Vestmannaeyjar here we come.

My friend Sara and I decided to go on a little adventure and because I never got a chance to visit Vestmannaeyjar (Westmann Islands) the last time I was in Iceland we decided to venture there. We travelled via coach from the main Reykjavik BSI bus station to Ϸórlakshöfn where we caught the ferry to Heimaey, the largest of the Westmann Islands.

The Herjólfur ferry heading back to Ϸórlakshöfn with the Eyjafjallajökull eruption in the background

The Islands got their name (Westmann Islands) from the Irish slaves that were captured by the Norse Gaels. The Islands have quite a tormented and bloody history. Not long after Ingólfur Arnarson arrived in Iceland, his brother Hjörleifur was murdered by the Irish slaves (Westmann) he had brought with him. Thus, Ingolfur tracked them down to Vestmannaeyjar and killed them all. The English raided the Islands throughout the 15th Century, then the Islands suffed a horrific Algerian pirate attack in 1627 whereby 36 islanders were killed and 242 were kidnapped and taken to north Africa.

Plaque to inform tourists of the Islands history

It was the volcanoes that caused a lot of despair after that especially when the volcano Eldfell erupted unexpectedly at 1.45am on 23rd January 1973, causing the entire islands 5000 inhabitants to be evacuated to the mainland. It erupted for 5 months and covered some of the town under 30 million tonnes of lava.

The remains from the Eldfell volcanic eruption with the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption in the background.

Now it is home to the largest Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) colony in the world with over 4 million breeding on the islands every summer and other bird life.

Atlantic Puffins (Fratercula arctica) taken along Ofanleitishamar.

Raven (Corvus corax) flying away after stealing a cliff nesting birds egg.


Golden Plover (Pluvialis apricaria) keeping an eye on the girl with the camera.

Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) guarding the nest which is nearby.

A tasty dish for the Islanders is dried cod heads which are traditionally dried outside by hanging them on stock stacks utilising the wind and sun elements. Nowadays they are usually dried indoors using geothermal energy but sometimes you come across the tradiational method.

Traditional method for drying cod heads

At the end of the day the sun was setting and i was able to take advantage of the beautiful light and shadows.

Summer house with rainbow

Vestmannaeyjar landscape at dusk

Silhouette of a Puffin at dusk

Little bit of extra business

Every ash cloud has a silver lining

On May 8th my Icelandic friends Harpa and Roland invited myself and my friend Sara on a day trip to see the erupting volcano causing havoc across Europe.

The latest volcano eruption, one pictured above and below, has been under Eyjafjallajökull an icecap covering about 100 km2 of Icelands’ 103,001 km2 land area. There are 4 known eruptions from this volcano in the past with the last in 1821. There has been concern that the larger more active volcano Katla may erupt as this has been the case in the past 3 out of 4 Eyjafjallajökull eruptions. The Icelandic president Ólafur Grímsson has said "the time for Katla to erupt is coming close...we have prepared...it is high time for European governments and airline authorities all over the world to start planning for the eventual Katla eruption”. This statement concerns tourism operators in Iceland, thinking it might scare people from visiting Iceland. However, what has been neglicted is that the Eyjafjallajökull 1821 eruption lasted for about two years and Katla only started erupting at the end of those two years in 1823. Katla is due to erupt but when is not sure, it could be soon but it could also be in a year or two. One thing I know for sure is that it is not scaring me out of Iceland!


Icelandic horses, pictured below, are quite small in size but long-lived and hardy. They are a pure breed (Viking Horse) which originated in the 19th century at the same time when the first settlers arrived from Scandinavia. They are the only species of horse in Iceland and because Icelandic law prevents horses being imported and if one is exported it cannot return means that they suffer from very few diseases. They were the only means of transport in Iceland for centuries. Nowadays they are used mainly for recreation as well as traditional farm work. The breed has developed mainly from natural selection as many died from exposure to climatic and volcanic elements. When the volcano Lakagígar erupted in 1783 it killed around 70% of the Icelandic horses from volcanic ash poisoning and starvation. The population slowly recovered and now draw in the interests of tourists all over that want to try out their five gaits.

Other South Coast attractions

Geysir from the geothermal fields in Haukadalur.


Seljalandsfoss

The Foul-Gull of the North

The Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) inhabits the waters of the North Atlantic and North Pacific. Their genus name Fulmarus derives from the Old Norse word ‘Full’ meaning Foul and ‘mar’ meaning Gull. They are named such because of the foul smelling stomach oil they produce. They vomit this oil on avian predators to matt their feathers. It is also used as an energy rich food for chicks and adults when migrating. Even though they look like a gull they are actually part of the tube-nosed family (Procellariiformes) of seabirds which include Albatrosses and Petrels.

In Iceland, the Fulmar is the second most abundant seabird, after the Puffin, with about 1-2 million breeding pairs. They are a surface scavenger and so benefited enormously from the fishing industry. The eggs and chicks were once an important food source to the Icelandics’ but now they are collected for sport to a much lesser extent.

The pictures below were taken when out on a sea angling tour with Elding Whale Watch.

Show me the moneeeeee!!!!!!!

Just wanted to mention that Icelandair airlines http://www.icelandair.co.uk/ is using one of my Humpback Whale images on their homepage, Whoo hoo!!

Once again back on the land of ice and fire.

Currently, I am working as an on-the-water naturalist in Iceland for Elding Whale Watching Reykjavik. The tour operates out of Reykjaviks’ old harbour and spends 3 hours sailing Faxafloi Bay, the largest bay in Iceland, in search of 4 species of cetacean that frequent the area. These species include the Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), White-beaked Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris) and the shy Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena).

I first came to Iceland in 2008 to help in the research and photo identification of Minke Whales and White-beaked Dolphins and fell in love with the country and people. Thus, here I am again and below are a couple of pictures that I have taken in 2008 and this summer.

This picture was taken only a couple of days ago when the Tjörnin pond, found at the heart of Reykjavik City Center, was frozen. The large pond attracts over 40 species of migrating birds including the Whooper Swan pictured above.

Old Reykjavik Harbour at dusk, with a slow shutter speed i was able to get the movement of a large fishing vessel that was heading out to sea.

The popular tourist attraction of Reykjavik. This is Jón Gunnar Árnason's ship like Sun-Craft sculpture.

Largest seabird of the North Atlantic Ocean, the Gannet (Morus bassanus). They have air sacs under the skin in their face and chest which absorbs some of the impact of hitting the water after dropping from a height of up to 30 meters and reaching speeds of 100 km/hr.

The Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) pictured above undergoes the longest migration (70,000 km pole to pole each year) than any other bird species.

The Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), is the most frequent visitor to Faxafloi Bay especially between May and August.

The Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is viewed throughout the year in Faxafloi Bay and is well known for their acrobatic nature and interaction with tourist vessels.