Today, our blue dot is located at Heimaey, an island off the southern coast of Iceland.

It is the only one of 15 Westman Islands inhabited by humans, but since they’re in a very active volcanic area, there is definitely a risk!

Here are some shots around the island:

In 1973, an eruption on the island covered one-third of the houses in lava and most of the rest of the homes were buried in ash.  Fortunately, the fishing fleet was in the harbor and the entire population was evacuated without loss of life.  The following map shows in red the areas covered by lava.  The black area is new land created by the eruption.

Six months later, the inhabitants returned and rebuilt the town.  The Eldheimar “Worlds of Fire” Museum gave us interesting perspectives on the island’s volcanic history.

In the evening, we had our “farewell” dinner a night early because tomorrow night we’ll be busy packing..  Two ladies gave Jay “the bird” – a puffin hat!