Heimaey Island

May 29, 2016

Today was bittersweet. It was our last official day in the field, but definitely one of my favorites. We made a quick stop to Seljalandsfoss on the way to the ferry. It had been raining a bit earlier, but it had turned into mist by the time we arrived. Even so, we wore all of our rain gear since the water from the falls has a tendency to spray upwards. This was my first time ever walking behind a waterfall, and it was surreal. According to one of the information boards, on sunny days visitors often see rainbows in the falls.

Our next stop was the ferry. I found a nice comfy sofa to nap on while many others went out onto the deck for some beautiful views of the mainland and the Vestmannaeyjar Islands. We docked at Heimaey around 10:20 and walked around the harbor and through the town. The fishing industry dominates the island, as well as the noxious smell that accompanies it. It was especially pungent when we walked by the Langa Fish Factory.

Back when I was in Dr. Ranson's writing seminar, "To Walk the Land", we read about the 1973 eruption of Eldfell. In a battle of man vs. nature, the people were able to save the harbor from being closed off by the lava flows. At the time, I thought it was a very interesting story. However, I never would have expected to actually visit the island of Heimaey and the very volcano that erupted! I did not even realize the connection until Dr. Ranson mentioned it during our first hike of the day on Heimaklettur, an old volcanic formation.

This hike proved to be a bit challenging with the steep ladders and the ropes and chains that we used to safely guide our footsteps. Many of the paths we walked on were little more than sheep paths. I had to walk gingerly in many places to avoid stepping in sheep droppings. The views of the island got progressively better as we ascended. I reached the peak a little before 12:20. I had a full view of the entire island, including a landing strip on the far side. Looking down on the island, it was easy to see where the destroyed part of the town used to be. Not much has been rebuilt in that area and the terrain appears to be wild and untamed. We enjoyed the views as we consumed our packed lunches. I had a ham and cheese sandwich and an apple. As usual, we passed around the ballerinas and digestives (European cookies that are beyond delicious). A plane took off and flew right over our heads at one point, so we all waved at it just in case anyone happened to be watching us.

Next came the easy part—the descent. We went down the same way we went up. The only difference was that instead of climbing up the ladders, we had to climb down them backwards. I absolutely love ladders, so I enjoyed climbing them immensely. It would have made the hike a lot easier had there been more of them, but I am glad that the trail had a variety of interesting features. While I was waiting on the other half of the group to complete their decent, I went near the ocean to observe some of the rocks. Jessie and I each found pieces of obsidian. This obsidian probably formed during the quick cooling of the lava flows from the Eldfell eruption. Icelanders used American pumps to pump over 1.6 million tons of cold seawater onto the lava flows, thus saving the harbor. It will be nice to hold onto this little piece of history.

Many of us were in desperate need of the WC, so we quickly made our way to a local gas station. Dr. Suresh bought us all ice cream and drinks. He also bought a humongous bag full of hot French fries that he generously shared with the group. We walked all the way across town on our way to Eldfell. We passed through the part of the town that got completely destroyed by the '73 eruption. Many of the lots had signs with the name of the house on them. Some homes have been excavated, including one that is showcased in the Eldheimar Museum that we visited later in the day.

We began our Eldfell hike around 3:30. It was much easier than our previous one; my calves were very happy about that. It took us less than half an hour to reach the top. I had never seen any rocks quite as reddish orange as these. The coloration makes me think of a sunburst. Dr. Suresh and Dr. Ranson told us to be on the lookout for fumaroles at the top of the crater. I stuck my hand in one of them to gauge the temperature, quickly jerking it back upon the realization that it was as hot as on oven inside. Speaking of ovens, Dr. Suresh stuck the bag of leftover fries in one of the larger fumaroles to reheat them. Who knew geothermally heated fries could be so tasty? Some of the reddish rocks were chalky, so the pigment could be easily rubbed off. I took advantage of the opportunity and applied it on my face as Native American war paint. Several others did the same.

Our next stop was the Eldheimar Museum. The tour was self-guided, so I took my time and absorbed a lot of interesting information about the eruption. It made me very happy to hear that 5,072 of the inhabitants were able to be safely evacuated from the island (one man of the 5,073 was killed by toxic fumes). Due to a storm at sea, the entire fishing fleet was anchored in the harbor. The sick and elderly were flown out, and everyone else was ferried to the mainland in the fishing vessels. The eruption lasted for over five months, from January 23, 1973 until July 3, 1973. Volunteers from all over the world came to help with the post eruption cleanup. A thick layer of ash and tephra covered everything on the island, and they had to be shoveled away manually. Heavy winds often brought in more ash during the months following the end of the eruption. Some participated in a restoration project that sought to repopulate the native vegetation to prevent erosion and bring back the natural habitat. About two thirds of the original population returned to the island with the intent of rebuilding and recovering.

After the museum we all headed over to a restaurant called Gott. Everything on the menu looked delicious, so I had an extremely hard time deciding what to order. Dr. Suresh ordered an appetizer platter for each table with olives, lobster, bread, chicken, salted ham, pesto, guacamole, chopped apples, yogurt sauce, gravy, and some delicious cheese and arugula. I eventually settled on a chicken wrap with pesto, rice, and melted cheese, a salad, and half of a sweet potato for my meal. Amanda generously gave me her yogurt salad dressing. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. In fact, there was so much food that I ended up sharing my sweet potato and half of my wrap with Dr. Ranson, Brightin, Lettie, Lauren, and Dr. Suresh.

In order to catch the 9:00 ferry we had to eat pretty quickly. As we left the harbor the sun came out from behind the clouds, creating the perfect panorama to end a perfect day.