Ike woke up nice and early and went to have a look at the lake outside the cottage. It is called Lagarfljót and it is long and thin (25km long and only 2.5 km at its widest). It is also said to contain a relative of the Loch Ness Monster, Lagarfljótsormur, or the Lagarfljót worm. It was first sighted in 1345 and last seen in 2012. Legend has it that it was originally a slug that was kept with a gold ring that magically made it grow. It is thought to be about 12m long and sometimes leaves the water and curls up on the shore. Luckily, all Ike saw was a pretty lake and another beautiful day starting.
First stop today was a vending machine?!? About 35km from the nearest town an enterprising Icelander has built a shed and installed 2 vending machines that are powered by solar energy. Unfortunately, Helen and Traff didn’t have any spare change so Ike had to make do with signing the guest book and enjoying the scenery.
Another 35km past the vending machine is the village of Borgarfjörður Eystri and Hafnarhólmi – a small island that is a nesting site for up to 7700 pairs of Puffins and several other bird species. In order to allow visitors to see the birds with as little disruption as possible there are walkways for the humans (and cats!) and the birds have the rest of the space. However, Puffins have no natural predators in Iceland so they do not have any fear of people and they come within a metre of the walkways. Ike Which meant lots and lots of photos!
But there was still lots to see so eventually Ike reluctantly left to visit the next fjord.
Come back tomorrow for some snowy summer Icelandic Ike shots!
Lovely photos and stunning scenery. Love the puffins. They outnumbered Ike!