We sailed through the night and morning to Heimaey, the only inhabited island in Vestmannaejar Archipelago, (Westmann Islands).  With the help of a local pilot we navigated through the narrow winding harbor entrance and pulled the ship alongside for our tours of the town. Heimaey is a beautiful island that almost lost its harbor when one of its mountains, Eldfell, erupted in 1973.  The fast moving lava poured out into the sea expanding the mass of the island, much of the town was covered as well and it’s estimated 360 houses were covered in lava and tefra during the explosion and aftermath.  Heimaey is rich in Viking and volcanic history, including a fascinating project called “The Pompeii of the North,” a project to excavate a few of the houses that were covered, resulting in the very fascinating Eldheimar museum built around one of the excavated homes.  We had a beautiful day on the island, with lots of sun and fairly calm seas, making our visit to this remote island even more spectacular. Our afternoon concluded with a sail past Surtsey, Iceland’s newest island, which appeared out of the ocean during a 1963 underwater eruption.  The eruption lasted for 4 years and is a wonderful research location for volcanists, botanists, and biologists studying the formation of land and succession of life on a brand new island unaltered by humans.