Seydisfjordur, Iceland

Our good weather streak was looking like it might end this morning when I checked out the forecast on my phone.    When you see a 90% chance of rain all day, it usually doesn’t bode well for a nice day.

The Viking Mars was in port and moored to the cruise terminal.  We anchored about 1 mile offshore.  The seas and winds were calm so tendering was easy and fast.

Once again we would be on an Artic Shorex excursion – Puffins and Elves

We were down in the BB King right at 8 AM when they announced the ship was cleared.   Surprisingly, no one else was around, and they told us to go straight down to the tender.  As we are 5 stars, we didn’t need a tender ticket.   Showing your cruise card to the person guarding the stairs was all that was necessary.   There were only about 10 people on the tender when we departed.   I was surprised as I expected them to hold us until the boat filled.

Once ashore, there was a little confusion over the meeting spot.   Viking was moored alongside the cruise terminal, and she had her own tour buses meeting her passengers.   It’s also possible that Artic Shorex filled their tour with passengers from both ships.   Around 8:30, the clearly marked Artic Shorex buses started to arrive and one of the guides on the first bus said we were in the correct spot.    She also shared a little bad news and said that all the Puffins were gone as they tend to migrate in mid-August.   Oh well, wildlife sightings are never guaranteed, but we hoped that a few Puffins might still be in the area.

Our bus was a 20-passenger minibus.  The driver was the guide, and there were 17 passengers on the tour.   Three of us took over the back row with 4 seats which gave us a little more room.

It was cold, mid 40’s, but the predicted rain was yet to materialize.

Twenty minutes later, we stopped at an overlook for a photo-op of Egilsstadir, which was below us in the valley.   Egilsstadir is the youngest town in Iceland, established in 1947.

Continuing we made a brief stop to take a look at some Icelandic Horses and take a few pictures.

A few minutes later we made another brief stop at the home of Icelandic painter – Johannes Sveinsson Kjarval

There was a rest stop on this road with a small hut with a vending machine inside and a guest book for visitors to sign.

We stopped overlooking a small bay where we spotted several Humpback whales swimming out to sea.   We couldn’t see much more than their backs as they glided through the water.

Around 11 am we arrived in the small village of Borgarfjordur Eystri for a restroom stop.  We would return here later for lunch after viewing the Puffins.

We arrived at Hafnarholmi hill around 11:15.   This is one of the best places to view the Puffins and there are several platforms and stairs which allow you to climb the small hill and get close to the Puffins and their burrows.   

While most of the Puffins have departed, there were about a dozen floating in the water below.

With some luck and patience, we spotted a Puffin within 10 feet for about 15 seconds before flying away.

Thirty minutes after arriving we headed back to Borgarfjordur for lunch at the Alfa Café where we enjoyed some Fish Soup and Chocolate Banana bread.

After lunch, we walked over to the red-painted Lindarbakki turf-roofed house and peered into the windows.

Alfaborg hill, believed to be the home of the Elf Queen, was nearby.   We saw some people hiking to the top, but we took a pass.

About 10 after 1 PM we headed back to Seydisfjordur.

The town of Egilsstadir was on the way, and we spent about 15 minutes driving thru with our driver providing some commentary.

Gufufoss Waterfall was our final stop and we spent about 10 minutes here before moving on.

We arrived back in Seydisfjordur around 3 PM.

One of the main attractions in town is the Blue Church and Rainbow street.    We walked at over to take a look after a brief stop in the cruise terminal where we bought a few key chains.

The Blue church was open for visitors when we arrived, but we learned it was closed for most of the morning.

Along the Rainbow street are a few shops selling clothes and locally made items along with a café.    There is a grocery store at the end of the street and we browsed the aisles and bought some chocolate.

Back on the tender pier, they were passing out small paper cups with hot chocolate.   We were back on the ship at 4:30pm

Singer Jamila was the featured entertainer on the World Stage.  She performed a wide variety of songs from current hits to opera.