Iceland (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Fran Parnell [116]
In the foyer there’s some useful information about walking trails.
SKANSINN
This lovely green area by the sea has several unique historical sights. The oldest structure on the island was Skansinn (Map Click here), a 15th-century fort built to defend the harbour (not too successfully – when Algerian pirates arrived in 1627, they simply landed on the other side of the island). Its walls were swallowed up by the 1973 lava, but some have been rebuilt. Above them, you can see the remains of the town’s old water tanks, also crushed by molten rock.
A shocking 80% of Heimaey’s babies once died at birth, until in the 1840s an island woman, Sólveig, was sent abroad to be trained as a midwife. The tiny wooden house Landlyst (Map Click here; adult/child Ikr400/200; 11am-5pm Jun-Aug, by arrangement other times) was Sólveig’s maternity hospital, and today contains a small display of her blood-letting equipment and other 19th-century medical paraphernalia.
Bitumen-coated Stafkirkjan (Map Click here; admission free; 11am-5pm Jun-Aug) is a reconstruction of a medieval wooden stave church. It was presented by the Norwegian government in 2000 to celebrate 1000 years of Christianity. Deafen yourself by ringing the bell on your way out.
HOUSE GRAVEYARD & POMPEI OF THE NORTH
Four hundred buildings lie buried under the 1973 lava. On the edge of the flow is an eerie graveyard (Map Click here) where beloved homes rest in peace. ‘Pompei of the North’ (off Map Click here; www.pompeinordursins.is) is a modern ‘archaeological’ excavation in which 10 houses are being dug up. So far, the crumpled concrete remains of four houses have been unearthed along what was formerly Suðurvegur.
STÓRAKLIF
The top of the craggy precipice Stóraklif (Map Click here) is a treacherous 30-minute climb from behind the petrol station at the harbour. The trail starts on the obvious 4WD track; as it gets steeper you’re ‘assisted’ by ropes and chains (don’t trust them completely), but it’s worth the terror for the outstanding views.
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PUFFIN FOR TEA?
These tiny, colourful birds have been an important source of food in the Vestmannaeyjar since Viking times. Puffins are still hunted here in the traditional way: either by climbing the cliffs or by fishing them out of the air with a long net called a hafur. They end up on restaurant menus, either roasted or smoked.
Of course, not all the locals regard puffins as free lunch. Every August, Heimaey is bombarded by puffin chicks attempting to fly for the first time. They’re supposed to be heading out to sea, but some get confused by the lights and end up round the harbour. Many locals gather up the chicks and release them by hand at the water’s edge.
For more on puffins, see the boxed text.
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ELDFELL & HELGAFELL
The 221m-high volcanic cone Eldfell (Map Click here) appeared from nowhere in the early hours of 23 January 1973 (see the boxed text, opposite). Once the fireworks finished, heat from the volcano provided Heimaey with geothermal energy from 1976 to 1985. Today the ground is still hot enough in places to bake bread or char wood. Eldfell is an easy climb from town, up the collapsed northern wall of the crater; stick to the path, as the islanders are trying to save their latest volcano from erosion.
Neighbouring volcano Helgafell (Map Click here; 226m) erupted 5000 years ago. Its cinders are grassed over today, and you can scramble up here without much difficulty from the football pitch on the road to the airport.
ELDFELLSHRAUN
Known as Eldfellshraun (Map Click here), the new land created by the 1973 lava flow is now criss-crossed with a maze of hiking tracks that run down to the fort at Skansinn and the house graveyard, and all around the bulge of the raw, red eastern coast. Here you’ll find small black-stone beaches, a lava garden (Gaujulundur) and a lighthouse.
HERJÓLFSDALUR & THE WEST COAST
Sheltered by an extinct volcano, green and grassy Herjólfsdalur (Map Click here) was the home of Vestmannaeyjar’s first settler, Herjólfur Barðursson. Excavations have revealed remains of a Norse