Next we stop at the biggest island well off the coast of Iceland called Heimaey, with a population of about 5,000. What an amazing place in the sense that it survived an enormous volcanic explosion that began on January 23,1973 and lasted until July that same year. This volcano exploded in the middle of the night and amazingly all residents escaped safely. Haunted by the same volcanic forces that once forged the islands, it was only the brave actions of the island's villagers who stopped the flow of lava from the Eldfell volcano with a wall of seawater and saved this charming whitewashed wooden town from total destruction. They are still rebuilding homes.
It’s a tiny island, but we walked up a steep hill for about an hour to see the Volcanic Museum, which was absolutely worth it as we learned some interesting facts about the resolute determination of these islanders to return and rebuild their home.
We grab a very nice fish and chips lunch at a local pub. We take photo opportunities with a statue of a Puffin in the harbor before taking off on a cruise to circumnavigate this lovely island.
What a beautiful sunny afternoon for this ride until halfway through, the fog came in swiftly and was so dense we could not see the scenery. The fog left as quickly as it arrived and we were able to complete the cruise and see stunning views of the crashing ocean over rugged rocks, loads of seabirds and baby puffins.
We return to the ship for warmth and hot toddies.
The following photo is the front of a home - which is the only thing standing. The back is gone!
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