Faroe Islands 2018 (#2)

Part 2: August 22nd – 24th

By Watracz Is Traveling

May 12^th, 2020

Day 4: Fugloy, Klaksvík, Tórshavn

August 22nd, 2018

As I sit in the car by the airfield, I look around for a coming helicopter. I wonder how I’m going to get back from Fugloy. My initial plan was to fly both ways, but the system only lets you book one flight on a given day. Those are the rules. So I can either wait a day and take the helicopter back, or come back the same day, using my own wits.

Eventually, the helicopter’s here. The pilot chucks the heavier bags to a small luggage compartment; backpacks can be taken into the cabin. Which is good, because that’s where I keep my cameras and lenses. It’s really noisy inside. We get noise-cancelling headphones and the helicopter takes off moments later.

The flight’s awesome. The Faroe Islands look even better from a bird’s eye view than they do from the ground.

We fly through a rainbow and into a stormcloud. It’s raining heavily and the helicopter starts to shake in the wind gusts. You can see stress and anxiety in the passengers’ faces. Looking out the windshield, you can barely see more than streams of water and outlines of mountains.

It doesn’t take long before the situation gets better. We land in Klaksvík and a few people get off. A window seat becomes free and I take it right away.

The helicopter takes off again and we go further east, towards the island of Svínoy. We set down in a small village more or less in the center of the island and take a few more people on board.

Then we head north, to the island of Fugloy. We land at its southern shore in the village of Kirkja. That’s the end of my helicopter trip. I grab my backpack, hand back the headphones, and get off.

Fugloy

When the helicopter leaves, I ask two girls working at the airfield about how I can get back to Tórshavn. One of them is very helpful and tells me there’s a ferry coming at 4 pm; I can take it to get to Viðoy. She even calls the captain to confirm. From Viðoy I can take a bus to Klaksvík, from Klaksvík a coach to Tórshavn. And I can buy the bus ticket from the ferry captain. Piece of cake...

I also ask what’s the best place for a view of the island. She points me to a hill that looks to be a few kilometers away from the village. She adds she can drive me there if I want. Awesome! I jump at the opportunity and we get in the car.

Minutes later, I get out and take the trail leading to a clearing at the top. You can see the entire area: Kirkja where I landed, the village of Hattarvik on the other side of the island, and the island of Svínoy to the south. I take out my sandwiches and thermos and take a longer break. I lose track of time.

Suddenly, I see a ferry on the horizon, coming towards the island. The ferry that was supposed to be there at 4 pm. It looks like it’s going to make land in about 20 minutes, and I’m almost an hour’s march from the pier. I don’t waste time thinking, I just throw everything into the bag and run towards the village. The slope is steep, rocky, and criss-crossed with streams. I reach a road and keep running through a sheep pasture. A while later I jump over a fence, cross someone’s backyard and run onto the village’s main street.

Whew, I made it. The ferry is just coming into the harbor. The passengers need to get off first, then the ferry unloads the cargo, then they load the villages garbage containers. It all takes about half an hour. Had I known, I wouldn’t have risked a broken ankle running like that.

On the ferry, I buy a ticket for the bus. The captain calls the bus driver to double-check the route. We sail off to the other side of the island, to Hattarvik, then to Svínoy, and finally towards Viðoy. I go below deck, lie down on a table and fall asleep, exhausted.

Tórshavn

In Tórshavn I get off at traffic lights, because it’s closer to the helicopter airfield where I parked my car. I drive back to the campsite, take a long hot shower (2 tokens!) and go to sleep.

Day 5: Fossá waterfall, Gjógv

August 23nd, 2018

Fossá waterfall

I arrive at the waterfall a few minutes before 10. It’s right off the main road to Tjørnuvík. A bunch of filmmakers are setting up their gear on a table, and drones are circling the waterfall.

It’s a two-stage waterfall, with a total height of 140 meters. If you want to see the upper part, you need to put in some effort and climb a steep, slippery trail to the north of the parking lot. Actually, I hope it’s a trail, because it’s not marked, there are no tourists, and apart from me there are just sheep here.

About an hour later the film crew starts to pack up, so I go down to take a few more photos.

It starts to rain, so I run to the car and drive south. I cross the bridge to the island of Eysturoy, turn north and reach Lake Eiði. It looked nice in the pictures, but now most of the view is obscured by fog.

Eiði

I get to the town of Eiði, where I refill my reserves of food in the trunk.

A few kilometers north sits the tallest mountain of the Faroe Islands, Slættaratindur (880 m a.s.l.). My initial plan was to climb it and enjoy the views, but the dense fog and thick mud on the trail make me rethink it for now.

Gjógv

The village is named after the 200-meter gorge it neighbors. The gorge is also the harbor, and the whole thing looks nice enough to make me want to swim in it.

There’s a hotel not far from the gorge. The prices are sky-high, but I’m going to take the plunge. I pay 850 DKK for a room, unpack my bags, put on the wetsuit, grab my fins, and drive down to the gorge. The water is cold and deep, but it’s also clear and calm. It’s a great swim.

Two diving sessions later, I head back to the hotel and take a cold shower. I eat dinner, make sandwiches for the next day, and go to bed. It’s nice to stay in comfort once in a while — especially when you can take a shower without worrying about how many tokens you have left.

Day 6: Kallur lighthouse, Kópakonan, Lake Toftir, Gjógv

August 24th, 2018

Wake-up time is 6 am! I quickly pack and head out. You can see the sun rising beyond Kalsoy, the island I want to get to today.

I stop a few times on my way to Klaksvík, to take some photos. It looks like it’s going to be a nice day.

Klaksvík

You get to Kalsoy by a ferry from Klaksvík. A ticket for one person and a car is 160 DKK. The ferry leaves at 8 am sharp, and the route takes 30 minutes.

Kalsoy

I get off the Kalsoy ferry in the village of Syðradalur on its southern shore, then I drive along the coast to the village of Trøllanes, on its northern side. But more about that in the next part of the story.