Iceland - The Westman Islands

Our last Hotgel Rangá breakfast of this trip, so I went big with two waffles. Oh how I will miss the breakfast. Hotel breakfasts are by far my most favourite thing. One last very long jacuzzi in the Antarctica room and alas it was time to say goodbye to Hotel Rangá. But like we say every time we visit, we will be back.

We drove to the ferry point to the Westman Islands. In 5 trips to Iceland, it’s amazing that we have never visited. We drove onto the ferry and found a seat for the 30 minute crossing. Trouble was, the wind has really picked up so it was a rather choppy crossing. Reyka was flirting with everyone around her, as always.

The island is amazing, much steeper than I had in mind and much greener. The islands were formed from volcano’s, the most recent was just in the 60’s. Most of the sights can be seen on foot but with Reyka, it’s easier to drive. Our first stop was the sea life centre which has just had the arrival of two beluga whales from an entertainment park in China. They were captured in Russia when they were young, and performed tricks to audiences in Shanghai. When Merlin Entertainment took over the park, they decided that they two female whales should be in a sanctuary. They were driven by tuck, flown on a plane for hours, on another truck, then on the ferry, and then arrived in their new home (just a month ago). The times are restricted when you can visit them and say hello through a viewing window. We met Harry, their trainer. He is from the West of Scotland and I loved talking to him about his job. They are currently being acclimatised to go into the Bay which has been especially adapted to them, so they feel they are in the wild but still protected.

The new Sea Life centre is home to the puffin hospital where pufflings who are attracted to the city lights are brought here and then released. The birds who are covered in oil or grease are cleaned and released again. We saw starfish, crabs, cod and lots of Icelandic sea life. Reyka absolutely loved it and belly laughed every time she saw the puffin swim by the window.

Back in the car, our next stop was the volcano museum. A super techy museum with a brilliant audio guide tour. The museum is built around a house that was buried in a recent eruption when the whole island was evacuated. It’s called the Pompeii of the North because everything was left in tact and preserved under ash.

By this time, Reyka needed sleep so we drove by the windiest place in Europe, the islands oldest house, we saw Elephant rock and then found our apartment for the night. Gone are the days of shared bathrooms and hostels. Our priorities are now a microwave for sterilising the milk bottles and a washing machine.

Overnight - Guesthouse Arny apartment, Westman Islands