May 28 – Vestmannæyjar/Heimaey Island

The Vestmannæyjar archipelago is a small group of islands four nautical miles off the south coast of Iceland.  There are over 15 islands but only one, Heimaey, is inhabited year round.  The cruise into the harbor was short but very dramatic.   

There were dramatic cliffs along one side with lots of bird colonies.

We did an island but tour this morning that took us through parts of the little town of Vestmannæyjar.  

In 1973 there was a major volcanic eruption on the island and much of the tour focused on the eruption.  The lava and ash from the eruption totally covered over 400 homes and the 5100 inhabitants were quickly evacuated.  The eruption lasted for about five months.  The Volcanic Museum Eldheimar was erected over one of the homes that had been covered by the ash.  The museum had a lot of information about the eruption and about the lives of the people affected. 

The museum seemed to have a resident cat that enjoyed some attention.

It also had a fair amount of information about the formation of an island, Surtsey, in 1963 in an eruption that lasted 4 years.  The island is off limited to all but scientists as they study how life begins to take hold on new, virgin land.

As we toured the island later we were able to see Surtsey not far in the distance.  The silhouette of the island looks a bit like a mouse with a long tail.

We also had views of some of the other outer islands. 

The tour also took us to Herjólfsdalur, a natural amphitheater, that is used for concerts. 

Nearby was a replica of Herjólfur’s Farmhouse.  It is a representation of a long house like those used in the early 9^th century.  Pretty interesting.  

We took a drive pretty much around most of the island with good views of the countryside outside of town.

We also took a short walk out to another bird cliff where we saw mostly storm petrels and a few puffins…

and some lambs in the meadows along the path.

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Video of sheep
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And of course we saw a few Icelandic horses.

In the afternoon we took a zodiac tour of the harbor and nearby waterways.  

There were many bird cliffs...

with colonies of fulmars, 

razorbills,

and guillemots 

and some natural sea caves.  

In one of the sea caves our boats were accompanied by a boat carrying the Ocean Diamond’s guide/opera singer who proceeded to serenade us with an aria.  The acoustics in the cave were very good.

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Video of opera singer
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On the way back to the ship we went by a Norwegian Stave Church (a gift from Norway on the anniversary of Iceland’s conversion to Christianity 1000 years ago).

There was also a replica of an old fort.

Then we were on our way again.