Nearly two years ago, I wrote a post about the volcano in Iceland that literally disrupted skies throughout Europe with severe repercussions for global travel. At the time, I had been enchanted to discover that Iceland has its own special breed of horses, going back to the days of the Vikings.
Thus, I was also enchanted to discover this morning that the Guardian newspaper has revisited the area through one of its roving reporters, Marcel Theroux. By writing about his travels generally, Marcel is following in the footsteps of his father, writer Paul Theroux. Much as I myself had, the older Theroux became a Peace Corps Volunteer in the 60s, travelling to Malawi in 1963. Unfortunately, Paul got into trouble by helping a political opponent of the regime in power at the time escape to Uganda. For doing so, he was unceremoniously expelled from Malawi and booted out of the Peace Corps.
I suspect that he had many sympathizers both in and out of the Corps and I confess to a sneaking admiration for his courage. But it is true that getting involved in local politics was - and is still - a Big No-No for members of that organization.
But enough about that. On his visit to Iceland, the younger Theroux actually hiked up to Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano that erupted in 2010 and that had caused airports across Europe to close as an ash cloud drifted towards the continent. I remember well the eerie silence in these parts at the time. If you check out his video of that experience, it is amazing to see nature's renaissance after the devastation.
In the meantime, the little Icelandic horses not only survived the volcano, but remain at the heart of traditional Icelandic custom. It is also a treat to view this video of Theroux's experience of participating in a local round-up and sorting of the horses so that their owners can reclaim them after a season at pasture.
Yes. Life. Goes. On.
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