Storm Height

Iceland's national mascot is undoubtedly the puffin! These adorable birds are everywhere, and souvenir shops are stuffed with plush toys and more. Unfortunately, the puffin season in the north was already over, and the water birds had moved on to their winter quarters. However, there were breeding grounds on the south coast from where the puffins would later depart.

We spent the night in a proper hotel; otherwise, we slept in vacation apartments. Besides the hotel, the complex housed a small museum dedicated to a regional polymath. In front of it was a talking stone (using a tape recording) that always confused us on our way to the reception ('when stones speak'). This stone tempted us to linger longer that morning. However, that might also have been due to the abundant breakfast and the miserable rainy weather.

The first destination, a longer gorge hike, had to be canceled due to the weather. The second destination was also a picturesque gorge. This canyon gained dubious fame as a filming location for a Justin Bieber music video, during which the singer significantly harmed the delicate flora. This was followed by a flood of tourists from Bieber fans, which only worsened things. All this happened years ago, but the internet and travel guides continue to refer to the superstar's behavior as a cautionary tale. It seems that the artist's name will remain closely associated with the Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon in the future.

We fought our way through thick fog to Vik. There, the fog lifted, as it was now pouring rain. Vik was located at the southernmost point of the island and was easily accessible as a day trip from Reykjavik. You could tell; an outlet with a supermarket and restaurants was completely in tourist hands. The town itself had no more than 650 residents.

In addition to the special location as a supply center, Vik was surrounded by dramatic cliffs. Massive basalt formations on the black lava sand beach provided a fantastic photo backdrop even in bad weather. The wind whipped, and the water birds struggled to maintain their course. Then the surprise: perched on the cliffs above the beach were puffins. The tiny puffins were smaller than ducks and peered adorably down at the tourists, who quickly overlooked a wave while looking up and had to wade on with wet feet.

The puffin photos were secured, the weather was getting more dreadful by the minute, we climbed one more rock with the car and felt rain and wind like lashes before we finally reached our accommodation. In the wooden cabin then, we dried our things and had self-cooked pasta with pesto while rain and wind battered from all directions outside. The weather was at its lowest point, but the mood was relaxed because we had seen puffins.