PostcardsFromM

After a day full of black beaches, more waterfalls and getting soaked one time too many, we were ready for a change of scenery. Day 6 started without an actual plan. Just a ferry schedule, a rough idea and the hope for slightly better weather.

Ferry Ride

As I said before we were one day ahead of our schedule. I wouldn’t have an issue with that, but I need to be in Hella on Day 7. We didn’t really want to go past it, just to come back again and drive the same route again afterwards. And my boyfriend wasn’t too keen on my idea on driving back to Seyðisfjörður just for one day. I’m not sure why. But we came up with a compromise. We saw that there was a ferry not far from where we were staying. We looked up the departure times on the evening of Day 5 and decided to visit the Westman Iceland or Vestmannaeyjar in Icelandic. But to be more precise, we were heading to Heimaey, which is the only island out of the 15, that is inhabited all year. Our ferry left at 10:45, which meant that we had a slow morning. So we made our way to the port and saw our ferry already waiting. On board it felt quite modern and honestly kind of luxurious. I’m more used to the little Croatian ferries or something like that, which are nice but nothing special. All in all the experience was really relaxing. We had a little table for two right next to the window, which allowed us to look at the ocean behind the glass. I should mention, that we left our car at the port. We had the option to take it on the ferry, but we figured since the island isn’t too big and seemed walkable, it probably wasn’t necessary.

Eldfell

After arriving in Heimaey, our way led us straight towards Eldfell. A volcano formed during the big 1973 eruption, which destroyed a large part of this small town. Now there’s a hiking trail right to the top. And the best part is, that you can have a little look around the town on the way to the official start of the hike. The town isn’t too big, but perfect for a short stay. So we made our way up to the starting point and thankfully the weather seemed to stay cloudy and it didn’t start raining. There was a light breeze, but actually perfect for a little hike. As you get closer to the volcano, you can see it shining in red and sulphur-yellow. Which looked even bright on a cloudy day. It was fairly easy to walk up there and it took us about 45 minutes to get to the top. But the little breeze decided to become stronger and stronger the higher we got. At the top it was actually pretty hard for me to keep my balance while standing up. So the last bit was a little bit of a struggle. And there were several times, where I felt like I had to sit down so that the wind doesn’t have such a large surface area. But we made it and even though it was misty, the view was still clear and amazing. We could see most of the island from here. It’s wild to think that all of this was not that long ago the reason for a mass evacuation and six months of not knowing what is would happen to this island. It’d definitely recommend this hike, not just for the views, but also because of its historical significance. There’s also a little museum on the bottom, but we didn’t go in as it wasn’t open. You can also hike up Helgafell, the actual main volcano, but we decided against it since we wanted to walk to Stórhöfði, the south part.

Stórhöfði

So after returning to the bottom, we set off towards the south. This almost 2 hour walk, led us past the airport of Heimaey, many pastures with horses and amazing views. It was definitely the right decision to leave the car behind. It’s a really good walkable route, even though you are sometimes just walking on the road. But there aren’t that many cars driving past, so it is not that bad. It does get steeper towards the Lighthouse, though. Which can be exhausting, if you are as unfit as I am. But there is a good excuse to take some breaks in between. If you’re not walking up the road, but take the path off of it, which leads through the grass and closer to the cliffs, then you’ll get the chance to see puffins flying around. And, of course, we had to stop a couple of times for me to try to get some shots with my camera. We actually spent quite some time just sitting in the grass, watching the birds and admiring the view. But at some point we also made it to the lighthouse on top. Once again the wind got stronger and it was time for another round of “Am I going to fall over or can I keep my balance” began. We couldn’t stay there for that long anyway, because our ferry back to the main land was at 5 pm. So we made our way back and spent the last little bit of time we had to see more of the town itself. Wandering through the streets, felt relaxing and at home. I grew up in a small village, so I mostly prefer the calmness of the countryside, which I could really feel here. I was actually a bit sad to go back on the ferry and leave, but I knew that at some point I will come back to this beautiful place on earth.

Today’s Route & Facts

• Westman Island
• Main attractions: ferry ride, Eldfell, Stórhöfði
• Highlight of the day: hiking up a volcanoe
• Hours spent in the car: 0h 40min
• Kilometers made: 78 km
• Days more to go: 4
• Almost gotten blown away by the wind: one time too many

Tomorrow’s Plan

After this successful completely unplanned surprise trip to the Westman Islands, it was time to go to the reason, why we came at this time of the years. Well, mainly I’m going there. Because on day 7 my boyfriend and I split up for the day. But more on that another time.

See you there,

M.