I love Iceland. More importantly than that, I love baby sheep. They are soooo cute. They’re adorable. If my husband and I are driving around and I see baby sheep, I’ll stop and we’ll hang out with them. Anywhere. One time, I was in Montana and there was a guy herding them and I stopped and hung out with them for an hour. He had regular sheep, but I really, really like the baby ones. One time we were in Scotland and my mother-in-law kept joking about putting one in our suitcase. I geek out. I get all [makes mewling, excited Muppet noise].
So, I’ve been to Iceland twice, both in early June, which is when the baby sheep are all prancey and have just been born and are super cute … My husband probably gets annoyed because I’m always like, “Look at the baby sheeeeeeeeeeeep!”
Last time we went to Iceland, it was for our honeymoon. The whole time I was like, “I want to hold a baby sheep.” It doesn’t work very well. They kinda run away from you. [Laughs] One afternoon, we were on a backcountry lava tour and my husband had told the tour guide, “She wants to hold a baby sheep.” The tour guide was like, “Um … I will see what I can do.” It didn’t sound promising.
It was a great trip, but no baby sheep the whole day. We were going back to Reykjavik and got a flat tire. The tour guide pulled over into a farm and asked the farm family if we could park there while we waited for a ride. They said it was no problem. Then, out of the corner of the tour guide’s eye, he notices – baby sheep. It was pouring rain, by the way, and he has a conversation in Icelandic with the family. He then says to me, “Hey, they’ll let you hold a baby sheep.” I was like, “OH MY GOD,” and I ran into the barn faster than I’ve moved in forever.
There’s two parents and a daughter who is maybe like 18. The daughter kinda speaks English but the parents don’t and I’m like, “I can hold a baby sheep?” She was like, “Um, OK?” I got to hold THREE baby sheep and they thought I was the weirdest person ever. They all laughed at me the whole time and my husband took pictures that were out of focus. I was so happy. I am obsessed.
Claudia LawsGot a crazy travel story? Write it in about 400 words and send it to [email protected]. If you’d rather tell your story, send a brief synopsis along with your name and phone number to the same address. Either way, your story should be true. Also, be sure to include your full name and town.
