Today we arrived at Heimaey with perfect weather on our side. Heimaey is the largest island in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago and is located off the south coast of Iceland. Vestmannaeyjar is sometimes anglicized as the Westman Islands, named after Gaelic slaves who had been captured into slavery by the Norse. The Old Norse word Vestmann literally means “Westmen” which was the name used for the captured Irish and was used by the Icelandic Norse even though Ireland is further east than Iceland. Ingólfur Arnarson and his step brother Hallveig Fróðadóttir were some of the first Norse to settle in Iceland with their Gaelic slaves. Ingólfur successfully settled what was to become the modern city of Reykjarvík, however his brother was killed by his slaves. Ingólfur tracked down the slaves and killed them all in retribution at the not-yet-named islands of Vestmannaeyjar, which gave these islands their name. We learned these facts and more on the hike up the nearby volcano Eldfell and during our city tour.
After our visit we got back aboard National Geographic Orion and toured the archipelago by sea. The Vestmannaeyjar archipelago is young compared to Iceland and only started being formed by eruptions during the past 10,000 to 12,000 years. The newest island, Surtsey, was just created starting in 1963 and finishing in 1967. Ships cannot land on Surtsey for scientific reasons, but we were allowed within one mile so we sailed along the coast. While sailing, we were treated to a great view of killer whales.
A wonderful last expedition day of an amazing circumnavigation of Iceland.
