Seyðisfjörður-Day1
Monday morning approaching Seyðisfjörður on a cloudy, wet day with 8c temperature. Docked by 8am. Seyðisfjörður, with a population around 650, is a town in the Eastern Region of Iceland at the innermost point of the fjord of the same name. A road over Fjarðarheiði mountain pass (elevation 600 m or 2,000 ft) connects Seyðisfjörður to the rest of Iceland. This Icelandic town is situated amidst breathtaking waterfalls and the majestic snow-capped mountains with Mt. Bjólfur and Strandartindur marking the prominent landmarks of the area. It has a sizeable natural harbor from where the ferry Norræna is operated to Denmark and Faroe Islands once a week.
At 10am joined the 25 others on the Chasing Waterfalls tour while Patti went off with 25 others on the Town Walk tour. Our guide on the waterfalls tour was Soley, a local lady. A 10-minute bus drive back up the side of the fjord took us to our starting point at the trailhead. This is the Vestdalsfossar waterfall trail which winds its way past 2 main waterfalls for 2.5 miles before descending back to the pickup point. It ascends 200 metres and was on a grass and rock trail. Our weather remained overcast but mainly dry with the temperature eventually rising to around 12c. Starting out we climbed up fairly rapidly and the first waterfalls soon came into view. There was one main fall with another close by. We were able to go down close under the falls to take photos. Returning to the trail we climbed up to the lookout point above the falls. Now we were at the end of a long high valley with the river winding through it. The cloud covered mountains surrounded us. We gradually worked our way up the valley meadows towards a distant waterfall. Along the way we encountered a lone swan which was a very unusual sight. Apparently, it has been surviving up here for a few weeks although no one is sure where it came from. Passing some rocks we disturbed a couple of birds which we managed to identify as whimbrel by their long beaks. After some time, we approached the waterfall at the head of the valley. This was impressive and we managed to get close enough for some good photos. We spent time here before heading off across another trail and eventually worked our way down to the road by 12:10pm for our bus pickup.
Patti’s tour was a walk around the close-by downtown with its colourful 19th century wooden buildings. Highlight was the rainbow path leading up to the blue church. The walk back stopped at some gift stores.
Later in the afternoon took the short walk into town to investigate this interesting place. It was quite busy with tourists. Early evening the sun finally appeared and illuminated the surrounding mountains
Highlight of the day: Seeing a whimbrel
