Reykjavík Grapevine - ágú. 2020, Blaðsíða 37

out before us all the way to Green-
land. But the real attraction here
is the 14 kilometres of 440 metre-
high cliffs, home to Iceland’s big-
gest seabird colony.
Guillemots, razorbills, skuas
and kittiwakes dive in and out of
sight over the cliff top, gliding
effortlessly through the air as if
to mock our beleaguered strug-
gle against the wind and rain. I
squint down at the segregated
bands in the cliff and the nesting
birds, trying to take in the mag-
nificent sight and simultaneously
prevent myself from being swept
into the sea.
The sweet fishy odour of guano
fills the air. It’s this natural fer-
tiliser made up of years-worth of
bird excrement that is responsible
for the soft mossy grasslands that
top the cliffs and give puffins the
perfect habitat to hide from nosy
tourists. And sure enough, the
unofficial mascots of Iceland’s re-
cent mass tourism boom are no-
where to be seen. It’s just as we
feared, the puffins had left the
cliffs for a day’s fishing before we
had even stirred ourselves out of
bed and any remaining birds are
sticking wisely out of view.
Just as we resignedly turn back
towards the car, we spot a flash
of orange amongst the greys and
blacks of the swooping gulls and
fulmars. You guessed it, a puffin
is triumphantly returning to its
nest with a beak full of small sil-
very fish. And suddenly we spot
the nests strewn along the cliff
edge and a handful of puffins
peering good-humouredly out at
us.
With the final item on our itin-
erary ticked off, we return to the
car, ready for the 6-hour drive
home, beach fix sorted for another
year.
ARTISAN BAKERY
& COFFEE HOUSE
OPEN EVERYDAY 6.30 - 21.00
LAUGAVEGUR 36 · 101 REYKJAVIK
“Unlike its more famous
cousin Reynisfjara,
Rau!isandur matured
out of its emo phase.”
Seal of approval (cringe)