Westman Island

The day before we left Iceland we took a ferry to Westman Island - it was a fun day!  We took a tour of the island with a guide who gave us a great history of the island.  We missed the festival by a few days!  Apparently there were tens of thousands of people there from all over Europe.  I'm glad we visited on a quieter day. 😊

Here is some information about the festival:

The location of Þjóhátíð, also known as Verslunarmannahelgi, is the Westman Islands or Vestmannaeyjar. This festival takes place on the Westman Islands, a small archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. Þjóhátíð has been held annually in the Westman Islands since 1874, making it Iceland’s oldest festival. It celebrates the anniversary of the islands’ settlement and is a celebration of epic proportions, with a combination of geographic isolation, friendly islanders, and a wild history that make it one of Iceland’s most fascinating festivals.

The Westman Islands are located off the south coast of Iceland and can be reached by a short ferry ride from the mainland. This annual festival, called Verslunarmannahelgi, takes place in late July or early August and is a celebration of the shopkeepers’ holiday. It is Iceland’s oldest festival, dating back to 1874, and originally served as a way for the isolated islanders to celebrate the anniversary of 1,000 years of settlement in Iceland.

We visited this monument on the island.  Apparently several hundred members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints left this island in the 1800's and emigrated to Utah.  Most of them settled in the Spanish Fork area and there is a monument there as well.  

A lot of interesting history!  The guide told us that he has four former Olympians living on his street!

The island also has one of the largest Puffin colonies in the world so we saw many more.  They also have a Beluga whale sanctuary on the island.

Fun day and fun trip with my hubby!! 🥰