Heimaey, Iceland - Westman Islands - Pompeii of the North & Thrilling Quad in the Lava Fields

Aug 6 - 9:00 - 19:00 – Vestmannaeyjar - Pompeii of the North & Thrilling Quad (ATV)

Happy Birthday Greg!!!

Located off Iceland’s South Coast, the Westman Islands were formed by submarine volcanic eruptions around 10,000 years ago. We go ashore on Heimaey, the only inhabited island, where half-buried houses remain from a violent 1973 eruption.

This was the first “cold” morning with some rain. Our temps on this cruise had been in the 50’s so very nice weather and we had little to no wind or rain. They canceled the Zodiac Cruise this morning, but the weather was nice for the rest of the day. The captain said since we couldn’t go out in the Zodiacs, he would take the ship and cruise around the Westman Islands to see them all and the birdlife. If there was one phrase that we often used on this cruise, it was that this experience has been “above and beyond”.

there were tons of Northern Gannets nesting on the various islands

up on the top deck

Northern Gannet

all the dots are Northern Gannets nesting

we popped into the Expedition Lounge to grab some hot chocolate (there was a machine in there to use anytime for coffee, tea or hot chocolate 

arrival in port

Lunch was early today since our afternoon excursions started when we normally would be at lunch. (11:00 to 12:30 today)

We did 2 tours today. The first one was a 4x4 Quad (ATV) tour in the lava fields. What a hoot! Our info told us we needed waterproof pants and gloves, so we geared up in ours only to have to take it all off to put on their jumpsuit and helmet. I sat behind Greg, and he drove and with the big gloves I didn’t bring my camera. The big gloves were overkill and we stopped at various places where the gloves could come off and I would have loved to have taken some photos. Another nice couple took some of us and sent us a few scenery shots. Yay!

walking to the tour office for the ATV's

We walked back to a bus stop where we were to meet for our next tour which was Pompeii of the North. It was a guided tour around Heimaey Island that included the volcanic crater and houses half-buried from the volcanic eruption of 1973. The tour ended at the Volcano Museum Eldheimar a unique museum that told the story of the Heimaey volcanic eruption 1973, the emergence of Surtsey Island 1963, and the geology of the Westman Islands.

another group coming back from their tour

in the bus for the Pompeii of the North tour

The first weekend in August there is a three-day-long bank holiday that is celebrated all over Iceland, but no one celebrates to the extent that the inhabitants of the Westman Islands do, with between 11–16,000 people (nearly 4 times the Island’s population) attending the festival annually. So, you'll lots of photos of tents and crowds of people that normally aren't on the island.

the collapsed house is behind the standing part

concert kids staying in tents anywhere there were permitted

arrival at the Eldheimar Museum of the Volcano eruption devastation

actual houses that were buried

we took a break to have a snack and a cold drink, and we sat outside at their cafe

back inside to finish the museum

outside waiting for the bus

back on the bus

sports stadium

kind of a tent city near the concert area

the concert area

stop to do a short hike to see Puffin colony

there were free range sheep here and they feed them so tourists can get close to them

sheep on the slopes

the Puffin colony was far away where the cut out is

compared to how close we got to them on other stops, there were really far away

this ram had his back to us for the longest time and finally turned around

back in the bus

machine used to cool lava

cemetery in the neighborhood

It was a fun and interesting day and upon our return to the cabin Sukadana had decorated the cabin with streamers and some interesting towel creations. One was a man and the other a cake with a sheet of paper with Greg’s photo and Happy Birthday on it. We put it next to the Yoda towel creature we already had.

we went out on deck for a bit of the sail away before dinner

Peter kept asking us a few nights now if we would be a table for 2 or 4 for his birthday and we requested 2. He said he’d reserve a table by the window for us. He did and rounded up another couple to sit with us and brought out a cake and the whole crew sang the Birthday song.

The evening entertainment was another performance of Icelandic songs by Arndis. Awesome!

Tomorrow is our turn-around day in Reykjavik and most people will leave and we'll have some new folks for the Greenland cruise. We are doing the Golden Circle tour. 

Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland https://photos.app.goo.gl/DLGiQdNuaoJVdfv59