Reykjavík Grapevine - 04.03.2016, Blaðsíða 21

ality. While Margrét shows us pic-
tures of Tóti, the museum’s longest-
standing avian tenant, Tóti himself
plods up to the photo frame, as if to
marvel at himself.
Visitors during quieter hours can
even hold Tóti, as he is accustomed
to and comfortable with human
handling. At one point while holding
him, I notice he’s strangely restless.
I set him down and he promptly (and
very politely) poops on the floor,
clearly versed in bathroom pleasant-
ries. Everyone in the room is suit-
ably impressed with his manners.
Margrét tells me that when tak-
ing in puffins, they ultimately aim
to release the birds back into the
wild. The puffins that live there,
however, could not be released, so
now they live the comfortable lives
of minor celebrities. Other puffins
that come to the museum are tagged
and released, and information from
tagging is used to shed light on the
aging and geographic patterns of
the birds. Using tagging, one puffin
was even recorded as being 40 years
old, revealing that the birds live lon-
ger than researchers had previously
thought.
Taking the tour
As much as we loved seeing the birds,
our tour guide, Alfreð Alfreðsson of
Viking Tours, gives us some perspec-
tive on puffins and tourism in the
Westman Islands. He tells us many
tour guides hope to steer tourists
more towards the volcanic history
of Heimaey, as this aspect is more
unique to the island and is a more
dependable interest to foster.
As it turns out, a winter tour of
the island is to focus on this aspect.
We drive all over the island, and
there is nary a puffin in sight, save
for the puffin heads inscribed on
the city’s signs. Instead, we get to
focus on the site of the popular sum-
mer festival Þjóðhátíð; the windi-
est place in Europe, Stórhöfði; and
Heimaklettur, the oldest part of the
island, among other places.
Alfreð even shows us the house
he lived in before the eruption, and
recalls playing in an area now cov-
ered in a thick layer of lava. Though
his parents moved to the east af-
ter the eruption, Alfreð returned
to Heimaey to live with his friend
Óskar and Óskar’s parents. Alfreð
is eager to tell us about his experi-
ence during the eruption, and his
memories add a personal, invaluable
flair to the seemingly unfathomable
event.
The land is alive
Standing on the ferry’s deck as it
sails away from the Westman Is-
lands, I think back to one point in
our tour, when Alfreð tells me, “The
land is alive, and we choose to live
on it.” Heimaey is alive in many
senses, but most apparently in its
oscillation between eruption and
recovery, as well as its transition be-
tween busy summers and tranquil
winters. Running through it all is
a determination to carry on, an at-
titude that seems to imbue both its
history and people.
While walking around the docks
on our last night, we see perhaps
the best example of this determi-
nation. When a man clad in a scuba
suit walks by, we immediately follow
after him. As he patiently answers
question after question, he contin-
ues to pull on his gear, not pausing
for a second.
The scuba diver’s name is Smári,
and he doubles as a dry cleaning
store owner and commercial diver.
After I make a comment about his
interesting hobby, he smiles and
says “I’d rather be doing this in the
Caribbean.” Still, he bravely jumps
in, even nodding to the camera after
doing so. Coupled with our shock
and admiration, his nonchalance re-
veals the fascinating routines going
on behind the scene.
Treading paths
As we begin our journey back to
the mainland, Hrefna and I grow
increasingly nervous about missing
our bus from Þorlákshöfn back to
Reykjavík. We call Strætó, only to
find out the bus will wait for all fer-
ry passengers to exit the boat before
leaving for the city. We also find out
that a seemingly phantom bus, not
mentioned on Strætó’s website or
anywhere we can find online, leaves
for Þorlákshöfn from BSÍ at 10. It’s
explicitly intended to transport
ferry passengers and costs the same
amount as our 5:43 bus from Mjódd.
Hrefna and I can laugh about the
early morning bus ride and four-
hour wait now that we’re fresh off
a successful trip. The mystery bus
even seems a well-deserved treasure
now, something we had to go to the
island to find out about. It’s the kind
of thing you inevitably learn when
you venture onto lesser-treaded
paths in the lesser-treaded seasons.
And we’re grateful for it.
v
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21The Reykjavík Grapevine TRAVEL
Distance to Vestmannaeyjar
136 km
Ferry to Westman Islands provided
by Herjólfur, book at www.herjolfur.is
Bus to Þorlákshöfn provided
by Strætó, book at www.bus.is
Accommodation provided
by Hótel Vestmanneyjar
book at www.hotelvestmanneyjar.is