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Attractions : Westman Islands

The Westman Islands are a group of fifteen islands, situated just off the south coast of Iceland. The main island, Heimaey, has a population of about 5,000, and is the only one of the islands that is inhabited. The island was first settled in 930 A.D., although some sources claim that a fishing village had been established there 300 years earlier and that, by that time, Irish monks had already been to Heimaey, too. 

www.heimaslod.is

No port in Iceland registers bigger catches than this one and the island is simply buzzing with life. The islanders have made their living from the sea from the days of the first settlers, the perfect natural harbor and tall cliffs tenanted by multitudes of puffin, fulmar and guillemot being two important factors in this community's prosperity. A boat trip round the islands with their sheer basalt cliffs and eroded arches rising out of the deep sea explains to the visitor why only one island is inhabited.

At 2:00am on the night of January 23 1973, a massive eruption began in the eastern part of Heimaey. Almost all of the 5,000 inhabitants were safely evacuated to the mainland. The eruption lasted for over 5 months and caused extensive damage to the town, burying houses under lava and ash. Only a few weeks after the eruption ended, the population had returned to clean up and continue their lifes. The eruption added a total of 250 million cubic meters of new volcanic material to the island. To save the port people used the sea to stop and re-direct the lava flow and today the Vestmannaeyjar port is good, one of the best in the world in fact. The bay on the island once was home to the world famous Orca named Keiko from the “Free Willy” movies.

The Westman Islands natural majesty is rich sea and bird life and the island is also home to a burgeoning ecotourism industry. Visitors can tour the island both on land and sea and a visit to the aquarium devoted to local wildlife is an experience one should not miss. The puffin colony in Vestmannaeyjar is the largest in the world. Millions of Atlantic puffins return to Vestmannaeyjar each spring and summer and provide base for a traditional, seasonal industry. Residents collect puffin eggs and hunt birds using nets, according to an elaborate and age-old set of rules and ethics. Annual catches do not exceed 1% of the total puffin population.

The island is well known for cliff-hanging, a sport centuries old and involves climbing and descending the island’s most dramatic rock formations using ropes suspended from the cliff tops. Children and teenagers still practice this sport for its own sake as well as a puffin-hunting technique. Horses can be rented and many marked hiking trails up volcanoes, over lava fields and through puffin colonies interest visitors. The island has a good swimming pool with sauna and hot tubs.

One of the best 18-hole golf courses in Iceland can be found on the island. It is situated in an old volcanic crater under steep cliffs. In spring there is a deep-sea fishing contest and a jazz festival. On the first weekend of August, a great festival is held annually here. The partying goes on for 3 days straight and is comparative to the festivals Pamplona, Bavaria, Rio de Janeiro and New Orleans for its intensity and downright Viking-like boisterous drunkenness.

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