Day 4 - Puffin Hunting

We had a lie in this morning, probably something to so with the consumption of nearly a litre of rum the previous evening. After an eggy smelling shower & breakfast, we set out around 10.30am heading for Borgarfjörður Eystri just 46 miles away up the 94. We were rattling along at a fair old lick, when suddenly we hit an unmade road & roadworks, that slowed us right down, especially as they lasted for 10 miles.

Towards the end of this particular journey, the route took us through a blizzard over a snow covered mountain then it dropped down to the coastal hamlet of Borgarfjörður Eystri in the Eastfjords. We drove a further 3 miles on until we reached Hafnarhólmi, a small harbour, but also home to the star attraction, a large colony of about 15.000 puffins.

Apparently Puffins spend the winter at sea & return to their burrows at the beginning of May. We had no idea if the Puffins had returned yet, but we took our binoculars in the hope that they had.

We didn’t need the binoculars, the Puffins were literally feet away from us. It was absolutely amazing to see so many Puffins so close & it was both our first time of seeing wild Puffins. They were going about their business, fishing & popping in & out of their burrows, without taking the slightest notice of the half dozen tourists training cameras on them. The nesting kittiwakes & fulmars didn’t get a look in.

Puffin facts: The oldest known Puffin lived to 41 years old, they can fly as fast as 88 kph & dive to depths of 60 metres.

After about half an hour of snapping away & marvelling at the little creatures, we returned to the car & drove back to Borgarfjörður Eystri to take a photo of Lindarbakki, the world’s hairiest house. We then drove all the way back the way we had come, then on the outskirts of Egilsstaðir we turned left on to the 93.

It took us over another snowcapped mountain and down into what Lonely Planet described as the super-picturesque town of Seyðisfjörður. We strongly disagree, a few brightly coloured houses do not make ‘super-picturesque’. The biggest surprise was that the Silver Whisper cruise ship was now docked in the port. We found the photogenic Rainbow Street & the blue church at one end for a quick photo.

We then drove back to Egilsstaðir & stopped at the Netto Discount Store for a coffee & a pastry which we sat & ate whilst we made a decision on where to stay that night. We settled on Eyjar Fishing Lodge just over an hour’s drive away further round the Route 1 Ring Road.

The route followed the coastline around the south eastern corner of Iceland. We passed through Stöðvarfjörður, famous for it’s geology & some old dear’s rock collection. At the end of the fjord was a super cute bird hide. I braved the elements without a coat to take a closer look.

We arrived at Eyjar Fishing Lodge around 6pm, which lives up to it’s name. Stuffed fish & wildlife adorn the walls of the lounge that looks out over Breiðdalur (wide valley) & the Breiðdalsá river. Despite there being 14 rooms, we had the place to ourselves. Jackie cooked us Heinz spaghetti on toast, then we retired to our room to watch the Eurovision Song Contest on Icelandic TV.

Song of the Day: Hunter by Björk.Read more