Day 04: Arrival day on Iceland, Seyðisfjörður – Borgarfjörður

I barely closed an eye during the night.

I got ready early and left my cabin. Many people await the first glimpse of Iceland on deck like me.

The entry into the fjord to Seyðisfjörður is a great experience.

At some point the ferry docks and unloading starts. We go to the vehicle decks. I loosen the lashing of my motorcycle and fasten my luggage. When it finally comes to unloading, I try to start my bike, but it doesn't work.

First, some other bike riders try to push me on. It doesn't work too. The metal surface is too slippery. So again I have to take the bag from the seat, remove the seat, loosen the tank and lift it up. A motorcyclist has a starter pack. We connect it and the bike starts immediately. Now it's time to assemble all together again. Marek actively supports me. We stand directly at the joint to the vehicle deck above us. We got sent back a few meters. Then the ramp is lowered. We are still in a hurry to assemble my bike again. Suddenly a roar over us. For a moment we think, now we will probably be crushed soon, but then we realize that this is "only" the vehicles above us.

Finally, I can leave the ferry on our own, completely sweaty and with a high level of adrenaline. The border procedure doesn't take too long and we (Marek, Melanie and I) first gather in front of the ferry. A Swiss woman there has the same problem as me. We push her an and that works this time. I then do a few laps in town with my bike because it starting to overheat. After all, it's an air-cooled engine. I also meet Oliver and his family and the German-American Markus, who has traveled to here by air and land.

At some point the three of us set off on the impressive route over the mountain to Egilsstaðir, the next larger town. There we find a diner where we decide to have lunch.

Fortunately, the battery of my motorcycle is charged enough that the engine starts after our meal. That calms me down a bit.

Today we want to ride to Borgarfjörður, near which there is a puffin colony where it is said, one can watch the birds from very close.

On the ride to the northeast, we already meet the first gravel road. Wonderful! Great landscapes open up to us. We are excited. We arrive at the campsite very early in the afternoon and pitch up our tents. Markus, the German-American, soon is joining us with his US-registered motorcycle, and Oliver and his family also arrives with his olde 4WD Nissan.

It's a funny group of people that joins together here by chance. The conversations are a little too much about travel gear for my taste, but after the excitement with my motorcycle, I'm happy to be with my supporters.

In the evening I am the first to set out on my motorcycle in the direction of the puffin colony. The others want to walk. It's too much for me after the last sleepless night or it would get too late for me if walking.

The puffins are wonderful. The colony can be easily walked on fenced paths and you are really very close to these wonderful birds. Some of the details that I read about the puffins in an observation station are impressive. They can dive up to 60m deep, fly around 88km fast, come back to the same place every year to breed and the pairs are lifelong.

I spend a long time watching the birds. On the way back I meet the others. Back at the campsite it starts to rain. I'll have something to eat and soon decide to get some sleep.