Dream Wedding Venue

This was another travel day and it was also quite misty this day so we only took two stops. On the second stop we took a long hike up a mountain to a canyon with a river running through it. Every so often there were long outstretched walk ways branching off the roped off trail. I so badly wanted to walk out onto one of them to get closer to the edge, but it was misting to the point that Tory was struggling to see out of her glasses; so we kept moving. Later back at the hotel I was scrolling through instagram and found wedding pictures taken on this exact outstretch and dreamed of being the girl in the photos on my wedding day.

Stairway to Heaven

Today was supposed to be the day of whale watching, but I and most of the other students decided to sleep in due to being exhausted. When we went to meet Professor Kim and Elizabeth after their whale watching endeavors we were a little early and took a short walk around the small seaside town running across a church that we were actually allowed to walk around in. The church had a slightly winding staircase and when the light came through the windows it gave them a glowing, heavenly sense.

Day 6 : PUFFINS!

PUFFINS!! Today was the day of puffins! For about 73 dollars you will be taken by tractor carriage to the nation of puffins. Ok, maybe not a nation, but the majority of puffin nests are located on this cliff side across what seemed to be a desert of black sand. More and more sand to one side, with the Atlantic Ocean to the other. It was about a 20-minute drive, and then a mild hike up the sandy slopes to reach the rocky grass covered hillsides where the puffins nest. Unfortunately, as we were warned there is not always a 100% guarantee to see any puffins, the warning rang true. I myself say only 1 puffin on dry land. I saw of them few flying, but then the others were in the water below. The ocean below the cliff side was about a 70-meter drop to be exact. I saw many other birds though. One species was in the middle of their nesting season. Our tour guide told us not to get to close because we would most likely be attacked. Naturally these birds are aggressive, but during the nesting season you must be extra cautious. I can't quite recall what they are called, but they nest close to puffins because they eat the puffins. Along the hike we found multiple skeletons and broken open empty egg shells. The other bird we encountered is a kind of seagull. They look quite similar but one striking difference in the species is the seagull can take off from flat ground. This other seabird my nest on the cliff because if they were to land on the ground the cannot give themselves enough lift to get back into the air. I thought was very interesting. Also, like most cliff birds, the eggs of these sea birds were not like chicken eggs, but more like a pyramid shape. Rounder and larger at one end and pointed towards the top. This beautiful show of evolution is the bird's way of protecting the egg from falling out of the nest. Its shape will keep it rolling in circles, so it does not roll off the cliff and fall into the sea. On this puffin adventure there was another tour group with us, and their guide has been around the block a time or two. She told us about how the fisherman and folk on the island would harvest the eggs of the seabirds and the puffins. Way back in the day it was not uncommon to eat a puffin egg for breakfast. I've been told in recent years this tradition is not as practiced. I will link a video into the Video Tab for all those interesting in learning more about the harvesting of Puffin eggs. The other cool thing we did this day was we saw the glacier lagoon! This is the only place in the world to see ice caps on the beach. How cool is that?! It wasn't as cold on the beach as I was expecting it to be. My friends and I played "the floor is lava” on the beach too. Which is REALLY funny when you take into consideration the entire island of Iceland is a Volcano, and there is literal old chunks of lava everywhere. Hahahah. Today was a good day. :)

I hope you've had a good day. Till tomorrow,

Byyyyye.