Last Updated on June 24, 2019 by PowersToTravel
Borgarfjörður Eystri is located on the north coast, a long drive north from Egilsstaðir. The drive itself was very nice, and it didn’t rain!
Our goal was the Puffin Colony. The drive was part on paved road, and then the road turned into gravel. It turned east and we were faced with a range of hills/mountains. The gravel road wound its way up the side, with switchbacks, and then curled around the other side, to give us a view of the bay and the village of Borgarfjörður Eystri.
We drove through the town and out the other side, continuing around the edge of the bay. Finally, we parked at a small marina. We arrived around mid-morning. A large outcropping of rock faced us, a headland home to 20,000 puffins. The boardwalk and stairs to the top let us get within 20 feet or so of the birds. It was an utterly fascinating place. It seemed that all my pictures were of the birds looking straight on, because they seemed as interested in us, as we were in them. They were however, constantly jumping in the air to take a spin around the harbor, dive into the water, and then come back to their friends and family on the headland.
A number of years later, my newlywed husband and I took to the roads in Iceland.
I was anxious to show him its wonders and Borgarfjörður Eystri was on my have-to-show-list. Not quite sure of its distance from Egilsstaðir, we asked our host in Seydisfjordur how long it would be. 45 minutes, he said.
I knew better, but didn’t want to discourage my husband. He’d already driven a bit that day, and I really wanted to go. So I let that slide and off we went. Of course it was 20 minutes just to get back to Egilsstaðir from Seydisfjordur. My husband thought it would be only 20 minutes further. So he didn’t bother to tell me that the gas tank was getting low.
We headed north along the river, and then the road changed to gravel, and after about 30 minutes my husband said, “Where’s the town? We need gas.”
“Town? There’s a little station at the village, but that’s at least 30 minutes more.”
“30 minutes!! We don’t have gas to go that far!” my husband exclaimed.
“We can’t go back either!” I said.
It was getting late in the afternoon, and no other cars were on this deserted road. We had long ago passed the farms, and were in a wasteland. I realized we might end up spending the night out here. I suddenly realized that my insulin pump only had 4 or 5 more hours of insulin in it, having issued its second alarm earlier that day. And we had left our luggage in our hotel back in Seydisfjordur.
I began to panic. I had never gone without insulin for hours on end. I didn’t know how fast my sugars and ketones would rise. I didn’t know if I could possibly make it through without a hospital visit on the other side of the night.
My husband said, “We’re going on ahead.”
I knew the size of the village and knew there was a gas station, but it was late in the day on a Sunday. Would the station even be open? How would we get gas, even if we got there?
As the gravel road mounted the side of the hill my panic rose and rose. I was quite upset with my husband for having let the gas get so low. He was upset for having been misled as to the length of the trip.
As we crested the side of the hill, and began to go downhill towards the village, my panic began to subside. At least we could coast all the way down into the village. By this time, I had no doubt that I could yell and carry on and make enough of a fuss to get them to open the gas station for me.
We eased our way into town, and there was the gas station, as I remembered it. The station was dark and there was no attendant. However, times had changed, so very thankfully. There was a credit card reader on the pump. My husband popped out of the vehicle, put in the credit card and voila! gas pumped like insulin into the car.
I was exhausted with my distress. We laughed rather hysterically, and headed on to the puffin colony. To my dismay, this late in the afternoon, none of the birds were present. Were they all out fishing, or had they all moved away?
One puffin came out of his burrow and looked me right in the eye. He swiveled to the right and the left, and posed for his picture.
Our new motto became “Live Life to the Emptiest.”
Diabetic Travel Tips
Always remember to bring all your insulin and supplies with you when you travel out on Icelandic roads. Don’t leave them in the hotel. You never know when your car will break down, or have a flat tire, or run out of gas. It can be very lonely country. Always respond to the low reservoir alarms on your pump promptly.
Check out this article of mine too:
Iceland Travel Blog – Itinerary, Lessons Learned and Diabetic Tips
Hello! Did you need a 4-wheel drive vehicle to make it to Borgarfjörður Eystri? I’ve seen conflicting opinions on this. My wife and I will be there in September.
BTW – some very good advice I will try to adhere to from your post. 🙂
Hello Kenny,
Sorry to miss your question. No, we didn’t need a 4 wheel drive vehicle. It was a fine road. In 2004 my parents and I drove the road with a station wagon, and then in 2012 my husband and I did it in an SUV. Enjoy your trip, and I hope you see the whole flock of puffins, and not just the sole guard that we saw. Maybe they were all tucked in for the night late that afternoon. Definitely try to go mid-day. They were all fishing then. — Wendy