All because the lady loves . . .

Tuesday we were on a mission. After a quick walk after breakfast to the harbour we were going to drive 135 miles straight to Egilsstadir. We would stop along the way when the fancy took us but no detours off the main road.

The first part of the journey was back to Mývatn past all the places we’d been last week and I’ve added a few photos as the weather was better. The bright blue of the mineral lake near the power station at Kafla reminds us of the blue lagoon, but without the tourists. Shortly after leaving the Mývatn area the landscape became very desolate with nothing green. With the desolation came a dramatic change in weather. Since Friday we have been roasting. We’ve been driving with the back windows open – who knew they still made cars without air conditioning – and we’ve regretted packing only thermals and fleeces, leaving all the t-shirts at home. Temperatures have consistently been around15ºC. Well that all changed. The temperature halved to 7ºC, the rain returned and the clear blue skies became grey. As we approached Egilsstadir the scenery changed to undulating green hills interspersed with silver falls and the remnants of snow and ice, and we had the addition of driving through mist and clouds. We passed a whole string of really tall waterfalls approx 120 – 140m high in Jökuldalur called Rjúkandi. These were all easily visible from the main road, and would be a “wow” in the UK, but as we’ve become “waterfall snobs” we decided it wasn’t worth stopping, especially as it was pouring with rain.

When the newly independent Iceland decided it needed a big town in the East in the late 1940s, it decided to expand here in Egilsstadir. There was a landing strip which had been used by the RAF in the war and more importantly there was a ferry port close by which was the main access to Denmark and continental Europe. Nowadays the town of Egilsstadir has grown to service those that arrive with their cars off the ferry as this is the place that the road from the ferry meets the Iceland ring road. There are numerous places to stay, eat and fill up your car with petrol! It does have more to offer in its own right – forests, canyons, large numbers of picturesque waterfalls and villages and a huge fjord with its own monster to rival Nessie, the Lagerfljótsormur.

And of course Puffins. At this time of year it is harder not to see Puffins in Iceland than to see them. 60% of the world’s puffins come to Iceland to breed. We had done our research, whilst the breeding colony around here is not the largest, only 10,000 couples, it’s the best place to see them that doesn’t involve a boat! Imagine our (i.e my) excitement when we arrived and their was a big notice on reception “the puffins have arrived” and recommending the place we had highlighted as the “easiest and safest place” to see them at a mere hour away, Hafnarhólmi, Borgarfjörour Eystri. The receptionist was lovely and was from Poland. She’d only arrived recently having been in the country less than us but excitedly showed us her puffin photos from the day before and told us it was super easy to get to as it is only one road. Apparently the best time to go is either early morning or late afternoon/evening as they are busy during the day. I’m not entirely sure what their hectic daytime schedule involves but we decided to go that evening.

She was right. It is only one road. She didn’t say it was a full of hair pin bends going up (and down) the mountains with a sheer drop on one side. But that wasn’t really a problem when she went as she didn’t have to drive through the clouds and the rain with visibility that was non-existent in parts. I’ll be honest I would have told Steven to turn round, but there was nowhere to turn round.

There are some photos and a video here of the journey.

Steven’s excellent driving ensured we survived to see the puffins and tell the tale. Despite the weather, this place was full. People were arriving with us and even when we were leaving an hour later. That just proves how magical this place was – it was raining so much that this was the first time we had to put on our waterproof trousers and gloves, and yet we stayed an hour. There is a wooden walkway and bird hide, although given the weather the hide was full. There was plenty of space for everyone on the various walkways. You are just surrounded and immersed in puffins. Cuteness overload. Everyone was so respectful and silent. There was one funny moment when a lady came out of the shelter of the hide into the rain and put up her umbrella, a perfectly natural western response to the climate. Except the puffins took off at great speed, although the returned fairly soon after. We made the right choice in shunning the boat tours. This wasn’t just about my lack of love for boats. This was about being next to the puffins rather than fighting for space on the side of a boat to bob up and down along side but still some distance from them. This was about taking your time, and as much time as you wanted, to be amongst them.Trust me, 10,000 couples is more than enough!

Whilst my responsibility was researching the cute things to see from Egilsstadir, Steven’s was the other sites of interest. What a good job he did. Stuðlagil Canyon is stunning. Not only did he put this on the itinerary his research was thorough enough to determine where to get the best view. Like many sites in Iceland tourists are well catered for here with a viewing platform, restaurant and toilets. Except this does not give the best view. The best view is from the other side of the canyon where you can get down to the water’s edge and if brave (or stupid) enough you can climb onto the rocks in the middle. However to get to this carpark, which has no “comfort” facilities, you have to aim for Klaustrusel and go 12 km off road. This journey took 24 minutes, and that was with negotiating the sheep and the diggers on the cliff faces above us throwing rocks down towards the trucks next to us on the road. Once you reach the carpark there is a 20 minute walk along a path to the canyon. So I am proud to admit that I know my limitations and as a humpback whale is more graceful than me, I was not as “brave” as my husband or many others, including a father with his baby in a papoose and stayed firmly on the cliff edge, albeit close to the edge in parts. What was sad to see was one tourist probably in his 20s, decide to break some of the last remaining ice off the rocks rather than let nature take care of it and let it melt gradually. Absolutely mindless and needless.

I’ve left some of the people in the photos as they add a sense of perspective and appreciation of the size of the canyon. Steven climbed onto the rocks jutting into the canyon – there isn’t a photo of him but of some others so you get an idea where he was.The viewing platform is visible on one of the photos.

There is a video of the canyon shot by our master videographer here

In the afternoon we went to the picturesque village of Seydisfjordur. This is where the ferry port is. It’s only 12 miles away so a 25 minute journey, really close. However in many ways it’s a world away. There is a big black mountain range that separates the two, seen on the photo of the houses in the village. Whilst both Egilsstadir and Seydisfjordur have a temperature of 9ºC and are very green, we had to drive over the mountains to get from one to the other. The temperature dropped to 3ºC as we climbed and the area was a complete white out. Interspersed in the snow there were tiny patches of bright blue water like in the Viti crater which gave us a clue that there was a lake underneath, or a few rocks or streams breaking through if it was land. Combined with the obligatory hairpin bends, mountain gradients and the cloud we had to drive through, I was not a happy bunny or a good passenger! Unbelievable that this was less than 10 minutes from our hotel. Having said that, once I could bring myself to open my eyes and stop screaming I did appreciate the scenery. There were some very pretty waterfalls just outside Seydisfjordur and as with most of our journeys, you notice something new and the scenery looks different when you go on the return leg.

A big thank you to all our family and friends who have let us know that “that volcano” has erupted again. It’s near Grindavik, which we are nowhere near at the moment. Our last hotel the night before we flew home was in Grindavik, as is the Blue Lagoon. Fortunately you weren’t the only ones to contact us, and “Discover the World,” the travel agents that booked this holiday for us, have also been in contact and have everything in hand. We did want to see some fresh lava, but we don’t really want lives to be at risk either directly or due to loss of power etc so we hope that it all settles very soon.

Tomorrow another long drive of just over 4 hours to Öræfi. We’re getting good at these as we’ve done approximately 1400 miles so far!

P.s. For those not old enough to understand the nuances of the title here is the milk tray advert from the 1970s on YouTube