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Day 20: Seyðisfjörður - Borgarfjörður and back

Imechapishwa: 10.08.2017

Second to last day in Iceland. Today, we were going to head north from the campsite, specifically to Borgarfjörður. According to the travel guide, this place is known for its close proximity to puffin colonies. Of course, I had to go there. It would be unthinkable to leave Iceland without seeing these funny birds up close. The whale-watching tour was also supposed to show us the puffins. As previously mentioned, that didn't really work out. Borgarfjörður is about 70 kilometers away, a large part of which is gravel road. It didn't take long for the first sign, 'Gravelroad Ahead,' to appear. This pass is called Vatnsskarð eystra and leads through a magnificent landscape up to 430 meters above sea level.







Some parts have a 12% gradient and hairpin turns within this gradient. The speed limit here is 30 km/h. For safety reasons, I crawled up in first gear at a walking pace and it already felt quite fast on the loose surface.




Once at the top, there is a great view of the bay. On the other side, the road goes down in the same way. Once at the bottom, there are two kilometers of beautifully paved road before it turns back into a gravel track. I can't understand why it's like this. There are occasional asphalt sections in between.


Once you pass through Borgarfjörður, you come to a small harbor. There is a hill here where the puffins nest.




The water in the harbor basin is surprisingly clear
The water in the harbor basin is surprisingly clear

So, I parked Suzi, put on my hiking boots, and headed for the hill. I spent almost two hours there. Most of the puffins were in the water, apparently it was their bathing day.


A motorcycle couple that I had seen on the ferry also later told me that they had seen lots of birds there. About an hour before I arrived. So, not only bathing day but also lunchtime.
Nevertheless, I managed to take some pictures.





There are also gulls and fulmars nesting on the rocks there.




The return journey was equally exciting, with a bit of rain making the road a bit slippery. This was acknowledged by the intense flashing of the traction control light.

Would you believe it, a truck with a trailer appeared in front of me, also struggling up the mountain. Cheerfully indicating to overtake him with my right blinker, he signaled that I should go ahead. Since driving behind the truck wasn't ideal either, I took the risk. With a slightly wobbling rear wheel and the cliff on my left, I passed him. In such a situation, a truck with a trailer can be quite long.

I arrived back at the campsite in the dry towards evening. Africa Twin Dieter was already waiting for me and asked if we wanted to go out for a small meal to end the trip. Said and done. On the other side of the street, there is Kaffi Lára, which also serves a self-brewed beer called El Grillo. This and the pork neck with baked potato and salad were not to be scoffed at. Back at the campsite, we stood in front of the tents for a while, talked to other campers, and noticed, thanks to the evening sky, that it would probably stay dry tonight and there was a chance to pack our tents dry in the morning.


However, it wasn't warm, so we soon retreated to our tents.

Jibu (1)

Alex
Wie jezz? Traktionskontrolle? XD XD XD Du Sissy! Aber schön, dass Du so n tollen Urlaub erleben kannst!.... Ich freu mich schon auf den "persönlichen" Reisebericht!