June 17:
Today we set off on a long drive down the large Weatfjords peninsula. A lot of the road was surprisingly gravel or dirt. A very bumpy 4 and 1/2 hour drive for sure!
We had beautiful views as we drove along the coast! We didn’t have any rain, which was such a blessing!
We stopped along the way and made some tuna sandwiches from our earlier grocery run!
Látrabjarg
Látrabjarg is a national park at the farthest western tip of the Westfjords, in fact the furthest west you can go in Iceland. It is known for its views and the vast number of birds that nest in the cliff side, including puffins! When we first arrived, there were not any puffins. We were told by some bird photographers that they were out having dinner and will return to the cliffs shortly. We enjoyed watching the razorbills and northern gannets as they sat along the cliff flying to and from the ocean, both of which looked like little penguins. There were thousands of them! It was truly a sight to see!
The sign at the entrance of the park said that during the summer time, there can be over 1 million birds nesting in this little section of cliffs. If you looked at the water, it looked like it was almost moving with how many birds were also swimming in the ocean.
Eventually, the puffins returned to the cliff side and we were able to see them close up! They are adorable creatures! Our favorite thing was to see them waddle around, almost like they are exaggerating each step.
Melanes
Tonight we are staying at a campground near the coast. Beautiful blue skies and orange sand! Dinner was an Italian dinner pasta packet that we added to boiling water. It’s always so nice to have a hot meal after a very cold day. It was around 5 degrees Celsius.
The beach near this campground was one of the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen.
