We arrived in Seydisfjordur, Iceland at about 10:00 AM. The town, with a population of about 670 (a mid-size town by Iceland standards), is on the east coast of Iceland and is connected to the rest of the country by just one road, the Fjardarheidi mountain pass. It is in a spectacular setting in the fjord with mountains surrounding. The arrival of our ship more than tripled the town's population.

It was predicted to be in the 50’s again with a chance of rain . We were booked on a HAL tour called "Monsters and Elves" which would take us out of Seydisfjordur and into the surrounding countryside. We traveled first up and across the Fljotsdalsherad plain, then down into the wide valley surrounding the Lagarfljot [CM1] River, one of the largest rivers in Iceland. The legend is that there is a serpent-like creature in the river, the Lagarfljot Wyrm (worm). The story tells of a girl who was given a gold broach. She put it into a box underneath a worm because she had heard that this was a way to increase her gold. After a time, she went to check and the worm had grown so large that she threw it into the river. Over time, the worm continued to grow and eventually became the monstrous wyrm. The monster threatened fishermen and people who lived near the river, so they called on some Finns, known to have magical powers, to defeat the wyrm. The Finns tried very hard, but were not able to kill the wyrm. They were able to fasten his head and his tail to the bottom of the river, where the monster stays bound to this day. People still report seeing the wyrm arching his body above the water, but he is not able to cause harm to anyone.

Along the river road we passed a solar and wind-powered kiosk with vending machines inside . A local entrepreneur (whose other businesses include coffin building, a video rental store and disco dancing) put it up because it is so far between towns. The road we were traveling turned to gravel road, and we continued along it, past the black sand beach to the Njardvik screes known for another legend, Naddi (the Rumbler). It seem that the road we were traveling was once known as the most dangerous road in Iceland because of the rhyolite landslides. When the rocks started to slide, it was always because the Rumbler started it. Jon of Njardvik challenged the monster and their encounter ended with the Rumbler throwing himself into the sea. Since then, there has always been a cross (Naddakross) marking the spot. The cross offers a prayer for safe travels.

After traveling past the former home of the Rumbler, we entered the Borgarfjordur Estuary. We had lunch in the tiny fishing village there (some really good bread, soup, fish and potatoes), then drove to the harbor . The marina was built because there was no natural harbor in the fjord. We watched fishermen unloading their catch from small boats and birdwatched from nearby platforms. Though late in the season, we did see several puffins, some eider ducks and other birds. We then went back to the village to see Alfaborg, the City of Elves (also known as “the Hidden People”). The Hidden People of Iceland look just like regular people, but fairer, taller and more beautiful. Their houses are in rocks and often construction projects have to work around areas known as their homes. Alfaborg is the home of the Queen of the Hidden People and one of the legends tells a story of how she lived on a farm near here for a number of years as a punishment and was only allowed to go home to Alfaborg on Christmas. We then had the opportunity to wander around the village, including a visit inside the church where our guide, Stefan, treated us by singing a traditional hymn. In the village was one of the most photographed houses in Iceland, the Lindarbakki . The house is constructed of sod, stones, wood and concrete. The oldest part of the house dates to the 19^th century. We also had an up-close visit with a couple of Icelandic horses – they came right up to the fence when we approached – and there were fish-drying racks with some fish hanging in them next to the horses.

The ride back to the port took us on the same route (there was no other option) past the farm where the Queen of the Hidden People lived, the mountain side that the Rumbler inhabited and the river where the wyrm lived. Along the way Stefan told us several more ghost stories, including one that was written as part of an official government report. We made a stop at an overlook of Seydisfjordur where we could see the village, the fjord and our ship waiting in the harbor. Our final photo stop of the day was at a waterfall not too far outside of the village.

We got back to the ship just after the all aboard time, but we weren’t worried because we were on a HAL shore excursion and they always wait for those. As we were getting on the ship, the captain was making his announcements, so we didn’t really hear him. We found out later that one of the things he way saying was that we would be crossing the Arctic Circle at about 11:00 PM.

We were too late for dinner in the dining room, so we had dinner in the Lido buffet and then went to the show. The show was a repeat of 3 of the performers: Jason Ridgway (the pianist), John Joseph (the comedian) and Bobby Wilson (the singer). They were all good, but we enjoyed the comedy the most.