Blogs from Vestmannaeyjar, South, Iceland, Europe
Day 6 - Volcanoes and Puffins, But No Sign of a Pub
Published: November 9th 2009Europe » Iceland » South » Vestmannaeyjar
October 5th 2009
9:30 AM The trip back down from the volcano was a particularly quick one, which was partly because it was steep and running seemed the only course of action, but mainly because Molly had told us the night before that there was a bar in town that had a big screen that played the football, convincing John that he could watch the Liverpool game this afternoon. After walking around the town for a while, however, it became clear that nowhere was open, and John would have to make do with text updates from his dad (they lost). Instead of watching the match, we decided to do something much more interesting, and promptly headed for the Natural History Museum. The museum’s odd opening hours or 3-5PM on a Sunday were perfect for us, and we had been ... read more
October 4th 2009
10:15 AM Heimaey was almost abandoned in 1973 after an unexpected eruption formed a brand new volcano, destroyed half the town and almost sealed up the harbour. It was one of the reasons that I wanted to come here in the first place - not only to see the result of a recent eruption but to see how the town had avoided near disaster. I also wanted to climb a volcano at some point, and it helped that the two on this island were nowhere near as big or challenging as Hekla and some of the others on the mainland. After we had dropped our supermarket supplies back at the hostel, we took a walk up a small, grassy trail towards the back end of the harbour. The grass soon gave way to great mossy rocks, ... read more
Day 5 - Watching a Documentary at the Cinema, Climbing a Volcano and Cooking Buns on the Top
Published: November 8th 2009Europe » Iceland » South » Vestmannaeyjar
October 4th 2009
7:05 PM Last night ended up with a relatively early finish, although by the time we had settled back at the hostel and made ourselves a glass of hot chocolate (bought from the supermarket with the intention of warming us up, and looking like being a regular source of sustenance from now on) it was sometime after midnight. We arranged to have a bit of a lie in this morning, mainly because we had arranged to see the Heimaey volcano film in the local cinema at 11.00, which didn’t give us much time to do anything else beforehand. From what I can gather, we were reasonably lucky to see the film, which is apparently not available outside of Heimaey and only gets played once a week in the summer season, but there had been a special ... read more
October 4th 2009
10:15 AM The half price bus journey to Þorlákshöfn took us down Iceland’s main Route 1 for the first part, the same way we had gone the previous day on the first leg of the Golden Circle. This same road was almost unrecognisable to 24 hours earlier though, the snow that had covered the flat landscape was gone, and the misty mountaintops where clear, letting the morning sun glint over them. The second half of the journey took us towards the south coast, where the rocky hills gave way to flat plains so quickly you can almost see the faultline that separates Europe and America - the Mid-Atlantic Ridge basically cuts Iceland in two, forking in two directions in the middle of the country to take a detour through Reykjavik. The bus to Þorlákshöfn is designed ... read more
August 20th 2008
The little fella redeemed himself! It was the windiest weather I have ever seen or felt all night in Vik, thus keeping my tent thoroughly vented, and not one drop of condensation was able to buy property in my tent. So I woke up Sunday morning (completely dry) and caught a bus to the next village of Skogar. I met up again with Ethan (the med student from Taiwan) and he was also going to Skogar. We arrived in the village, found our accomodation of a gym floor and headed out to check out the wateralls in the area. After a good hike it was back to the gym for a night's sleep. That night Ethan told me he was going to Vestmannaeyjar, an island off the coast of Iceland. Not having a schedule of my ... read more
