Some days on my trips to Iceland have to be mapped out, in order to ensure I get to where I need to be when I need to be there. The third day of my trip was one of these days, and a phone note as well as a few lines on the trip spreadsheet (yes, of course I have one!) had been filled out to make sure everything worked as planned. I had one hard stop: a ferry across to Vestmannaeyjar, the wonderful volcanic archipelago at the southern tip of the island (also known as the Westman Islands in English). I'd decided to go there on this trip mainly for the puffins. I'd been once before for a couple of nights with my husband back in 2009 before we hiked from Landmannalaugar, so a return visit was well overdue. I guess I've never thought of going back because the puffins are such a draw, so why would I go there at a time of year when they were missing? Instead of flying, as I'd done the previous time, I was taking the ferry from the port at Landeyjahöfn, which I'd driven down to on my previous trip (in February).
I'd opted for an old Dacia Duster, which I'd managed to extend for a few more days once my flights had been rescheduled. I got into the car to find that the driver's side mirror wasn't high enough, having been damaged; I had to lean down a little to be able to see in it properly. I drove back to Alfred's Studios, thinking that it would be okay, but noticed a warning light come on. I googled this when I stopped and found that it was a tyre pressure warning. I packed up the car, leaving my sweet home, and decided that with the two issues I'd try to exchange the car, so drove back to Blue. That warning light - apparently - is quite normal in these cars, I was told, but they were happy to swap it out for another one, given the mirror issue (I was actually quite annoyed that they were renting out a car with a mirror that wasn't fit for purpose). The replacement car I got was also a Duster, but with way more km on the clock, and loads of dents and bumps. The mirror wasn't broken, so it all felt fine, and off I went, heading back to Álftanes. My friends weren't there (they were off exploring their wonderful country with their kids) so I just picked up my boots and a couple of other things (huge travel mug and plug adaptor), and headed back towards one of the booze shops. It felt a bit odd (not to mention alcoholic) to be buying beer at 10am on a Tuesday morning, but I wasn't the only one in there... I'd already worked out which beers I wanted to try, by looking online, and managed to find them all eventually. I left with 15 beers (yes), most of which were sours or summer ales, with a reasonably low alcohol content. All sorted for beer I headed on my way.
Already there was a change of plan - I got a message from the ferry company warning me that the main road between Hveragerði and Selfoss was closed for road repairs. Instead of taking the right hand turn along the Hellisheiði pass I carried on down the long loop and then took the right down to the coast. I stopped briefly at the carpark overlooking the south coast because I suddenly became aware that the bonnet wasn't properly secured (sure enough, it wasn't shut and I'd been driving a while before I noticed!). The additional detour meant that I didn't have time to visit Gluggafoss; I'd have to do that on my way back. Instead I just drove straight to the ferry port, watching the islands on the horizon getting slightly bigger as I approached. On arrival I noticed huge numbers of arctic terns nesting on a big gravel area just near the car-park. I had to get a paper ticket from the office (I'd booked online) and was supposed to pay a change fee, but they didn't want any more money from me, which was nice. The ferry soon arrived, offloaded its cargo, and on we all went.
It was another stunning day, and a very pleasant day indeed to be doing a ferry ride off the coast of Iceland, which can be notoriously windy and rainy. We passed the big sea wall that I'd clambered onto on my last visit to get a better view of the islands with huge storm clouds above them.
As we went further out the waves got bigger but it was still pretty smooth. Behind us the ice cap and Eyjafjallajökull were visible.
The colour of the water suddenly changed from turquoise to darker blue as we hit deep water. It became more turquoise again as we approached our destination. To the east we passed a couple of little bright-green islands, each with a little house on them - unfeasibly remote but cute places to live! They are called Elliðæy and Bjarnarey.
As we approached Heimaey the water and air were teeming with white birds flitting around, and the intense blue sky, green hills and turquoise water were quite a striking sight.
