Puffins!!!! Thousands of them at Látrabjarg, the most westerly part of Europe. The puffins all come to breed along the cliff face and have become very tame. Lots of people come to take pictures of them and the birds allow you to come within a metre or two of them.Catching a ferry, we stayed the night halfway across the Breiðafjörður bay on the island of Flatey, a tiny peaceful village of old wooden houses where noone seemed in much of a hurry to do anything - which was fine by us as we had been going pretty flat out for a while by now.
Hákarl. Read that link first. Everything it says is true. The smell is eye watering, nauseating and leaves you light headed. There is a reason that you usually down a shot of Brennivin afterwards. The whole curing process itself is less than pleasant (as the many photos on the wall at Bjarnarhöfn farm prove). Thank goodness the wind was blowing away from us when we visited the curing sheds. Having said all that the taste and texture isn't too bad at all (so long as you don't breath through your nose while it's on your tongue). I swear I could still smell the stuff 3 days later.
On our way back to Reykjavik we saw a huge thermal spring (that supplies hot water and power for much of western Iceland) and passed between two glaciers in a black desert before we emerged back in the city. The town of 100,000 felt like a sprawling metropolis after two weeks driving around Iceland.
We had an amazing time and it was a great opportunity to not just go to Reykjavik but also see a lot of the rest of the country. Perhaps we will go back soon and explore the barren centre!
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