The Incredible Westmann Islands

Julie Sarperi joins the guest bloggers here at Stuck in Iceland. This is her second article for Stuck in Iceland, but previously she wrote about her visit to the Great Fish Day Festival in the northern village of Dalvík. This time Julie embarks on a journey to the Vestmann Islands off the south coast of Iceland. 

On Monday, July 25th 2013, we leave the village of Hveragerdi for the Westmann Islands. The scenery on the road to the ferry docks at the harbor at “Landeyjarhöfn” is pretty amazing. The Westman Islands (“Vestmannaeyjar” in Icelandic) are an archipelago of several small islands, 7 km off the south coast of Iceland. The largest island is called “Heimaey” (“Home Island”), and it is the only inhabited island. It is home to some 4.000 inhabitants.

Climbing the volcano Eldfell

The advantage of visiting Iceland in the summer is that you can go hiking at 6:30 in the evening. The ascent to the top of the volcano Eldfell (“Fire Hill”) is easy; it only stands some 221 meters high. If you go to Vestmannaeyjar, this hike is a must. The view from the top is amazing. You get a 360-degree panorama of the infinite ocean, the island itself, the Icelandic “mainland,” the lava fields on Heimaey, and the other islands of the archipelago.

Heimaey: the village buried by lava

January 22, 1973: In the dead of night, there is a volcanic eruption, and the Eldfell volcano is formed. All of the 5.000 inhabitants are successfully evacuated, most of them escape the inferno on fishing boats surreptitiously in the harbor due to bad weather. The eruption goes on with continuous lava flow for more than five months, burying some 300 houses. Half of the town is destroyed, and the other half is covered in a thick ash layer. About 2.000 people returned after the eruption, and clearing all the ash was a lot of hard work to say the least.

You can actually see where some of the houses buried by the ash used to stand. Their locations are marked with plaques with drawings of the houses and the date when they succumbed to lava and ash.

A volcanic island is born

The youngest Icelandic island is a part of the Westman Island archipelago and is called Surtsey. It is also one of the youngest islands in the world. It was formed by underwater volcanic eruptions that took place between the 14th of November and the 5th of June 1967.

In these catastrophic events, nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed. Rocks do not escape the cycle of “life.” Here, an island is created, there land disappears underwater. An island appears in only a few years with a lot of explosions!

Surtsey is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is only and is accessible only to researchers (and sea birds).

Exciting cliffs and puffin watching

From April to August, the puffins are found in the cliffs of Iceland. The Westmann Islands are the place to see those birds; they are, after all, the largest colony of puffins in the world. They are fun to watch. They are very beautiful, colorful, and rather funny. The picture isn´t perfect, however. When the chicks are often attracted to the lights from the town, they leave the nest instead of heading to the ocean, where they should be. Local children collect hundreds of chicks, keep them in boxes at home overnight, and take them to the sea in the morning. This takes place around the middle of August each year.

Unfortunately, the puffins are on the menu at the local restaurant. Just like the whale. There is no way I would ever eat it.

A few more pictures and useless information about the Westmann Islands 🙂

Keiko, the killer whale that starred in the movie “Free Willy,” was brought to the Westmann Islands in 1998 after spending twenty years in captivity. The idea was to acclimate him to the wild again. This was only a partial success, and Keiko ended up dying of pneumonia in Norway after returning to human care. I am sorry about the unhappy end (I warned you it was useless).

A boat ride around the island. But this is a big zodiac that looks to go fast. Not sure if this is very environmentally friendly?

There is a massive annual music festival held in the Westmann Islands called “Þjóðhátíð,” or “National Festival” in English. It takes place over the Icelandic national holiday of “Verslunarmannahelgi” (“Shopkeeper Weekend”), which is held over the weekend preceding the first Monday of every August, which is a day off for everyone. The “Þjóðhátíð” is a huge outdoor event/concert with thousands of people partying, watching fireworks, and listening to live bands. It looks to be really frenzied with lots of teens drinking a lot of beer. No, I think I will avoid it!

And finally, the Westmann Islands are amazing for playing golf. If that is your thing!

You can take the Herjolfur ferry or fly. We don´t recommend swimming.