2.4K
Day 10
287 km to Greenland, the furthest point west in Europe – Latrabjarg. It is our goal today. This time we were able to leave moderately early – Isafjordur we left just after 10:00 a.m. A day earlier from a girl who we met in Braedraborg we learned that the way that we are going to get to Latrabjarg was opened a week earlier. By the way she recommended us the “wild” geothermal pool near Fos.
The road is spectacular. First of all, it goes through several long tunnels, some consist of one lane (the road is two-way), which aroused in us certain emotions. The view of car lights moving straight at us without being able to escape in any direction wasn’t pleasant. One of the interesting tunnels is the one with the crossover :-). However it wasn’t tunnels that aroused our admiration, but it was this just opened road and snow drifts. For the first time in our lives we have seen such a wall of snow. We had to take a picture :-). The rest of our journey is again nothing that we could see earlier in Iceland, especially before the end of our tour. Amazing, great beaches, yes beaches in a colour of gold & pink :-). Our first thought was has anyone ever tried to sunbathe here ?! We found later that with such a strong wind it would be an extreme experience.
Just off the beach the road partly disappears. Good that it happens near to any homes. The short question to encountered in the backyard of a house man, “Which way to go towards the cliff?” quickly helped dispel our doubts. A nice man when he saw that we were going with Mania he – with a deadly serious face – commanded us to be very careful. Initially we did not take his words too seriously, because people often overreacted when they see the child. However, this time after reaching the place we understood why he warned us. We have never experienced a stronger wind. At the moment, in which we got out of the car Mania began to cry at once, she was not able to nestle up to Karo as the wind gust didn’t reach her. This is the moment where you let it go. As at the geysers in Chile, also now we decided to scout around the area in turns. Especially, that it is a breeding place for thousands of puffins. Unfortunately we didn’t found them, but the view of 400-meter high cliffs, turbulent ocean and the sense of incredible space fully compensated us the absence of Puffins. If only for this place, it is worth to go there and stand on the “precipice”, but with such a strong wind probably more appropriate word is to “lie down” :-).
Well, but it was getting late, and we still didn’t know where we are going to sleep. There is a camping right next to Latrabjarg. We had hoped that perhaps down there blows less. Unfortunately, we were wrong – tent could only serve as a good kite. The LP guide authors mention that on the other side of the cliffs is an amazing beach, where you can set up a tent in the wild. We quickly checked how far is this place. We had to drive approximately 40 km of mountain roads. By the route of elimination it turned out on a nearby hostel in Breidavik, 12 km away from Latrabjarg. It was the perfect place, because puffins tend to hunt in the open sea during the day and in the evenings they go back to the land, and we planned to visit again the cliffs around 10 p.m. Previously we arranged a walk on the wet beach. Mania was no longer interested in the beach and she was sleeping soundly in the sling.
Unfortunately, late in the evening puffins also did not turn up :-(. We were falling asleep a little bit disappointed. There won’t be more opportunities to see these birds. On the other hand, we were very pleased with what we have been able to see today.
