Tag 47: Westman Islands

For today we (Janne and I) had planned a trip to the Westmann Islands. Yesterday we were still debating whether to go or not because it was forecast to rain constantly. But as Iceland is, you can't really rely on weather forecasts. While she came from Selfoss by bus, I wanted to take the car because the ferry only leaves about twenty minutes from the farm. I packed everything and put it in the car and wanted to drive off. The car didn't want it. After it almost started once, but immediately stalled, nothing worked anymore. Luckily, Stani wasn't far and took a look and gave me jump start with the other car. Apparently the car sat around a bit too long. Luckily, we drove the route without any problems.

The ferry was supposed to leave at 10:45, but because of my delayed start, I didn't get to the parking lot until around 10:35. Luckily, buying the ticket was quick and I got on the ferry just in time. After we sat outside on the deck and the shock was over, we enjoyed the forty minute ride on the ferry. Seagulls flew very close to the ship and a few puffins even dived next to us.

When we arrived on the island, we first went to the supermarket to get supplies.

Then we went across a golf course, past the view of Elephant Rock, to the puffin lookout. Apparently we came at just the right time because all sorts of people were unpacking cardboard boxes and pulling out rescued baby puffins. They were absolutely cute! They threw the babies up and over the cliff into the air so that the little ones could fly out to sea. Even a few smaller children were allowed to take part.

Afterwards we walked back along the road and thought about what we were going to do and when we wanted to take the ferry back. There was a ferry at 5pm (which seemed to be fully booked) and one at 7.30pm (which would have prevented her from getting a bus to Selfoss). Theoretically we would have had to take the ferry at 2:30 p.m. so that Janne could get a bus, but by then it was already 1:30 p.m. and it would have been a shame if we had to go back straight away. So I agreed to drive them back to Selfoss so we decided to take the ferry at half past seven.

Afterwards we wanted to go to a museum. On the thirty-minute walk it started to rain quite a bit, so we first paid a visit to a church (Landa Church).

Despite the stopover at the church, we arrived at the museum completely wet. The museum was really interesting and beautifully designed. They have a house on display that was dug out of the ashes of the volcanic eruption and some cool interactive things to try out for yourself. The story behind it was also really exciting.

Finally, we went to the swimming pool, which was recommended to us by some people. It was really good to end the day. There were three really warm pools and two slides outside and a normal swimming pool inside. The slides were really cool and the hot pools were great to relax in. In between we could see a beautiful rainbow and towards the end it started to rain, so we sat in one of the hot pools in the rain.

On the way back on the ferry it slowly got colder

When we got into the car in the parking lot and wanted to drive off, the car had other plans and, above all, didn't feel like it again. After a few failed attempts, I had to call Stani so that he could get the car running again. Hardly there. If someone was still in the parking lot, we waited until they came and gave us jump-start help. He said that as long as I didn't stop, I could drive Janne back to Selfoss.

I did that and it actually worked and I arrived back at the farm safely at eleven o'clock.

It was a beautiful day and the Westmann Islands are definitely worth one or more visits, but I could have done without the stress of driving. Ingveldur said that I should check in the next few days whether it works and if not, they will have to have the battery replaced. What a day!

See you then

Julia