Our final day takes us to the very interesting islands of Heimaey and Surtsey.  Heimaey is the only inhabited island in Vestmannaejar (Westmann Islands) and in 1973 the volcanic formation of the mountain Eldfell erupted, covering a large part of the town while almost closing off the harbor.  Heimaey is rich in Viking and volcanic history, including a fascinating project called “The Pompeii of Iceland,” a project to excavate a few of the 360 houses that were covered in magma and tefra after the eruption of Eldfell.  With the help of a local pilot we navigated through the narrow winding harbor entrance and pulled the ship alongside.  A beautiful morning hike along the still warm Eldfell gave guests a chance to see this important part of island history and a bus tour of the island ended with a visit to the truly wonderful Eldheimar Museum, which was built around an excavated house.  We had a wonderful U.S. Independence Day celebration in the dining room with delicious food provided by the galley.  Our afternoon concluded with a sail past Surtsey, Iceland’s newest island, which appeared out of the ocean during a 1963 underwater eruption.