Day 78 June 28th 2018 Borgarfjörður eystri
Today we were promised the best Puffin sighting in Iceland and while I cannot attest to it being the best as it is our first – it was up close and personal. Beyond exciting! The place Borgarfjörður Eystri, East Iceland was recommended by Hofn Tourist Information and features on a number of ‘Best Puffin Sites”
If by any chance we did not see Puffins we were also promised a beautiful drive. Tick. Along the finger of a Fjord with snow patches on the surrounding mountains. Landforms demonstrating the many school lessons on volcanic geography. Including one distant range that appeared to have a distinct bite taken out – our resident geologist explained it was due to glacial action eating away on both sides.
In the middle of this apparent “nowhere” a small green building emerged. A vending machine surrounded by a pretty and colourful picnic setting. Inside the little room a vending machine supposedly dispensing snacks and drinks.
Chris disappointedly discovered after many attempts to get either a KitKat or his money back it was not working. He was unsuccessful on both counts. As he persisted we were joined by two young German women fascinated by our plastic palm tree. After a chat and taking a photo of them with our prop we continued on.
Finally we drove down into a small fishing harbour lined with working buildings and fisher boats coming and going, loading and unloading. And there on the hill Puffins and people at very close range.
Just beyond the working harbour was a small peninsula with stairs leading to the top and little birds bobbing in and out of the grass. The closer one got the more detail could be seen – and there they were a myriad of Puffins surrounding the hillside, sky and water.
Entertainment plus to be had from these tiny birds – the size of a small chicken, colourful, adorable and fascinating to watch. It would seem they really should not fly – they take off like a lumbering aircraft with their feet flailing behind and their tummies seemingly hanging below creating a non-aerodynamic but very cute look. Landing appears even more haphazard as they come in wings and feet akimbo seeming to say “Look out below I’m coming in”!
While their flight was cutely clumsy their on land behaviour was equally clumsy and delightful. Even walking seemed unco-ordinated as they attempted to waddle across the land with a sweet bob bob bob every so often. Apparently they star once in the water where they do spend most of their lives.
Seeing the array of Puffin photos leading up to our visit, we had thought the grey strands hanging below their beaks was a kind of beard. After watching a small squad fighting between themselves there it was – sardines. They were fighting each other over the grey beard which was in fact fish hanging out of their mouths.
Unfortunately there are a number of predators including humans – Puffin Pie is apparently on tourist menus, Skuas, a large Icelandic bird, also hunts the Puffins and seemed to be in action along the cliff face.
If we did anything else on this day my recollection is only of the Puffins.
In keeping with our Icelandic day we dined on the unfortunately named Plokkfiskur. A mix of mashed potato, fish and onion. With helpful but conflicting instructions from a husband and wife in the supermarket – the husband suggesting adding cheese and baking it, the wife instructing to cook in a pot sans cheese. We chose her way. A tasty comforting treat. Kind of fish pie like.