Vestmannaeyjar ir didele purvo svente
Published: August 5th 2008Europe » Iceland » South » Vestmannaeyjar
August 5th 2008
Taigi taigi, pagaliau vel rasau ir turiu bent kazka aprasyti. Tik pradziai siek tiek informacijos. Vestmannaeyjar yra salos prie pat Islandijos, kelione keltu i jas truko 3 valandas. Salose pilna uolu ir jose besiveisianciu pauksciu, tai vienas is sios vietoves atributu. Taip pat saloje yra ugnikalnis, kuris po paskutiniojo issiverzimo ikaitino zeme tiek, jog pakasus siek tiek dar galima jausti siluma ir siandien...na bet ne apie tai as rasysiu. Deja sikart nepavyko ivykdyti savu planu ir apziureti salos grozybes, nes viska sudagino oras...beveik visa laika lijo ir tvyrojo rukas. Tad teko pasinerti i kasmetinio Islandijos festivalio, kuris vyksta kiekviena pirma rugpjucio savaitgali, linksmybes. Pagrindis festivalio akcentas yra alkoholis :) turbut jis ir pagelbejo isgyventi lietuje ir purve, nes svente vyksta slenyje, kurio zole jau po pirmos dienos pavirsta purvo voniomis. Dar taip... read more
July 31st 2008
Dragi moji. Ce/Ko greste na Islandijo, pojdite na Westmannske otoke. Nujno. In to se posebej, ce je lepo vreme - kot se je kot nalasc naredilo vceraj za naju. Najprej smo imeli pri Natalie spet fancy zajtrk, spet smo mleli sadne smoothieje, kuhali jasmin zeleni caj in podobno, kar clovek pocne ne doma, ampak ze kar v hotelu. Potem pa naju je Natalie zapeljala na postajo BSI v Reykjaviku, kjer sva imeli ob 10.40 bus do pristanisca Thorlakshöfn. Za hip se pomudimo pri stevilkah. Bus do tja in nazaj, ki vozi v eno smer 50 minut, naju je stal 2400 kron, povratna za trajekt (ki vozi 3 ure 45 min v eno smer) 4230 kron, skupno je bila ta otoska zabava vredna cca 4600 kron, kar je 37 evrov. In ker smo ravno pri stevilkah, naj ... read more
June 4th 2008
Greetings from the Vestman Islands! We have some more pics here for you. Not as many as yesterday because we´re working on a different computer. But there´s enough to enjoy! We have had a gorgeous but windy day here on the island and have decided to stay another night because we are enjoying the town and seeing the puffin penguins so much!!! Can´t wait to show you the pics of those. One popped up just a few feet away from us today as we lay in the grass hiding near their nests. Also, if you´re wondering about Sigur Ross, check out their music through the link below. They are by far some of Timmy´s most inspirational musicians. If you want to appreciate them, don´t watch the video the first time you...just close your eyes, turn it ... read more
June 3rd 2008
(seguimos, que voy enchufado con el blog...) Después de una noche de juerga y de dormir una hora escasa, nos dirigimos Gerard, Silvia y yo hacia el aeropuerto doméstico de Reykjavik donde nos esperaba un vuelo hacia Westman Islands, un archipiélago situado en el sur de Islandia. Por primera vez íbamos a un aeropuerto andando estando éste a escasos 500 metros del apartamento. Muy listo yo... Al "llegar" nos indicaron que estábamos en el hotel del aeropuerto y que la terminal estaba al otro lado, a unos 40 minutos pie. REGALITO! Así que adiós al sueño y hola al taxi que tuvimos que llamar. Bueno, todo por no perder el avión... Que no lo perdimos, y de sobra. Tan de sobra que cuando llegamos el vuelo se había retrasado una hora por causa del viento. ¬¬ ... read more
June 3rd 2008
Greetings Everyone! Hope this message finds you well!!! We have finally found an internet site in a library where we can upload pictures!!!! Our adventure has been a wonderful one, to say the least, though we must admit it has been a difficult trek (physically and mentally)... but extrememly rewarding to this point. We have dared to try a variety of food at one buffet so far, in Ilulissat, that consisted of whale, whale skin (gross), reindeer, muskox (tim´s favorite), and a bunch of other meats and seafood. We hope you enjoy the pictures! We are getting on a ferry in 2 hours to visit the Vestmann Islands (Home of the Puffin Penguin!). Our apologies for not having the rest of our pictures up, but we hope to have them finished soon. Lots of Love, Tim ... read more
