Heymaey (Westman islands)

I was lucky enough to be there on a sunny, calm day. This is an exception, because despite mild (for Icelandish standards) temperatures, winds can be very strong On Heimaey  (the highest windspeed in Iceland has been recorded here, 220km/h!).
Heimaey is the biggest of the 15 Westman islands. There is not much to do except go puffin-watching (I could spot barely one puffin though).
The islands were inhabited by English slaves, and although this may seem like a sleepy, forgotten hamlet nowadays, it is very hard to imagine that the island was raided in 1627 by Algerian (!) pirates.
The second and more recent milestone of the island is the 1973 volcanic eruption that produced a 2 km fissure on the island. After the explosion, the island was left with a new 200m high volcano (Eldfell), a better protected port and 2 square klm more surface, a big part of it covered with ash. A new island emerged as well in the cluster, Surtsey (not visitable). The explosion is very well documented in the Eldheimar museum, starting with an excavated first storey house belonging to a real family with children, left as it was found and excavated 40 years after the eruption. By miracle and pure chance noone died at the eruption.