Nature to Mouth - Lamb

In the morning of the 3rd week in September we will head up with a guide to the mountains of fjord Ólafsfjörður for shepherding the free sheep. This walk will take most of the day and will include hiking as well as climbing (for the brave ones in the group). We will be in a large group of locals shepherding from the bottom of Valleys in Ólafsfjörður out the fjord towards the town and to the “réttir” (sheep roundup). There the farmers find their own sheep and take them to their farm. This calls for a celebration and everyone gets a beer for the occasion. Afterward, we head to a local restaurant to cook the famous Icelandic Lamb Soup and of course have dinner afterward.

Sheep make up most of Iceland’s livestock. Sheep came with us to the country and have lived alongside us ever since. Sheep are kept indoors during the winter, but as spring arrives the sheep are let out with their newborn lambs. The mothers feed on the fresh grass surrounding the farms until it is safe to let them out to graze the mountain pastures. In the summertime, the sheep roam free with their lambs, feeding on flowers and grasses. Fall is the season of harvest and slaughter.