Iceland Day 3: Látrabjarg cliffs and Patreksfjörður

We spent two nights in Bíldudalur so that we could spend a day visiting the famed bird cliffs at Látrabjarg. Millions of birds nest there. The cliffs are 14km long and up to 440m high--the largest bird cliffs in Europe.

En route from Bíldudalur to Látrabjarg

From the Látrabjarg parking lot, looking back the way we came

In 2010, a German tourist plummeted from the cliffs to his death. According to news articles online, the Icelandic rescue service decided to improve warning signage in the parking area.

Wildflowers were abundant on the cliffs.

Birds were abundant too. We were hoping to see puffins, but learned later from some tourists from the Netherlands that the best time to see them is in the late afternoon and evening because (who knew?) puffins head out to fish during the day. It turned out the best way to find puffins was to look for pile-ups of photographers.

Thanks for the photo, mom!

Notice the white line at the cliff's edge. Stay behind it if you want to stand upright without plummeting; to take photos, lie on your belly to distribute your weight over more area.

Our one and only puffin sighting

On our way back to Bíldudalur, we stopped in Patreksfjörður to go swimming. Our guide book recommended sitting in the hot pots and swimming in the pool as "one of the most restorative and relaxing activities in the whole of the West Fjords region." We gave it eight thumbs up.