Seyðisfjörður is a tiny town of under 700 in the Eastern Region of Iceland. It is surrounded by mountains (Mt. Bjólfur to the west and Strandartindur to the east). A short way up the fjord is Vestdalseyri where archaeologists uncovered the remains of a woman from around 940, together with some beads. 

The town of Seyðisfjörður started in 1848, when it was settled by Norwegian fishermen. They built some of the wooden buildings which still exist today. The first telegraph cable connecting Iceland to Europe landed in Seyðisfjörður back in 1906, and for a long time it remained a telecommunications hub.

The place is stunning. Nestled in the valley surrounded by towering snow capped mountains, everywhere you look is a picture postcard. The snow capped peaks melt with the resulting runoff causing a cascades and waterfalls all along the mountain side.

 It remains a significant fishing port on the east coast of Iceland, but most of the income today is generated from tourism. In fact, on the day we landed, there were 2 other smaller cruise ships that were already in port. This meant that around 4-5000 people came pouring into the little town of less than 700.

The best thing about the cruise was the random whale sightings that happened almost daily. The area around Iceland is full of humpback whales. This means that every now and then they pop to the surface and blow water spouts, loll about in the water and flip and flop around.

It is quite a sight while you sit down to dinner and all of a sudden a whale surfaces next to your table and frolics about for a bit. Every now and then dolphins also make an appearance. And this happened almost every day. Being fast enough and lucky enough to aim the camera in the right direction was more of a challenge.