This morning we had the opportunity to experience Iceland’s amazing coastal geography. Our first stop this morning was to Dyrholaey, a small peninsula / headland on the south coast of Iceland. It is an island of volcanic origin surrounded by black sandy beaches. Dyrholaey is a huge naturally formed arch in the cliff which at 120 m high is so large that at certain tides ships can sail through it. The area is also rich in birdlife as we found out!.

After our visit to Dyrholaey we continued down the coast to Reynisdranger, characterised by basalt sea stacks framed by a black sand beach. The area has distinctive basalt columns and other amazing rock formations, perfect of course for a few group photograph opportunities. Here we got our first view of puffins! There are believed to be between 8-10 million puffins in Iceland. The Atlantic puffins have a distinctive colourful beak which  whilst in the winter fades to grey in the spring becomes a vivid orange colour. We saw them in their favoured habitat on the rocky cliffs at Reynisdranger.

Our morning ended with lunch in the small fishing village of Vik with an opportunity to visit a souvenir shop and have a well deserved sit down!