By eevenden
Halló!
Sorry my blog post is a bit late, but I promise it is for a good reason again! This past weekend, my friends and I were exploring the Westman Islands, an archipelago off the southern coast of Iceland. We left on Friday morning and took the ferry from Landeyjahofn to Heimaey (translates to “home island”), the primary island of the Westman Islands.
Known in Icelandic as “Vestmannaeyjar”, this archipelago is famous now for two primary things – volcanoes and puffins. Vestmannaeyjar has experienced two eruptions in its recent geological history. The first occurred from 1963-1967 when an underwater eruption caused the newest island, Surtsey, to appear from the sea. Surtsey is now an important research area for evolutionary biologists studying how life colonizes new land. The second occurred in 1973 when the volcano, Eldfell, spewed lava onto 400 homes and caused the many of the island residents to be evacuated (but later return).
For tourists, perhaps the islands are most well-known as the summer home for mating puffins and their chicks. However for Islanders, Vestmannaeyjar is famous for its annual summer music festival, Þjóðhátíð (“The National Festival”), which takes place in August. During the festival, the islands’ population explodes from 4,200 to nearly 18,000.
When we arrived on Friday, my friends and I first drove to the other end of the island (which takes 10 minutes) since we had some time before our Airbnb was available.
Afterwards, once we had gotten ourselves situated in our cabin with some groceries, we decided to walk around the town and get familiar with our surroundings (not that it took very long). On our walk, we visited the harbor and its surrounding cove.
We ended the day by watching the sunset from the old lava field near our house. The weather was very calm and the sky was clear, allowing us to catch a glimpse of the Northern lights later in the evening. It was the first time I have seen them during my entire time here.
Saturday was our most active day by far, consisting of two hikes. In the morning, we set off on our first hike up Heimaklettur, the highest point on Heimaey. The hike as certainly very adventurous, consisting of ladders, ropes, and some narrow trails. However, all was well, and we got a nice view of the archipelago. On our journey, we also meet some new friends – sheep which had somehow ended up on the summit.
Once we had climbed down, we went home again to recharge and eat. However, the activity did not stop there because the evening consisted of a second hike up Eldfell, the notorious volcano. This time is was a bit more easy-going and provided another view of the town. According to some informative signs there, some of the lava rock surrounding Eldfell is still cooling from the eruption 40 years ago which means you have to look out for hot rocks when walking.
Though rather exhausted, we ended the day by making some pizza and eventually walking to the island’s local brewery (which was surprisingly lively and fancy).
Sunday was our last day on the island, so we did as the Icelanders’ do and went to the local swimming pool. We spent an hour or two switching between different temperature hot tubs and sliding down the water slides. Our trip to the Westman Islands ended with lunch at a local café, then we took the ferry back to the mainland.
Since we were already outside the city, we decided to make one last stop to another famous outdoor pool called Seljavallalaug. According to Wikipedia, this pool was built in the 1920s to teach local kids how to swim. A new pool was built decades later closer to town, however this pool is still keep up as a local attraction – swimming with a view.
After our second swim of the day, we finally drove back to Reykjavik and I pretty soon went to bed. Overall, our trip was super great – with good weather and good company. The Westman Islands were honestly magnificent, and I am very happy that we decided to spend several days there.
Takk fyrir – that’s all for now! I am very tired from traveling to England and now island-hopping.
-Emily