Of Puffins and Men

Jul

muttler

Yes, I’m eating yet another hot dog

Today (Saturday) was our first day proper back in Reykjavik after our whirlwind 5 days around southern and western Iceland. Because we had been so go go go, we decided to take it relatively easy. From Reykjavik there is the option to do heaps of different activities, however one of the main ones we knew we had to do was get out there in the seas and do a spot of whale and puffin spotting.

But first we had a lazy morning, and got out to do a little shopping. While not my forte, Kate has been on fire, and some of it must have rubbed off as I found myself a kick-ass Icelandic jacket. Not a full on traditional one, but a woollen one that looks a bit Icelandic nonetheless.

All sorts of folks turn up for the famous hot dogs

Anyway, it was time to head to the boat to get out on the water. But oh dear… it was almost lunchtime and we didn’t really have time to eat much. What shall we have? Hot dogs! Ha ha… yep, I think I’m addicted.

See, I’m not the only one addicted to these hot dogs

Kate seemingly is too, as I believe it was her idea. As are all the bucks and hens groups that were in town (6 or 7 easily causing mayhem about Reykjavik).

All aboard!

With hot dogs in our respective bellies, we jumped on board the good ship Andrea.

More puffins!

First destination was Puffin Island, just out form Reykjavik, where we got to see hundreds of Puffins hanging out, swimming, and flying around.

Half the boat ride was me yelling at Kate “LOOK! ANOTHER PUFFIN! HA! LOOK AT THE LITTLE GUY!”

Man, I am in love with these little guys. They look so crazy when they fly, like they are flapping their wings to stop themselves dropping out of the sky. I can’t get enough Puffin watching.

Oh, and boring gulls were around too

With puffins ticked off, it was then out into the high seas to chase whales. All the boats that head out whale watching claim a 95% success rate, and today was one of those 95%. Not far out we spotted our first Minke Whale. Not super close, but close enough to get some shivers up the spine seeing the big guys.

Enough gulls… MORE PUFFINS!

We checked it out for a little but until it decided to not come up for air again, so off it was looking for more. What repeated was a cycle of spotting one, seeing a little action, and then the whale disappearing again. So while we spotted 4 or 5, we never got too close. It meant photos were pretty much impossible.

Out chasing Minkes

It was great to be on the water regardless of how much whale we saw, and 3 hours went quickly and we were back in port (although Kate might argue how quickly it went… the seas got VERY rough at one point).

Kate before the greenness came on

Back in town we did a quick bit more of a wander. Kate got some colour back in those cheeks… enough to enjoy a delicious nuttella crepe. Mmmmmm.

It didn’t take long for Kate’s stomach to settle… crepes are good for everything

We then settled back to our hotel room, before I had something on my agenda that only appeared a few days ago. I had heard of an Icelandic band called Of Monsters And Men, and had heard a handful of tracks. It seems as though they are becoming quite popular, and lucky us, the band had decided to say thanks to their Reykjavik fans with a free outdoor concert only 5 minutes walk from our digs! Oh yeah!

Everyone gets into the swing of things

So off I wandered down to the park and settled in for a few hours of Icelandic music. Of Monsters And Men wandered on stage about 8pm and proceeded to have everyone eating out of the palm of their hand.

The whole of Reykjavik turns up for the concert

I couldn’t understand a word of their banter, but the enthusiasm was infectious. The band was sweet and had a great energy on stage which made for a really fun evening. Plus it was great to see all kinds of folks out enjoying the concert.