Can you believe I’m only on Day 3 of recapping my Iceland camping road trip? This country is so dense with highlights that I’ve already shared 12 posts about Iceland so far (which includes some time in Reykjavik). But today’s drive is my favorite.

It’s already been a fantastic morning. I explored the geothermal activity around Myvatn — Grjotagja hot springs cave, Hverir fields of bubbling mud and steaming fumaroles, and a turquoise lake at Krafla Viti Crater. They were all spectacular.

Now it’s around lunchtime and I’ve got quite a drive in front of me — about 5 hours total, plus sightseeing time. I’ll drive to a town called Egilsstadir (labeled as “B” on the map above) to refill my tank with gas, then I’ll head up a gravel road along Route 94 to visit the puffin colony at Borgarfjordur Eystri (highlighted in yellow). Then I’ll drive back to Egilsstadir and go east to Seydisfjordur on the coast to set up camp for the night. That’s a lot, right? I’m nervous about accomplishing all of this before sunset but at least now I’m a pro at setting up my tent.

First stop is a detour north to Dettifoss, the most powerful waterfall in Europe.

Then I make a PB&J sandwich for lunch and settle in for the long haul to Egilsstadir. I burn through a few podcasts. At least the landscape here is never boring.

Okay… now I am officially on Route 94 heading north to Borgarfjordur Eystri to visit the puffin colony.

Spoiler alert: this is my favorite couple of hours from the whole Iceland trip. I’m so glad the skies are clear! This route is isolated and utterly stunning. The only downfall is that part of it is on a gravel road so I drive slowly and hope not to upset my vehicle. I’m grateful I’ve got 4WD, but my sister and her friends did the same trip in their non-4WD car, and had no problems. They were nervous about it though.

These guys meander all over the road, totally unfazed by the handful of cars passing by.

THIS is the kind of view I’m talking about — I pull over every few minutes to snap photos like this:

My sturdy rental car climbs up over a mountain pass. The view to the west is ridiculous:

Of course I pull over for more mountain photos. I am ecstatic with these views, practically jumping up and down each time I get out of the car with my camera.

Back near sea level, the landscape continues to impress.

I am almost there… that’s Borgarfjordur Eystri in the distance, home to Iceland’s most famous puffin colony.

There’s really only a few dozen houses here. It’s remarkably quiet.

An impressive turf house in the center of the village:

Silly me, I thought the puffin colony was right in town. Luckily my smart phone points me in the right direction — it’s another few miles up the road. That’s it bellow in the distance:

A closer look:

So, uhhh… where exactly are these puffins?

When my sister visited Iceland in July, these are some of the photos she took from this exact spot:

She encountered hundreds of puffins here. Hundreds! Now it’s late August, and I don’t see a single one. They must’ve migrated the last few weeks.

I spy a bird… but it’s just a seagull:

Despite the lack of puffins at the puffin colony, I am all smiles. This place is BEAUTIFUL. And there’s no one here. I feel so lucky to see it.

The sun dips behind the clouds as I head back south to Egilsstadir and then east to camp in Seydisfjordur.

To fully understand why this day was the best, check back tomorrow for my recap of Seydisfjordur. Such a cute village surrounded by fjords and waterfalls. Iceland, you keep getting better and better.