Iceland Day 5 - Fjords and Feathered Friends

Today's travels along the Ring Road took us north along the eastern coast, winding in and out of the fjords on our right with mountains and waterfalls on our left.

As we drove, suddenly a mysterious large red chair appeared, bolted to rock. (I looked it up - no one knows who put it there!) Perfect stop for a perfect photo!

We stopped at the small fishing town of Djúpivogur to view the harborside Eggin sculpture of 34 bird eggs of Iceland.

We saw lots of sheep along the road - they are everywhere in Iceland!

We stopped in the little town of Faskrudsfjordur for lunch at Cafe Sumarlina for pizza and pasta. The owner was very friendly and even brought a free dessert for my friend who was celebrating her birthday!

We arrived at our hotel, the Icelandair Hótel Hérað in Egilsstaðir, around mid-afternoon. The hotel was larger than the guesthouses we had been staying at, was very modern, and had multiple floors. 

We decided to drive up to Borgarfjörður Eystri to see puffins! We were assured by the hotel staff that we would be able to find them. The drive took us about an hour up north on a rugged gravel road, up and along a narrow mountain pass, with construction along the way. I am not very good with heights (and this is an understatement) so I sat in the back with my eyes closed as we crossed the mountains, but my friend drove like a trooper. It feels like you are traveling 15 miles past the end of nowhere. Eventually, we reached a small harbor town and continued beyond it to Hafnarhólmi Island. This small inlet lets you walk over to the island which has viewing walkways and platforms. The puffins nest here from mid-April to mid-August.

And there they were - puffins! Hundreds and thousands of them! 

Some as close as 10 feet away! 

This was puffin heaven, and we spent well over an hour enjoying them and taking pictures. It was one of the most awesome wild animal experiences I have ever had on my travels. The walkways and platforms made it easy to get a close-up view and the puffins didn't seem bothered by the all the very quiet people happily snapping photos of them!

Below is what the walkways look like. 

Here is a short video showing a few more of my puffin puffins!

Before we headed back to our hotel, we stopped at the Alfacafe for dinner. It was a very cute place with very eclectic decor. The menu only has a few options. We chose the fish soup that came with unlimited bread and butter. We also had the apple pie for dessert. 

This was another incredible day in Iceland and we were so blessed to be there at the right time and with gorgeous weather to enjoy viewing the puffins!