to try? Nobody will make you
eat a sheep head, but they are supposed to be tasty. Iceland
Excursions runs day trips by bus to sheep round-ups near
Reykjavík, and local and foreign horse excursion groups offer riding
tours for the experienced rider. Icelandic company Íshestar offers
an all-inclusive six-day tour at Vídidalstungurétt during late
September for USD 723. Contact Íshestar on (+354) 555-7000.
Following the Fall Round-up
034-038 ATL402 Ísland-rm 18.8.2002 22:39 Page 36