This morning, we ate breakfast (the kids wanted fruit teas), had good fortune in petting the farm horses, charged the car again, and headed out toward the Westfjords!
We, again, had to charge the car several times today, including at the Hotel Bjarkalunder which had a tiny rundown playground that looked like it hadn’t been cared for in at least a decade, and another charging station right near a small hot spring. While the hot spring was small and crowded and not fully what we had hoped for, it was a lot better than the Hotel Bjarkalunder, haha.
We drove through some beautiful scenery in the fjords. At one point, we had such wonderful and funny luck. Naomi had to pee and we started looking for a spot to pull off. I came around a turn and there was a gravel area where we could stop and she could pee. Lo and behold, a little way further a seal was sitting on a rock in the fjord, just a few dozen feet off the shore. It was a cool find and addition to our day!
After this, we stopped along the way for a few minutes to investigate the shipwreck of the BA64, a fishing vessel that was beached about 40 years ago and still sits. It was fully on land so you could see it well and was another fun way to break up today’s drive.
Finally, we began the final leg of the trip out to the Latrabjarg Cliffs. It was a wilder drive than we had previously experienced with a strong combination of dirt roads on sea cliffs and massive fog. This was another of those experiences that you don’t really want to do again but, after the fact, you are happy you got to do once. Upon arriving in the area, we checked into the only hotel in the area (about 30 minutes before the cliffs). We booked a room at Hotel Breidavik because the Cliffs are 3 hours from where we are staying during the rest of stay in the Westfjords and puffins are best observed at nighttime when they have come in from fishing for the day.
We left the hotel at about 9pm and drove the even more wild final 30 minutes. Latrabjarg Cliffs are sheer cliffs, several hundred feet high, that are incredible bird nesting grounds. They are also the westernmost point in Europe! When we got there, we checked out the lighthouse quickly, but then…the religious experience responsible for the name of this post. PUFFINS!!! SO CLOSE! SO MANY! Guys, I mean, all the other puffin experiences were great and added to our knowledge of these birds, but if you can only go to one place to spend time with puffins, do yourself a favor and make it Latrabjarg. They were maybe 5-6 feet away! As we walked across the cliff, we saw dozens and dozens from this distance. We saw them drop off the cliff and fly, departing to fish in the ocean. We saw them hop onto the land when they came back. We saw them go into their borrows. The birds are protected so they have no fear of humans and don’t change their behavior at all when you are there. I had only ever seen this before in wild animals in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. It was epic!
We also got to see other birds close up, as well as the mad chaos and wild sounds of the cliff walls where thousands and thousands of birds nest. One interesting bird is the Razorbill, nearly all black with several white lines on its face and barely noticeable eyes. It looks like a stealth ninja or a cool Pokemon. When it makes noise though, it is hyena-like in its tone which sounds sort of like someone with a weird laugh or cry. We all were pretty much glowing at the end of this bird-filled experience (at least as brightly as the wonderful sunset). We took the opportunity to enjoy the sunset though and take fun photos of the kids. The late night was definitely worth it!
See you on the next mountain!
July 19, 2025 – Total Steps 8,435 (Mostly Flat)
This is a birder’s paradise!