For anyone not sure, the Faroe Islands are an archipelago of 18 main islands (countless smaller ones) in the North Atlantic and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. The terrain is rugged, dominated by fjords and cliffs with sparse vegetation and few trees and the capital Torshavn (where I write this) experiences less hours of sunshine than any city in the world!
We were lucky enough to receive a couple 😉
It also became the smallest nation to ever clinch a medal at the International Handball Federation World Championships whilst we were here, their U21 team achieving a bronze medal in Poland. Not bad for a country of 50,000 people total where handball is a ‘religion.’
Our plane landed in heavy cloud, we were unable to see anything until almost on the tarmac. I was prepared for inclement weather but was still slightly apprehensive about how much we would be able to get out and do as we scurried into the terminal in heavy drizzle.
We bought our booze duty free (alcohol even more expensive than everything else which is already mega expensive), sorted our rental car and walked out to bright sunshine! That was to be theme for the next five days, albeit more grey than sun.
We had landed on the island of Vagar and it was a short drive to our accommodation aptly named The View.
This was our cottage for the next three nights, absolutely beautiful with an everchanging view which often included resident geese and sheep.
As soon as we had unpacked we headed out to capitalise on the dry weather. The small villages we drove through were colourful and immaculate, evidence of the fishing industry was everywhere both on and off shore with countless aquaculture pens evident.
Ok, so the whole reason the Faroe Islands came to be on our itinerary was because I saw a photo on Insta of the “lake above the ocean.” I will have shared it already with many of you.
With reasonable weather forecast the next day the hike to Trælanípa Cliff was a priority. In English the ‘Slave Cliff’, you can see the freshwater Lake Leitisvatn and at a certain viewpoint the lake look as if it floats above the North Atlantic ocean.
The views were amazing from the start but nothing prepares you for standing on that cliff.
Russell stood well back, his vertigo couldn’t handle some spots and I must admit I was a bit uncomfortable too but this is what I came here for.
It was absolutely breathtaking in every direction.
Look at the tiny figures at the top of the cliff in the pic above to give you some idea of scale.
I don’t know how many sheep they lose over the edge per year but we saw them in some pretty hazardous spots over the next few days, sometimes enduring gale force winds.
Footsore but exhilarated (me anyway) we drove home for a late lunch before tackling our first one lane tunnel to visit the remote village of Gásadalur and its famous Múlafossur waterfall.
The one lane tunnels are interesting, basically if you see lights ahead of you you pull in to one of the periodic ‘alcoves’ and turn your lights off whilst the other car passes. Coming back the other way they pull over for you. Sounds scary but in reality worked well.
The following day delivered the first of the Faroes summer storms. The wind picked up, it rained virtually non-stop and we could see huges seas on the horizon and then indeed in our own ‘front yard.’
Russell did what he does best (relaxed with a book) as we sensibly decided this would be a ‘rest day.’
The next day the sky was still grey but the clouds were higher and so we ventured forth to visit Saksun. Saksun, (inhabited by eleven people) is a remote little village on Streymoy Island famous for its picturesque setting above a lagoon and surrounded by waterfalls. The journey there involved our first undersea tunnel, two lanes this time and 4.9 kms long.
Having safely negotiated that we continued through intermittent rain down a single lane road to Saksun. The rain, of course, ensured that the waterfalls were running hard and they were everywhere.
If you got sick of waterfalls, there were animals and then animals and waterfalls!
With rain threatening again we skipped the beach walk and headed back hoping for clearer sky by the time we reached Fossa. Fossa is the tallest waterfall in the Faroe Islands, cascading down 140 meters in two dramatic tiers and has a tiny car park on the side of the narrow road which takes about 3.5 cars. Luckily for us there was a car pulling out as we drove up.
The sheer volume of water coming down was breathtaking, generating a thunderous roar and a generous spray. After taking our fill of pics we continued driving on to the next destination on my hitlist Tjørnuvík.
The road got narrower and narrower, hugging the hillside with the occasiobal sheep in the middle of it and Russell started to look a little green around the gills when finally we came across a small traffic light… the last couple of kilometres have no pull outs and are strictly one way. It was reassuring when the light tuned green and we could complete the journey down into the village without wondering what we would meet around the next corner 😉
Tjørnuvík presented us with our first black sand beach and views of nearby sea stacks Risin & Kellingin and was once again surrounded by waterfalls. It also has a surf school but the tide was out when we visited so no sign of action.
The drive back to Vagar was interesting, more tiny winding mountain roads shrouded in cloud which revealed the odd sheep every now and again but we made it home unscathed 😂
Tomorrow, back through the undersea tunnel when we move to the capital Torshavn.