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!

Iceland Day 4 - Canyons and Glaciers

We began the morning by hiking the beautiful Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon. I have no idea how to say that name, but we called it the Justin Bieber canyon because it became very popular after it was featured in one of his videos. The canyon was recently reopened - it had been closed to put in new walkways because tourists were damaging the area. We arrived at about 9 am and there were only a handful of tourists, so we enjoyed a quiet walk along the canyon.

You can see an example of the damaged areas that are now blocked off. In the distance, you can see the mossy lava mound field that we passed through yesterday.

The canyon is lush and green. It took about an hour to hike along the length of it.

We then continued to drive along the Ring Road. The stark black sand desert, called Skeidararsandur, opened up to beautiful volcanic mountains and glaciers.

Further down the road, we stopped at Fjallsárlón iceberg lagoon which is located at the end of the glacier Vatnajökull. We ate lunch (soup and sandwiches) at the visitor center, then walked down to the shore of the lagoon for a closer view of all the icebergs floating in the water. It was gorgeous!

We then headed up the road to another larger glacier lagoon called Jökulsárlón. There is a river where the icebergs float out to the ocean. Often they end up on the shoreline in an area called Diamond Beach. We saw some chunks of ice as well as a few sea lions basking in the sun.

We had reserved a zodiac boat tour with Ice Lagoon Adventure Tours to get a closer view of the icebergs. They suit you up with warm clothes and life vests and they take you out in groups of about a dozen people on zodiac boats for an exciting exploration of the lagoon. You sit on the side of the boat and hang on for dear life!

The icebergs have stunning colors and shapes when viewed from close up. We even saw a large chunk of the glacier "calf" off from the main glacier - an amazing experience!

The sparkling bright blue chunk of ice in the foreground just broke off the glacier. For about 15 minutes we watched in break into smaller chunks and rollover. Spectacular!

Our hotel for the evening was Seljavellir Guesthouse near Hofn. The rooms were simple but modern and comfortable. Our rooms faced a farm with some mountains in the distance.

Dinner that night was delicious fresh langoustine at Pakkhús restaurant overlooking the harbor in Höfn. Beyond yummy!

Iceland Day 3 - Magma Hotel

Nordic Advisor had upgraded us to the beautiful Magma Hotel for this evening. It is located about 5 miles off the Ring Road in a secluded area.

Our rooms were located in these individual cabins. They look deceptively rustic on the outside.

Each cabin had a traditional turf roof, which was pretty cool!

Each cabin was named after a volcano in Iceland. Ours was named after the volcano that erupted in 2010 and disrupted airspace in Europe for a number of days.

Although the exterior of the cabins looked rustic, the inside was stunning! We had a standard and a deluxe room, both of which were lovely! I was lucky enough to stay in the deluxe room which had an incredible view of a glacial river surrounded by mossy lava hills. These were the nicest rooms that we had in Iceland - they had both comfort and a view!

The gorgeous view from the deck outside our room.

At midnight, the dusky view of the midnight sun.

Breakfast was served in the lovely dining room in the main reception building. It had a wonderful variety of foods including pancakes, smoked salmon, and warm bread. 

We truly enjoyed staying at the Magma Hotel. 

Iceland Day 3 - Chasing Waterfalls and Waves

Our day began with a quick stop at the Kerid Crater. We walked around the front rim of the crater, but we knew there were more interesting places to see so we didn't linger for very long. Then we drove through the town of Selfoss and stopped at a Kronan grocery store to pick up sandwiches for lunch along with some Icelandic chocolate for souvenirs.

Now we were beginning to journey along the Ring Road which travels the circumference of Iceland. For me, the most thrilling view in Iceland was when Seljalandsfoss came into view as we were driving. There was a stretch of green mossy cliffs with several falls tumbling down. We parked and donned our hiking boots and waterproof clothes, ready for adventure!

At Seljalandsfoss you can actually hike behind the falls! Prepare to get wet. It is gorgeous (and those puffy clouds in the blue sky resulted in lovely photos).

A lot of people do not know that if you continue hiking along the base of the cliff that there is another hidden waterfall. The hike to Gljúfrafoss takes about 15 minutes and passes other small falls.

 

Above is the small opening in the canyon to Gljúfrafoss. You will need to cross uneven rocks and shallow water, so waterproof hiking shoes are helpful. You WILL get wet as you get close to the waterfall. 

This is what happens when you put your iPhone in the pocket of your yellow raincoat as you are hiking - ha!

Next we continued along the Ring Road. We had views of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano which erupted in 2010. (At least we THINK this is the volcano, it might be another one!) 

The next major waterfall that you come to is Skogafoss. There was a field of lupines across the road from this fall, so we first took some pictures from that vantage point. This location was very busy in the early afternoon! We only walked to the base of this powerful waterfall, but you can hike to the top if you wish.

The Ring Road now travels along the coastline. We stopped at Dyrhólaey Beach for a view of the ocean, arch, and sea stacks. We hoped to see puffins, but apparently, they are out in the ocean until the evening.

We continued down the road to Reynisfjara Beach, which is also known as the Black Sand Beach. The black sand is formed by lava which over time is broken down into sand. This location was also quite busy when we stopped in the late afternoon. The beach has a lovely view of sea stacks, but the most unique feature is the basalt column formations along the cliff and the sea caves. It is fun to climb and pose on the columns.

We drove up to the pretty village of Vik to get another view of the beach and the quaint church.

Then more driving, through miles and miles of fields of lupines as far as the eye could see! 

via GIPHY

After a while, the view changed to miles of bumpy little hills of mossy lava in an area called Eldhraun.

As we approached our hotel, there were limited dining options and the restaurant that we wanted was filled with a long wait. Our other option was a gas station restaurant called Skaftarskali where we dined on burgers and fries. (Our hotel had a lovely dining room and if we had known we could have made reservations to dine there.)  Nordic Advisor had upgraded us to the beautiful Magma Hotel for this evening. This hotel was so special that I will share about it in the next post!