Iceland

Iceland: Puffins and glaciers

Joanna August 16, 2016 11 3

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One word to describe our day in Iceland: rain!!!! Heavy rain all day long which means very limited views and all clothing wet. Look at this restaurant, see how people try to dry their jackets, even pants while they eat:

Yep, it was supposed to be the most exciting day during the entire trip and we had the worst possible weather conditions. But it did not stop us from enjoying sighseeing. First one more waterfall:

This area is also a starting point of the most popular hiking trail:

First you have to climb the stairs beside the falls…

admire the views…

and continue hiking.

An interesting fact about Iceland: some research claims that Icelandic herbs are more potent than others due to the short growing season in the summer months under the midnight sun.

Angelica, the plant you see on the picture below, grows wild in Iceland. Research has proven that the Angelica archangelica plant is an effective way to treat problems such as cold symptoms and an overactive bladder. 

Now, it is time to see the coast at Dyrhólaey near the small town of Vik. Look at the black beach:

And…. the biggest attraction of this region and of our day – Puffins:

The Atlantic Puffin is Iceland’s most common bird. Roughly half of the entire Puffin population supposedly nests in Iceland. All I can say is that they look very cute:

By late summer, Iceland has over 10 million puffins.

Another big attraction of the day were glaciers and icebergs.

As you can see, the rainy and cloudy weather  makes everything much more dramatic:

Skaftafell is a good place to see glaciers. There are hiking trails that take you closer to them:

At the end of the day we had a chance to see more glaciers and icebergs: