Day 12 - Puffins and Onto the Westfjords of Iceland

From my itinerary: This morning you ́ll pass through the pretty and luscious countryside of the West of Iceland. Passing through small communities such as Budardalur and Reykholar you are now in the beautiful Westfjords. Drive along the southern route of the Westfjords and towards the red sand beach of Rauðisandur, only such in Iceland. Then go to the impressive vertical cliffs of Latrabjarg, which features a 1300ft drop down to the rocky beach below. Famous not only for mesmerizing ocean views, Latrabjarg also features a great variety of Atlantic seabirds, such as puffins, guillemots, gannets and razorbills. Finally end in the town of Patreksfjordur for your overnight stay. *Big driving day so the earlier you can get out on the road, the better. Best spot to see puffins up close is at Látrabjarg. Plan according to weather. If overcast and low clouds, then prioritise Rauðisandur on this day, and hope for clear skies for Látrabjarg the following morning.

Got an early start on the day and headed towards Rauðisandur and the red sands. No paved roads and thank goodness the weather was nice. There were beautiful views of the mountains and oceans.

I had a nice lunch of tomato soup at The Hotel Flokalundur on the way to the beach.

Towards the end of the route to the beach the weather deteriorated and clouds closed in, but I could still see the coast and views of waterfalls.

I had a nice walk along the beach which was a light copper color. There was a pretty church nearby.

Then came Latrabjarg and the puffins, like, 2 feet in front of me!

It was hard to leave, but the weather was further deteriorating and I still had a few hours to go to my stop for the night at the Hotel Fosshotel Westfjords in Patreksfjörður.

Before dinner I drove to the local hot tubs, which were a bit disappointing, compared with all the others I experienced. These were free and had a beautiful view, but not very chic....

I had dinner at the hotel and a very nice drink:). The place itself was not very charming, but I had a big room. Dinner was rather basic.