Reykjavík Grapevine - 23.07.2004, Side 35

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Island Life
Westman’s Your Man
by John Boyce
For almost two years now I have blighted this fiery island with
my presence. For nearly as long every Tom, Dick and Þorsteinn
has been asking me this recurring question: “Have you been to the
Westman Islands yet? What! You haven’t made it out there yet?
Man, you don’t know what you are missing!” Well, I already live
on a small remote island. Why go to a smaller and more remote one?
But, tired of fending off incredulous and indignant Icelanders, I
retrieved my tent from the attic, borrowed a sleeping bag and headed
off to see what all the fuss was about.
Reykjanesbær: Terror fences
prevent fishing
US NATO base authorities have
started building fences “in defence
of terrorism” in the harbors of
Reykjanesbær. Those fences will
eventually prevent the soldiers from
going on late summer evenings to
fish, which is supposed to be a great
hobby of theirs.
The islands, just a few miles
off the south coast, are composed
entirely from lava, formed when
volcanoes erupted under the sea.
For many years these subaquatic
fissures were thought dormant. In
1963, however, the earth surprised
scientists, not to mention islanders,
throwing up a whole new island,
Surtsey. An eruption on Heimaey in
1973, the only inhabited island, led
to the temporary evacuation of the
island. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
When the islanders returned, they
found that their island had grown
somewhat in size.
The group is composed of at least
15 islands, depending on whether
you count every outcrop or not.
While the Westman islands are small
in comparison to the mainland, the
variety of landscape and wildlife is
truly impressive, from rugged lava
fields to rich fertile agricultural land.
Tourism, fishing and agriculture
provide the small population with a
prosperous standard of living.
So what to do when you get there?
Well just taking a hike up the now
dormant volcano cone was enough
for me on the first day. From the
summit the view is splendid and on a
clear day you can see clear across the
island group. For the nature enthu-
siast, bird colonies abound and are
easily visible from any of the major
island peaks. The most incredible
aspect of these islands is their pris-
tine nature. The earth is still literally
forming under your feet.
In a strange reversal of normal
trends for a natural phenomenon,
these eruptions actually brought
immediate beneficial results. The
still hot rocks provide geothermal
heat for many buildings and newly
formed tongue of lava provides im-
proved shelter for the harbour. If
only all eruptions were so benign
and indeed downright helpful. The
highlight of the trip was a visit to
the outstanding Natural History
Museum that contains all manner of
stuffed birds and fish and is a mine
of information about local wildlife.
Though I didn’t get a chance to do
it, the boat trip around the island is
apparently also very worthwhile.
Summer is undoubtedly the best
time to go, though even then good
weather is not guaranteed. A lesson
I learned to my cost on the first
night. I was unlucky enough to get
caught in one of Iceland’s summer
downpours. Soaking in a circa 1950s
tent that was not really up to the job,
I was forced to seek more concrete
shelter the following evening. As you
might expect in such a small, touristy
spot, even the most basic accommo-
dation does not come cheap. If you
are, unlike me, properly equipped
and on a tight budget, camping is
definitely the way forward.
To get there you can take an
expensive internal flight or take
the daily ferry, which is much more
reasonably priced. More to the point,
it’s much more fun.
OUTSIDE REYKJAVÍK
Sauðárkrókur: Youth seen en-
gaged in healthy activities
The National Youth Association held
it´s first competition a few days ago.
The aim with these competitions is
to activate youngsters to take part
in healthy activities. The Icelandic
youth seems to be a wide concept
because the oldest participant was
87, took part in the bridge card game
league and did quite well.
Eyrarbakki: Man smokes
hash during fishing trip
Police on patrol in Eyrar-
bakki stopped a driver and
during questioning suspected
him of drug use. In his car were
found tobacco mixed with hash and
tools for smoking. The man admitted
to possession and said he had been
smoking hash as he was fishing at
Ölfusárós.
Police
investigate roam-
ing sheepThe police
commissioner has sent police
chiefs throughout the country a
directive asking them to look into
roaming sheep and make improve-
ments where necessary. Sheep, horse
and cattle have lately been seen
crossing roads and are thought to
create danger of accidents. Ölfusárós.
35