I was on the top deck of the parking, so had to wait for the lower deck to disembark, before my floor was moved down and off I went. I hadn't had a chance to shop yet, so my first stop on the island was at a Krónan supermarket just near the port. When I got back to the car there was a beeping alarm warning going off in the car and an orange warning light had come on. I looked it up and if it had been red then I would've needed a new car; as it was orange it was okay for the time being - just an electrical system warning. The beeping didn't stop, so I assumed this was somehow connected to the light. I drove up the hill to find my little cabin for the night, not far from the airport. I love to stay in remote cabins, and the views from this one looked amazing. I struggled to find the place initially, as the street address took me to a group of larger cabins closer to the town (and a big brewery). Eventually I found the right track and got to my adorable cabin - Ofanleiti. It was ridiculously small, but had everything I needed, including a plug-in one-hob cooker and a kettle. The view was sublime, with the little island group off to the west visible over green fields.
I had a quick sandwich and then decided that I'd spend the rest of the afternoon exploring and looking for puffins. I headed down the road going south, and soon came to a junction with a road heading back along the coast back to town (I think new in the past 11 years - certainly didn't recognise it). It was a good decision as almost immediately I found a track off it leading to the coastal path, which was what I really wanted to find, to follow in the footsteps we'd made on the previous visit.
I turned right, even though I wanted to head down the island, because I had an inkling that there might be puffins around, and my hunch was right - within a few minutes I came across a grassy cliff with a few puffins perched below me. The scenery wasn't too bad either :) A few trolls were lurking around the cliffs too...
I turned around after a short while, and headed back south, as originally planned. I'd hoped to pass by structures of hanging fish heads, but these don't seem to exist any more. I eventually got down to the beginning of the beach area with some interesting geological features, and weird little ponds filled with algae, which I'd photographed 11 years earlier. The one pool I had in mind was still there! The skies had begun to cloud over and the light was a bit dull, which was annoying, but I had been very lucky weather since I'd arrived on Sunday afternoon, so couldn't really complain.
I wandered along the weird rocky platforms and along the beach, discovering all sorts of interesting patterns from erosion and weathering.
I eventually reached the sandy beach and walked up the other side, as I knew that there were more puffins around Stórhöfði (it hosts one of the biggest puffin colonies in the world).
There's a puffin lookout cabin just as you go up the hill, so I headed there first, and was very disappointed to find just a few birds flying to and from their nests in the distance out of the hide, but none actually sitting on the grass to see properly. Having attempted to capture a few flying - and having failed - I headed back to the road and started along the path that goes clockwise around the edge of the little promontory. I caught glimpses of puffins along the way, and sheep, but was clearly there at the wrong time of day - as they were all out fishing. I could see a massive gannet colony by one of the other islands to the south.
I continued all the way round and was disappointed to find only a couple of puffins. I finished off the loop and started the long walk home, back to my cabin, up the big hill. A couple of guys were in front of me, giving me something to look towards, as fog descended over the mountains at the top of the island. I was exhausted, thirsty and hungry.
When I got back home a snipe fluttered away from the ground; there were a few of them around. I pottered about in the cabin for a bit, making myself some tuna pasta (the usual!) and I noticed that one of the birds was just outside the front door. I managed to sneak out and photograph it without it flying off. It was a beautiful specimen with the most ridiculously long beak that it stuck into the ground. It also had wonderful patterns on its wing feathers.
After supper I still felt a bit restless, knowing that I was surrounded by birdlife. In spite of already having walked about 9 miles I decided to go back to the coastal path where I'd seen the first puffins, hoping to see and photograph a few more in the last of the light. The sky was completely clouded over, but it was fairly still and not too cold. I passed another common redshank on my way towards the cliff edge.
There were only a small number of puffins on the cliff edges, just like earlier, so I took a few shots in the fading light before heading back to my cabin for a beer.
On the way back I passed a couple of well-camouflaged birds darting around. I got one photo, brightened it up a bit, and discovered it was a golden plover - an absolutely adorable little thing!
I had a full day to explore the island the following day, but had to change accommodation in the middle of it, so only one night in the tiny cabin. After a couple of divine sour beers it was time for a nice long sleep, exhausted after a long day of hiking and holding the damn telephoto lens!
Click here for my blog from Day 2 - Relaxing in Reykjavík
Click here for my blog from Day 4 - Exploring Vestmannaeyjar
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