Tuesday, July 29, 2025
Starting: Adventure Hotel Hof, Fagurhólsmýri, Iceland
Ending: Wilderness Center, Egilstaðir, Iceland
Highlights: Eastfjords, Djúpivogur, Borgarfjarðarhöfn, Puffins, Wilderness Center
In the morning, we woke at 06:30 to get ready for another busy day. Our guide had planned to show us Puffins (which required extra driving time). It was slightly drizzly outside, with poor visibility, exactly the weather I had been worried about encountering. Hopefully, our drive to the eastern side of Iceland would let us escape to the sunnier side of the island.
As we began our drive east, our guide pointed out the Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon Hotel, the most expensive hotel in this part of Iceland, which is always sold out. When it was being built, the locals thought that this hotel would go bankrupt, but it turned out to be extremely successful.
In 1771, reindeer were brought by Norwegian traders, and a small population of them learned to adapt and survive in East Iceland. Currently, the reindeer population is estimated to be between 4,000 to 5,000 animals. Iceland offers a short reindeer hunting season between July 15 to September 15, covering most hunting areas in East Iceland. Permits to hunt up to 1,200 reindeer are purchased by prospective hunters.
Nearby, in Hali, an extremely famous Icelandic author - Þórbergur Þórðarson (often anglicized as Thorbergur Thordarson, pronounced roughly THOR-ber-gur THOR-thar-son) was born, and we drove by his birthplace home.
Þórbergur was a pioneering figure in Icelandic literature, known for his brilliance in language, irony, satire, and bold experimental style—especially in auto-fiction. He was nicknamed “Maestro Þórbergur” for his unmatched vocabulary and expressive fluency.
Signature Works:
Bréf til Láru (Letters to Lára, 1924): A sharply satirical critique of capitalism, organized religion, and societal hypocrisy, which led to the loss of his teaching post but firmly established his literary voice.
Íslenzkur aðall (Icelandic Nobility, 1938) and Ofvitinn (The Eccentric, 1940–41): Largely autobiographical, blending personal narrative with broader social commentary
Steinarnir tala (The Stones Speak, 1956): A childhood memoir rooted in his rural upbringing—translated into English and widely praised for its vivid storytelling and strong sense of place.
In Iceland, Arctic Char and Salmon are usually farmed, while Cod, Haddock, and Pollack are fished in the North Atlantic. We found Arctic Char available throughout Iceland.
Höfn (pronounced "Hub") is the Lobster fishing Capital of Iceland. We stopped by Hofn for coffee and restrooms.
Our next stop was the Hvalnes Lighthouse. The weather was still drizzly, with poor visibility and fog everywhere. We walked around for some exercise, but all the surrounding beauty was hidden by the fog.
We continued our drive to Djupivogur, where we walked around the small town, stopping for lunch at Langabúð - Café. There were limited selections on the menu, and we chose the following:
- Boris: Goulash soup, bread, coffee
- Inna: Salmon "open-faced" sandwich, Goulash soup, bread, coffee
For dessert, we decided to stop by the Hafið bistro, where we selected the following:
- Dessert: Raspberry Jelly Cake (Kaka)
- Drinks: hot black tea
The Raspberry Jelly Cake was excellent. Note, cakes in Iceland are called "kaka" in Icelandic, which translates as "poop" to Russian speakers.
There was an interesting artistic exhibit of egg statues (Eggin i Gleõivik) of Icelandic birds in Djupivogur, and we stopped by for a look. The large, oversized, oval eggs were impressive. However, we couldn't tell their English name (or how oversized they were).
Our next stop was at Nykurhylsfoss (Sveinsstekksfoss). We hiked for a short time to a bridge that overlooked a beautiful gorge, with views of the ocean. We took lots of photos, but could not cross the bridge to the other side (as the gate was locked by the farmer who owned the property). The weather was starting to clear up, and we were hopeful that we could finally see all the beautiful cliffs and waterfalls around us.
