Puffin Encounter, Iceland (July 29)

2025-07-29T23:00:00-07:00hiking, icelandNo comments

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. 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 highly successful.

In 1771, Norwegian traders introduced reindeer, and a small population learned to adapt and survive in East Iceland. Currently, the reindeer population is estimated at 4,000 to 5,000 animals. Iceland offers a short reindeer-hunting season between July 15 and September 15, which covers 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 Höfn for coffee and to use the 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 and mist.

We continued our drive to Djupivogur, where we walked around the small town and stopped 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 that cakes in Iceland are called "kaka" in Icelandic, which translates to "poop" in Russian.

There was a fascinating 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 overlooking a beautiful gorge with ocean views. 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, and we were hopeful 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 that the Iceland fueling stations (N1) have attached mini-marts that sell a wide range 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 refrain from buying junk food.

Bjorn told us a bit about Dyrfjöll, the "Door" Mountains, and the excellent 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 in Iceland to view and photograph puffins. After being dropped off, we climbed a small structure to see puffins in action.

Puffins live in their self-dug burrows, where they raise and feed their chicks. We could see puffins fly in and out, but had difficulty seeing them inside their burrows. 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 and is now a hotel.

On the way to the Wilderness Center hotel, we stopped at the Strorud Visitor overlook on a wonderful, clear day. The weather had cleared, and we enjoyed staring at the beautiful Icelandic coastline.

Arriving at Wilderness Center, we picked up our keys (from the note left by the staff), dropped off our luggage in our room, and hurried to dinner. Since Inna and I had selected lamb, we sat together with all the other guests who had chosen it as well.