Helga Jonsdottir still remembers in vivid detail the day her island home was swallowed by a volcano as she and her family joined others fleeing the molten lava . `` As my boat left the harbor , the fissure opened up , and flames burst into the sky , '' she recalls . `` The fissure extended into the ocean , and I could see red-hot lava beneath the water . '' Jonsdottir was 18 in January 1973 when the Eldfell volcano exploded on Heimaey , a small island 151 kilometers ( 94 miles ) from the Icelandic capital , Reykjavik . Her childhood home was among 400 buildings engulfed as 200 million tons of ash and lava rained down in the days following the eruption . Some of these structures have now emerged , perfectly preserved beneath the volcanic debris following an archaeological excavation begun six years ago . Worlds of fire . The result is a captivating new museum , Eldheimar , meaning `` worlds of fire , '' which opened its doors in May 2014 . At the museum , visitors can revisit 1973 , see a snapshot of life on Heimaey and also get insight into the devastation wreaked by the volcano . On the fateful night , the island 's 5,300 residents were alerted to the eruption by the honking of fire engine horns . When they stepped outside their houses , they saw bright red lava exploding from Eldfell and a wall of fire spurting from a fissure snaking across the island . Only one person died as a result of the eruption . The vast majority of the islanders were evacuated that night , not returning until months later . Many of those living on the eastern side came back to find their houses engulfed by lava , while other properties had been completely flattened or buried under mountains of ash . A few islanders stayed away , but the majority rebuilt their houses closer to Vestmannaeyjar , the 13-square-kilometer ( five square miles ) island 's only town . Time stands still . When archaeologists began to excavate the houses nearest to the volcano in 2006 , they found that beneath the mountains of ash and frozen slabs of lava , time had stood still . Prior to the eruption , tables had been laid for breakfast and clothes folded and piled by the fireplace , but everything had been abandoned when the fire engines started sounding their horns . Archaeologists decided to focus on one particular cottage , which now forms the centerpiece of the Eldheimar museum , located on the outskirts of Vestmannaeyjar . Inside the museum 's walls , petrified waterfalls of ash pour from the cottage 's windows , through which lampshades , tablecloths and curtains can be seen . The mountains of ash visible from the museum 's windows are reminders of just how close this island came to total destruction . Heimaey , a 25-minute plane ride from Reykjavik or a 30-minute ferry journey from Iceland 's mainland , is a barren chunk of volcanic rock . Visitors who take the ferry arrive into a small harbor dramatically narrowed by a river of solidified lava . When Eldfell erupted , the lava flow almost cut the harbor off entirely . Locals slowed its progress by spraying it with cold water , but not before it had increased the island 's size by one square mile . Towering banks of ash . The horizon here is dominated by two enormous volcanic peaks . Helgafell , a perfect , grass-covered cone , erupted thousands of years ago , spewing so much lava that two islands merged to form Heimaey . Eldfell , meanwhile , is a jagged , ash-covered reminder of the 1973 eruption , although in places , bright purple lupins sprout from the blackened slopes where locals have planted grass to improve its appearance and prevent erosion . On boat rides around the island , visitors pass towering banks of ash sloping down to the sea . In places , the coastline has been imprinted with a semi-geometric pattern , as though someone has transplanted part of Northern Ireland 's Giant 's Causeway here . A visit to Vinaminni Kaffihus , a cafe in Vestmannaeyjar run by Jonsdottir , offers fascinating insight into the events of 1973 . Jonsdottir , who returned to Heimaey as a married woman two years after the eruption , opened the cafe as a memorial to the volcano . Each table tells the story of a different family , with before and after photos and accounts of that fateful night . Today Jonsdottir , like other islanders , says she 's simply grateful for the low death toll , and the fact that the island was n't destroyed entirely . `` We 're just so thankful that we 've been allowed to continue living in such a beautiful place , '' she explains . `` We came so close to this island being uninhabitable . '' How to get there . Flights to Heimaey depart Reykjavik 's domestic airport , which is a 40-minute drive from Keflavik International Airport . Round-trip fares with Eagle Air start from $ 359 ; +354 5624200 . Herjolfur ferries sail from Landeyjarhofn to Vestmannaeyjar . Landeyjarhofn is 132 kilometers ( 82 miles ) from Reykjavik , in the south of Iceland . Prices start from $ 28 each way . The ferry makes five crossings every day , apart from Tuesday , when there are four crossings ; +354 4812800 . It 's possible to drive to Landeyjarhofn or take the bus from the Bsi bus terminal in Reykjavik . Eldheimar museum , Sudurvegur/Gerdisbraut 10 , 900 Vestmannaeyjar , Heimaey , Iceland ; +354 4882700 . Vinaminni Kaffihus , Vinaminni Kaffihus , 481 2424m Vesturvegi 5 , 900 Vestmannaeyjum , Heimaey , Iceland ; +354 4812424 . Viking boat tours , Tangagotu 7 , 900 Vestmannaeyjum , Heimaey , Iceland ; + 354 4884884 . Boat rides cost from $ 50 .
Iceland 's Heimaey island was evacuated in 1973 when the Eldfell volcano exploded . Houses buried by the volcano have now been excavated and preserved in a new museum . Helga Jonsdottir , who fled the volcano as a child , now runs a cafe on the island .