Viking Iconic Iceland cruise - a day in Seydisfjordur

I’ve added a narration to this post to allow people to listen to the text and just browse the photos. I’d be interested if anyone thinks this adds a useful feature to my articles.

We awoke the next morning to, yes, you guessed it, a cloudy start to the day. Yesterday had been our long tour of the waterfalls and geothermal sights around Akureyri and today we are heading into Seydisfjordur with a planned arrival time just before noon.

Low clouds over the mountains approaching Seydisfjordur in the East of Iceland with the snow capped peaks appearing through the clouds — Low clouds over the mountains approaching Seydisfjordur in the East of Iceland with the snowcapped peaks appearing through the clouds

I keep telling myself that this is what Iceland can be like in May, but it would be nice to see the sun from time to time! Anyway, we were booked on Skalanes Nature and Heritage Center which was a drive in what seemed like a 4-wheel drive military coach! Certainly, it was high off the ground, and after a pleasant ride alongside the fjord, we headed onto a rough dirt road and through several river fords as we made our way to the remote Skalanes birding sanctuary.

One of several river crossings on our way to the Skalanes Nature Center near Seydisfjordur in Iceland

We did stop along the way at the site of a very early Christian church constructed by the fjord in the early 11th Century. Of course, there is nothing there now, but the excavations showed that this was a small wooden building just 6.4m long and constructed with corner posts made from driftwood that had washed up in storms. It had three stone crosses and a green stone for an altar that probably had been quarried in Greece.

The early Christian church site at Þórarinsstaðir in Seyðisfjörður, East Iceland

The Skalanes nature center is an independent field center that hosts university students from all over the world working with them on research and education. As you can tell from the photo below, it is pretty remote and students stay either in the main house or in one of the smaller buildings. Surrounded by the ubiquitous Alaskan Lupines, it is also the home of many birds nesting in the cliffs along the coast here, as well as many Eider Ducks that donate their down to help fund the research!

Skalanes is an independent field centre that hosts university students from all over the world working with them on research and education

Eider ducks in pond at Skalanes Wildlife Center with by the fjord leading to Seydisfjordur, Iceland

We had been advised to make sure that we had some waterproof clothing before taking this cruise and we certainly needed it on this excursion. We walked past the Arctic Terns that were nesting nearby (and attack anyone that they think might endanger their nests), and on to the cliffs.

Seabirds nesting on the cliffs in the Skalanes Nature and Heritage center near Seydisfjordur Iceland

But birds don’t seem to mind the rain and as we reached the viewing platform, we saw a couple of puffins on the rock face but then were greeted by many more just on the hillside above the platform.

Atlantic puffin on the cliffs in the Skalanes Nature and Heritage center near Seydisfjordur Iceland

And one in particular that seemed very happy to pose for us and it looked down into the ocean from its precarious rock.

And those red Viking umbrellas really were useful this morning – to protect our heads from both the Arctic terns and the rain!

Red Viking umbrella comes to the rescue. Prints in my online store

After a very warming drink on the ship, there was plenty of time to explore the town. The rain had passed by this stage and so we wandered the small town taking in the very colorful sights. The included tour was basically a guided walk around the town ending in a small concert in the town hall. We didn’t take this tour, preferring to just wander at leisure.

Wall mural on home on the famous Rainbow street with mist covering the hills

Further along Rainbow street we found a delightful little view of the river flowing into the fjord from the mist covered hills surrounding the town. It was pretty as a photograph, but I thought an oil painting effect would make it look more magical with the Alaskan Lupines in front of the scene.

Impressionistic oil painting of a peaceful scene in Seydisfjordur in Iceland of calm river flowing from mist covered mountains past homes with Alaskan lupines in foreground — Impressionistic oil painting of a peaceful scene in Seydisfjordur of calm river flowing from mist covered mountains with Alaskan lupines in foreground

Back on-board time here in Seydisfjordur was actually 10pm, and so there was plenty of time to warm up again on the ship and then make another trip into town, passing this rather unique small bar (that is for sale if you fancy being the barkeeper) by the harbor. I think at least part of it used to be an old boat as the funnel and cabin is still part of the installation.

Quirky bar created in old ship cabin in downtown under steep mountains

I planned to head up to the waterfall that falls over the mountainside into the fjord not too far from the ship. My tripod came in handy again to capture some longer exposure images of this waterfall with its picturesque bridge on the trail.

Budareyrarfoss waterfall cascades down the mountain by the port of Seydisfjordur in Iceland surrounded by lupines. Prints here

There was also time to stroll back into town to try to capture the famous blue church along the rainbow road without any of the Viking tours spoiling the shot!

Famous Blue church surrounded by low clouds in Seydisfjordur in Iceland at the end of Rainbow Street

With that, it was time to head back to the ship for the final time to settle into a nice meal in the dining room. There was still time to head on deck at 10pm to see the departure from the port and this conversion to black and white adds a bit more to the grandeur of the mountains as we sailed out of the fjord into the Arctic ocean again and on to our next port of Djupivogur.