"The Westman Islands-being built" Vestmannaeyjar by dharmabum222

Heimaey is a rugged but sleepy little fishing town on the largest of the Westman Islands by the same name. This island was made famous for it's near destruction during the 5 month volcanic eruption of Helgafell in 1973. The town remains a third engulfed in dried up lava as seen on the right of the photo above. The land mass of Heimaey was increased by 2.5 km after the Helgafell lava solidified on the east coast.

We walked from the airport on Heimaey Island into the little town for a distance of approx. 2 miles. The time passed quickly as we stopped to look at sheep and farms and watched people climb the hills bright and early in the morning with their binoculars hoping to get a glimpse of the puffins.

We scouted the island for puffins and some of the most dramatic scenes that we saw were in the deserted south of the island. Remarkable black sand and cliffs are home to the best puffin viewing on the island in the summer months.

• Pros:puffins, volcanoes, fishing industry, green moss and lava fields, cliff riddled islands
• Cons:Difficult to get to from the mainland but worth it.
• In a nutshell:A completely different perspective on Iceland and it's hardships