The morning I set off for Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland had a beautiful summer planned for me. A sky painted in pastel colors and a horizon line that signaled everything would be wonderful.
The ferry trip was organized smoothly and impressively.
Before going out on deck, I stopped by the cafeteria to get a coffee. After getting your first coffee, you can drink unlimited coffee as long as you use the same paper cup. I don’t think they realize how much coffee I can drink.
Standing on the deck, feeling the wind tugging at my jacket, I watched a set of volcanic islands slowly rise from the ocean. My eyes searched for whales, but clearly, the whales had other plans this morning. However, puffin birds came to accompany our ferry calmly.
As the volcanic islands approached, they looked more like sleeping giants, their green slopes coming alive with the cries of seabirds.
When I set foot on Heimaey Island, the only inhabited island in the archipelago, the wind accompanied the sun. Sometimes cheerful, sometimes fierce. The wind has shaped not only the rocky terrain and lava fields but also the rhythm of life here.
The streets of the small town center were simple but charming. Fishing boats swayed gently in the harbor. Fishing is the heart of the island; it has sustained families for generations and bound the community to the sea in both ancient and enduring ways.
Although my main reason for visiting Vestmannaeyjar was to see the puffins, there were other places I wanted to see as well.
Following the steep slope and passing through a large golf course, I arrived at my first stop on the island.
The first place I visited was Elephant Rock, a rock resembling an elephant formed by centuries of wind and rain erosion on basalt. A massive work of art created by nature. An elephant with its trunk dipped into the ocean.
The next stop was the puffins.
The island’s small size makes getting around very practical. As we walked along the slopes where the puffins nest, the sun had already begun to make itself felt.
During the summer months, these islands are home to millions of seabirds, but none are as captivating as the puffins. Their bright orange, red, and yellow beaks gleam against the black lava rocks, while their curious eyes give them an expression somewhere between thoughtful and mischievous.
Watching these true seabirds, the mathematics of time disappears. I wish I could speak the same language as these birds. I’m sure they have many stories to tell me.
Puffins spend most of the year at sea, but they return here every summer to raise their young. Like the people of Heimaey, I was deeply moved by how attached they are to this place.
If you want more detailed information about puffins, you can take a look at my previous article, which is all about these seafaring birds.
As I continued my walk, the island revealed new beauties to me. I stopped at the lighthouse standing alone against the peaceful sky and gazed at the endless horizon. From there, I could see the “Lonely House,” a small white structure standing alone against the wild landscape. From a distance, it looked almost unreal, like an image reminiscent of the isolation and beauty that characterizes these islands, as if it had stepped out of a Scandinavian folk tale.
I never imagined that one day I would see the Lonely House, which I had only seen in photographs, with my own eyes.
While exploring the island, I also began to learn some facts about it that I didn’t know.
In January 1973, a volcanic eruption changed Heimaey overnight. The volcano erupted just outside the town, forcing the evacuation of over 5,000 residents. Homes were destroyed, fields were lost, but the people fought with extraordinary courage. By pumping seawater onto the advancing lava, they managed to slow its flow and save the harbor, the lifeblood of the community.
Life on Vestmannaeyjar is not easy. The wind can be relentless and the ocean unforgiving. History has shown how quickly nature can reshape everything here. Yet people continue to live here.
They stay because of their trust in their community, their traditions, and their extraordinary connection to the ocean. They stay for the same reason the puffins return every year: because this is their home.
That evening, as the ferry took me back to the mainland, the islands disappeared amid the cries of birds. I realized that Vestmannaeyjar was not just a place to visit.
This is a place that leaves traces of living in harmony with resilience, beauty, and the wild unpredictability of nature. This is an exemplary place for the beautiful world that people living in unity, peace, and harmony with nature will create.
Have a good day
