We booked two nights at our hotel so we had a whole day to hang out around Egilsstaðir! While planning our trip, I read about a really great place to see puffins that was about an hour north from our hotel along the coast. I was determined to get to see them! I also read that it's best to see them early in the morning or later in the afternoon because they fly out to sea during the day, so Jordan and I were up and ready to go by 7am.
The 22 hours of sunlight every day made the days feel incredibly long. I never really realized how much my body is cued to sleep by the setting sun every day and when the sun doesn't really "set" at all, it feels like the world is just ready to be explored all the time.
The puffin colony we visited is called Hafnarhólmi, a few miles outside of Borgarfjörður Eystri. It's super tiny little fishing village and because we arrived earlier in the day (we discovered that most things don't open until 10am in Iceland), it was very quiet and we saw very few other people. It was raining pretty heavily, but that didn't stop us from getting out and enjoying these awkward and adorable little birds. Warning: lots of puffin pics ahead...
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| There were hundreds of puffins! |
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| Hello friend. |
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| We were about to get very close... |
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| and they were not afraid of us at all! |
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| There was a great indoor viewing shelter too! |
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| More friends |
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| This was only one hill of many! |
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| There were ships around too |
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| I'm in love. |
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| Jordan and his new pets. |
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| Can these come home with us? |
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| Those cliffs have hundreds of puffin nests! |
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| Yep, another selfie with puffins. Never enough. |
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| That's Jordan up there, we were the only ones around! |
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| I got close to one, and he was like 'nope!' |
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| Back in the viewing shelter, getting a closer look. |
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| You can see the road we drove in on |
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| Jordan liked this sign. |
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| Hey, little buddy. |
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| Okay, one more pic. |
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| There were other birds to see there too... |
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| ... but the puffins were the best part! |
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| Saw this cute mural while we were leaving |
On the drive back to town, we found this random vending machine inside a green shack. Apparently it's solar powered and there was a guest book with notes from people all over the world. It was a super cute and fun surprise in the middle of nowhere! Once we were back at the hotel, it was time to relax, eat breakfast, and check out the spa! After two days on the road, it felt amazing to just soak for an hour in a giant hot tub.
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| This is a fun little spot! |
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| Peek! |
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| Ope! Just gonna sign this guestbook... |
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| This was a fun side-adventure! |
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| Warming up with coffee and yogurt... |
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| then let's hit the spa! I liked this sign. |
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| Giant pool just for us! |
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| This is a very relaxed woman. |
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| Ahhhhh bliss. |
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| Can I just live here? |
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| Annnnd... time for a nap! |
After showers and naps, Jordan and I were ready to check out more of Egilsstaðir. We both love going to museums when we travel so we headed over to the East Iceland Heritage Museum. We didn't realize until we got there that the date was June 17th, which is Icelandic National Day! It's the day that celebrates the foundation of the Republic of Iceland in 1944. There was an artist reception happening in the museum and lots of people wearing Icelandic flag gear. It was a great museum with lots of information about how important reindeer have been to the people of Iceland, artifacts and clothing, and an actual house you could go inside! After our museum visit, Jordan and I did a little shopping and went out for dinner at a local pizza place. The next day we were checking out from our hotel and heading to our next city: Akureyri!
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| Selfie with a reindeer! |
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| I liked this artwork! |
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| Jordan, inside the little house. |
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| Berenstain Bears in Icelandic! |
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| You know I tried them all. |
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| This is a lot of food. |
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| Check out the sunrise/sunset times! |
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