Heimaey Island

South West Iceland amongst a group of 13 volcanic islands, Heimaey is. the largest with a population around 5,000 and is the premier fishing area around Iceland. Weather not good, rain and rough seas, hopefully will be able to land for our 13:00 island tour. The Eldfell volcano erupted here in 1973. Everyone was evacuated but 400 houses destroyed. The lava reduced the access to the harbour, but did increase the size of the island by 20%. A 14th island, Surtsey, was created between 1963 and67 when an undersea eruption broke above the waves, (3 nearby eruptions failed to break the surface and are undersea ridges). The sea has now eroded some of the lava so Surtsey is now only 50 to 60% of its original size. General access has never been granted but the island is used to monitor how long it takes for birds and plant life to establish a presence. We have now docked in the small harbour so looks like the shore trip will go ahead. An interesting tour all around the island seeing the remains of the volcanos and where the lava was stopped in 1973. We ended up the museum which displays the stories and pictures of these eruptions including some of the buildings that were excavated after being engulfed in lava.Read more