Day 24: Búðardalur – Reykhólar

We head towards the Westfjords. It hardly matters what the weather will be like in the near future – it’s going to remain unsettled and cool regardless.

We drive along the coast to Reykhólar – great views, great mountains, great scenery. In the evening, we look out over the mountains and coastlines we’ve traveled through over the past few days.

A half-hour swim, some time just lazing about in the hot pool, and getting the shower done at the same time :-)

The hot water here comes from thermal springs. It’s around 80 degrees Celsius and has only a faint, sulfurous smell. You can see steam rising from the meadows all around.

And a walk after dinner: we flush out birds everywhere we go. There’s screeching, trilling, whistling, and all manner of calls. We spot black-tailed godwits with their very long beaks, whimbrels with curved beaks and snipes with straight black ones, golden plovers with their beautiful plumage, small redpolls, and redshanks. And on the lake – alongside the ducks – we see little red-necked phalaropes and red-throated divers with their chicks. A real delight.

And how do we know all this? From the fantastic poster in the small communal kitchen!