Vestmannaeyjar: the Westman Islands of Iceland


Vestmannaeyjar ("Westman Islands") is a small group of islands off the south coast of Iceland. The main island, Heimaey,  has a tiny area of only 13 square kilometres and is still volcanically active.

Hitch-hiking around the island I met the local tyre salesman and joined him on his daily stroll. He took me to a deserted part of the island and guided me around 60-degree slopes. I initially thought he was going to push me off the cliff and steal my camera, but he was more interested in whales spotting.

I took the picture above on this stroll. All those lumps in the terrain are puffin nests. Vestmannaeyjar is home to around eight million puffins, but only around four thousand people.