 |
| Posted by Jerome Konen on 28/07/06 |
  |
 |
| Puffins, the northern clowns |
 |
| Photo by Jerome Konen |
| The Puffin or Lundi as called in Icelandic, the northern clown. |
|
|
|
|
26-27 July 2006 - Unspoilt nature ruffled by a rough climate even during the summer and endless distances to drive, well, that's how you should imagine Iceland's most remote region.
The West Fjords is a peninsula cut by countless fjords. Just a few villages are located on the west side. Even for Icelandic conditions the West Fjords are sparsely populated, and the northern part is even uninhabited.
For two long days, I was out on top of the high cliffs photographing Puffins, always present the slight risk to do one wrong step.
Látrabjarg is the most westerly point of Iceland and so of Europe. The landscape is dominated by the sheer cliffs, in fact a long continous wall extending for about 14 Kilometres. On the cliffs, a huge number of sea birds nest and breed, like gulls, auks and many more, but the most coloured and most funny to observe is by far the Puffin, also called the northern clown.
The Puffin is mainly identifiable by its large, triangular flat bill, coloured red, yellow and greyish-blue. It's large population makes it Iceland's commonest breeding bird. After the breeding season, almost the whole Puffin population migrates in August-September out to the North Atlantic.
To explore the beauty of the West Fjords, a simple condition to follow, just forget time.
|
|
| S/S El Grillo - Showdown of our Diving Tour (19/08/06) |
 16 August 2006 - A last phone call from Magnus, our supposed skipper from Seyðisfjörður, where he told us he couldn't take us out to the wreck of the S/S El Grillo. His job was ... |
| South Coast Revisited (18/08/06) |
 14-15 August 2006 - Back on the magical south coast on the Highway 1. The landscape scenery has changed over the last weeks compared to the beginning of the tour. The flowering time of the ... |
| Ásatrú - faith in the Æsir (18/08/06) |
 13 August 2006 - I couldn't have chosen a better place as the Saga Museum in Reykjavík to meet Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, chief goði of the Icelandic Ásatrú Association. Ásatrú is a religious movement which ... |
| Silfra, a dive between tectonic plates (14/08/06) |
 11 August 2006 - Imagine a large fissure filled up with icy, but crystal clear water, having a visibility of 50 meters and more, no suspended plankton, water just like the air around you. This ... |
| The Thousand Islands Bay (12/08/06) |
 09 August 2006 - Breiðafjördur is a shallow bay on the west coast of Iceland. Large number of islands, islets and reefs are located in the inner part of the bay, all estimated to around ... |
| The Storyteller (09/08/06) |
 08 August 2006 - At the tourist information, we met Ingi Hans, a funny friendly guy, being somewhat in the centre of the village community in Grunðarfjördur, located on the northern shore of the Snaefellsnes ... |
| Back on the 'Pourquoi-Pas?' (08/08/06) |
 05-06 August 2006 - Saturday afternoon, Paul arrived by plane at Kevlavík airport and joined me for the next and last chapter of the Magical Iceland Tour - diving some of the best and unspoilt ... |
| The Sharkman of Bjarnarhöfn (05/08/06) |
 02 August 2006 - Farmer Hildibrandur in Bjarnarhöfn, located close to Stykkishólmur, runs a shark curing farm having also a small museum. A strong smell of the shark flesh lies always in the air when ... |
| The people of Flatey (03/08/06) |
 01 August 2006 - With the ferry coming from Stykkishólmur, I met Hafsteinn at the small harbour pier on Flatey. He brought me to his home, Læknishús, one of the two farms, the only houses ... |
| The West Fjords Experience (31/07/06) |
 28-29 July 2006 - 'Whow', the word I have been saying most these days. Impressed by the magnificient landscape I was looking at, shaped by enormous ancient glaciers, resulting in deep fjords between high mountains, ... |
| Where the Kaldidalur ends (25/07/06) |
 23-24 July 2006 - Leaving Reykjavík in the late morning, heading North, I chose the Kaldidalur, one of these easier Highland roads. It runs over a barren high plateau, although with a nice view on ... |
| Leaving the Highlands (22/07/06) |
 20-21 July 2006 - To track back from Kverkfjöll, we chose the F903, a pretty easy road, mostly sand with a few shallow fords having no difficulties. To get back to the Highway 1, we ... |
| Kverkfjöll - the remotest site in Iceland (22/07/06) |
 18-19 July 2006 - The Kverkfjöll mountains are at the northern border of the Vatnajökull glacier, rated to be the most inaccessible site in Iceland.
From our last night stay at Herðubreiðarlindir we continued the rough ... |
| Charming Northern Iceland (22/07/06) |
 16-17 July 2006 - Iceland is particularly beautiful in its northern part and it has the lowest rainfall rate in whole Iceland - an important argument while touring through this country. And Akureyri having also ... |
| The Eider ducks of Hrísey (21/07/06) |
 14 July 2006 - Hrísey, the second largest island of Iceland lies on 66° Nord in the Eyjafjördur, a peaceful fjord. A lush vegetation covers most of the island, quite unusual for Iceland, especially the ... |
| First try to dive the 'Pourquoi-Pas?' (15/07/06) |
 12-13 July 2006 - In Borgarnes, we met Svanur, his parents living in the farm close to where the vessel, the 'Pourquoi-Pas?', sunk in 1936. Svanur invited us to his summer house he has built ... |
| Museum day - 'Pourquoi-Pas?' (12/07/06) |
 09 July 2006 - At the harbour in Reykjavík, we discovered a lovely Maritime Museum showing in details the history of Icelandic trawlers. This museum opened first the doors in June 2005. 'Iceland has an ... |
| Magical South Coast (10/07/06) |
 07 July 2006 - An easy walk from the campsite leds to the Svartifoss (Black Falls), one of the landmarks of the Skaftafell National Park. It is surrounded by hanging basalt columns, like organ pipes, ... |
| Arriving in Iceland (08/07/06) |
 06 July 2006 - Early in the morning, the ferry 'Norröna' entered the long, calm and deep fjord of Seyðisfjörður, wiggling 17 kilometres before ending at the head of the fjord in the village of ... |
| Bye Bye Faroe Islands (08/07/06) |
 05 July 2006 - We enjoyed our last day on the Faroe Islands before the continuation trip to Iceland. We had found a lovely guesthouse in Gjógv, a perfect stay to meet other travelers and ... |
| Climbing the Highest Peak (05/07/06) |
 04 July 2006 - The Slættaratindur is the highest mountain in the Faroe Islands, at an altitude of 882 metres. The way up however turned out to be an easy but very steep hike, not ... |
| Discovering the Faroe Islands (03/07/06) |
 03 July 2006 - We arrived early in the morning today in Tórshavn at the Faroe Islands, our two day stopover, halfway to Iceland. It is an archipelago composed of 18 islands roughly shaped by ... |
| Leaving Hanstholm (02/07/06) |
 01 July 2006 - Finally we have got on board the huge ferry 'Norröna' that will take us to Iceland after a forthcoming stopover at the Faroe Islands. Arriving here in Hanstholm (Denmark) in the ... |
|
|
|
|
|
Logbook