Puffins and Home

Day 12: Final Day

It feels surreal that I'm at the end of my Scandinavian journey.  

Lundi Boat (lundi means puffin in Icelandic)
I spent my final morning on vacation doing a boat tour with Reykjavik by Boat.  I get the impression that they are a new company as there were only 4 of us on the tour.  All the other tours I could have done just went straight to the puffin island and back and were all booked up at the times that I could go.  I was excited and impressed that they had binoculars for everyone to use and big heavy windbreakers to keep us warm.  Because while the weather was lovely that day it isn't quite as nice once you get moving on the water.  The boat was a fixed up old fishing boat so it was interesting to go down and see the tiny little berths that they slept in between their fishing.  They did 6 hour shifts, sleeping then fishing then repeat.  For about 2 weeks.  

Puffins!!! (only the 2 in the middle are puffins)
I was very excited to see puffins finally.  I went on the puffin tour in Nova Scotia and missed them all by about 2 weeks as they left early.  This time they were just starting to come in from the sea as they are sea birds and only come to shore to lay eggs.  I did see a good couple dozen, which is sad considering he said Iceland has around 8 million of them.  They are hilarious to watch fly as they are almost like big, frantic hummingbirds with the speed their wings move.  Along with the puffins we also saw cormorants, ducks and a ton of other birds.

Reykjavik from the water
We also toured along the edge of Reykjavik.  You can see so many cranes right now and so much construction everywhere.  The guide was telling the group that in 2007 the 3 government owned banks went private and all 3 went bankrupt in less than 3 months.  Leading to a debilitating recession.  They are just now recovering enough to finish off all the projects that have been in limbo waiting for funding.  Hence all the construction.  

This was by far the best of all the boat rides I went on.  It was a great way to finish off my trip.  And now back to the hotel to head off to the airport.  It's a nice quick journey home this time.  Only 6 hours and I was the lucky one to have an empty seat next to me so it was just me and an older gentleman with 3 seats.  And he was quiet so it was a good trip.  

One thing that I found really interesting is that with the Icelandair flight coming to Edmonton and only 3 other Canadian cities, Edmonton is becoming a bit of a transfer hub.  There were many people on my flight who were not staying in Edmonton.  I was surprised by that.  There was a lot of border security hanging around which I've never seen before.  And the customs lady seemed really surprised that I was traveling alone through Scandinavia.  I think she was tempted to question me on that thinking that surely I met up with someone.  

Hope you enjoyed the blog and the Scandinavian adventures.  I'd highly recommend checking out Scandinavia.  Maybe wait until it's a little warmer, which also means you miss our summer.  Check me out again later for the next trip.  But I have no holiday time left at work so it won't be anytime soon!
The new opera house built right on the water's edge

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