Today we travelled around some of the many fjords of Eastern Iceland. Not quite of the majestic heights of those in Norway, but attractive nevertheless. 

We are getting used to the absolute changeability of the scenery here. Within a couple of hours we went from shaley mountain peaks to green plains, and from farmland to arid mountains. The variety of birdlife is becoming more obvious here too. It really is paradise for them. Well in summer, anyway. The rest of the year they are off somewhere else.

Djupivogur was our first port of call and like many settlements here it is just a small fishing village. The town is situated on the shore of Berufjörður (fjord) and surrounded by mountains. All the town looks down on the central harbour, obviously the lifeblood of the town. But there was also plenty of action in the local coffee shop and in the gift shop so tourism must be important as well. 
 
 

We travelled quite a few kilometres but progressed north only slowly as we followed the road in and out around the fjords. Each town seemed to have an industry. Reyðarfjörður has an aluminium smelter while others have fish processing or fish meal production. On entering Fáskrúðsfjörður it was obvious from the smell that this was the industry here. But this town has a long history with fishing as the French also fished here in large numbers. So much so that the streets have French names as well as Icelandic and there is a historic French seaman's cemetery.

At the end of the day there was another long haul over high snow covered mountains to reach Seyðisfjörður, our stop for the night. The temperature over these mountains was 3C, and we were again amazed to see hardy (or crazy) cyclists making their way over these mountains. We found Seyðisfjörður to be a pretty town on the banks of the fjord. With some very attractive buildings and some down and out harbourside buildings. it was a strange combination.

We found a meal at a local bistro - really a cafe - lamb stew. Lamb is popular on menus here as there are a lot of sheep. Two for every person in Iceland. Often the most expensive menu item though, other than beef that is (except if it is Lamb Soup or Lamb Stew which are quite reasonable and very tasty).