We continued our drive to Borgarfjarðarhöfn (to see and photograph Puffins) with a couple more stops on the way. We drove by Hænubrekkufoss waterfall without stopping. Hopefully, next time, we will have time to stop for photos.
As we continued our drive, we stopped in Egilsstaðir for snacks, bathrooms (WC), and fuel. Note, the Iceland fueling stations (N1) have extensive attached mini-marts, selling a diverse set of items, though snacks and junk food predominate. We were shocked to see how much junk food (chips, chocolate, soda, etc.) our travel group consumed. I have purchased a chocolate bar once (and a smoothie on another occasion), but I usually refrained from purchasing junk food.
Bjorn told us a bit about Dyrfjöll "Door" Mountains and the amazing hiking there. Here are more details from ChatGPT and Bjorn:
About Dyrfjöll & Stórurð
Dyrfjöll, meaning “Door Mountains,” is a jagged volcanic ridge rising to 1,136 m. Its most striking feature is a massive arch-like gap—roughly 856 m high—carved by glacial erosion.
Located by the remote Borgarfjörður Eystri in East Iceland, Dyrfjöll is geologically ancient and formed between 12 and 3 million years ago.
Trail Overview & Route
Most hikes begin at Vatnskarð pass (road 94), about a 50-minute drive from Egilsstaðir, where there’s a parking area, visitor hut, and toilet facilities.
From the pass, the trail ascends gently at first, offering views over Héraðsflói bay (north) and Dyrfjalladalur valley (south).
You’ll then descend into Urðardalur (Stórurð) valley—home to hundreds of giant rocks and turquoise streams, and ponds.
Distance: ~7.5 km one way (~15 km round-trip). Estimated time: 2.5–3 hours one way, or about 7 hours total, including exploring time.
For those who want to minimize carryng heavy backpacking gear, hut-to-hut hiking is available. (Small huts are strategically located to allow hiking with daypacks only).
Stórurð (“Giant Boulder Valley”) lies at the base of Dyrfjöll and features massive tuff blocks, glacial ponds, and mossy meadows—often compared to troll landscapes from Norse mythology.
After many hours of driving, we finally arrived at Borgarfjarðarhöfn, the best location to view and photograph Puffins in Iceland. After being dropped off, we climbed a small structure to see puffins in action.
Puffins live in their self-designated, burrowed holes, where they raise and feed their young chicks. We could see puffins fly in and fly out, but had difficulty seeing them inside their burrowed holes. On several occasions, I spotted puffins walking and was able to take photographs.
The Nikon P900 superzoom camera (brought specifically for birding and whale watching) was acting up. My Nikon P900 complained that the batteries were going low, even though I had charged them recently. Perhaps the Nikon batteries were going bad? I managed to take a few photos before the battery died completely.
In Borgarfjarðarhöfn, there is a KHB Brugghús Brewery and a building that used to be a giant freezer that has been turned into a hotel.
On the way to the Wilderness Center hotel, we stopped at Strorud Visitor overlook on an absolutely beautiful, clear day. The weather had cleared, and we enjoyed staring at the beautiful Icelandic coastline.
Arriving at Wilderness Center, we got our keys (from the note left by the staff) and quickly dropped off our luggage in our room and hurried to dinner. Since Inna and I selected lamb, we sat together along with all other guests who had also chosen lamb.
Our dinner consisted of the following:
- Drinks: Bjor beer, sparkling water
- Main: lamb
- Dessert: rhubarb
After dinner, we stopped by the Museum of Icelandic Life. It had multiple exhibits on the hardships of surviving in Iceland.
Day Review(July 29)
Highlights
- Observing Puffins in their natural habitat on Borgarfjarðarhöfn
- Walking along the gorge in Nykurhylsfoss
- Waterfalls:
Lowlights
- Drizzly weather
- Poor visibility in the morning (especially on the way to Hvalnes Lighthouse)
- The food at Langabúð - Café was fairly bland.
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