Day 5 – Heimeay, Iceland
After breakfast, we hiked up Eldfell Volcano, also known as Hill of Fire, that was formed after an unpredictable volcanic eruption in January 1973 sending ash and lava all over town. The residents instantly left what they were doing and fled by boat to nearby islands. In 2006, as archeologists excavated the houses close to the volcano, they discovered a moment in time frozen beneath the lava, now documented at the museum “Eldheimar – Worlds of Fire”. I passed on the chance to relive this morbid experience at the museum to check out the crazy Icelandic prices in the local shops.
Just as I was admiring our small scale sea journey, I saw a massive cruise ship in between the mountains beginning its slow maneuver into the harbor. The naturally formed harbor as a result of the volcanic eruption allegedly shelters the island from fierce wind forces but not the damaging force of mass tourism.
We walked on rugged mossy lava fields where vibrant purple lupins appeared in clusters, their color a bold contrast to the stark black landscape. We could see silhouettes of birds in all sizes perched on the ridges but our attention was drawn by the loud calls of oystercatchers circling overhead. Once we reached the top, we looked down into the crater where the landscape shifted dramatically into mosaics of red spattered with unique rocky sculptures and steamholes that released heat.
Later in the afternoon, we sailed west towards Arnastapi but slowed down around another assortment of rocks Ellioaey, populated with puffins of which I had not seen. I quickly forgot about my lack of luck the moment a couple of orcas appeared to feed and play around our ship. They kept us company for about an hour until we slowed down towards the tiny island of Eldey. A large colony of gannets inhabit the top of the island succeeding the small number of great auks (around 50 were sighted) that lived there from 1835 to 1844. Their lives were cut short by hungry Icelandic sailors.
As the wind picked up, northern fulmars rode the strong air currents by our ship. They tumbled and turned mirroring the rhythm of the waves below.
Day 6 – Skalfandi Bay and Arnastapi, Iceland
It was an amazing start to the day as we set out towards the Snaefellsness Peninsula. We watched Humpback whales breach and slap their tales and a fin whale surface and blow. Some people spotted a large group of white beaked dolphins that were so far away; ONE person saw a single dolphin do a somersault right at the bow as the rest of us were looking the other way.
We finally landed at Arnastapi at around 2pm, a small fishing village that lies at the tip of the Peninsula, Mt Stapafell looming over. The coastline, once claimed by the Danes for shipping and trade, is now colonized by a colorful community of kittiwakes, fulmars, cormorants, shags, other birds and hordes of tourists taking selfies by the Arch Rock and keeping the coffee shops in business. The weather shifted constantly between rain and wind occasionally calmed by the appearance of a rainbow. It brightened the rugged coastline that overflowed with natural rock formations lashed by ocean waves.
We were back on the ship at around 5:30pm. During the daily briefing of our plans (every evening), a massive circle of red from “windy” the weather app took over the screen. A severe storm was headed our way.
Day 7 – Vigur Island, Iceland
We were fortunate to be sailing into the Westfjords where Vigur Island was situatied just south of the Arctic Circle as the crew kept a close eye on the brewing storm. Vigur Island is 2km long and 400m in width with over 100,000 puffins. Felicity Aston, an adventurer and explorer from the UK bought the island in 2020 and lives there with her husband, son and a few volunteers who help out with bird count and collecting nests.
We landed at 9am and were split into two groups to avoid disturbing and stepping on Common Eiders that were camouflaged and nesting all over the island. Their feathers (naturally shed) are then collected from the nests and used to produce 50kgs of eiderdown each year. They’re exported to Germany and Japan.
While I was with the group taking it all in at the down processing plant on the island, the other group were led to a nearby cliff to see puffins up close. By the time I got there, an hour later, the puffins flew away or were sleeping on the water. I took some out of focus shots and thought I could see them on Grimsey Island, where we planned to land tomorrow. It lies up north of Iceland en route to Greenland.
Meanwhile, black guillemots, redshanks and arctic terns were circling overhead and socializing, as we were treated to rhubarb crumble baked in the cow shed turned souvenir shop. We missed Felicity who was doing the school run on the island across. It would have been great to meet her and hear what drove her to accomplish everything she did.
We were back on the ship at 1pm and passed time until the evening briefing. The storm intensified and large waves began to crash over the ship. The idea of landing on Grimsey Island was slipping away from us.
CRAYSCAPE 