Live from the Faroe Islands

Now I have gotten numerous questions from people back home wanting to know what/where the Faroes are. So here goes- they are located between Iceland and Norway in the heart of the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic. The archipelago is composed of 18 islands covering 545 sq. miles. One of my favorite facts about them is that at no time is one more than 3 miles away from the ocean. The population is 48,778 and Faroese is the national language. While they are owned by Denmark they are allowed to self govern and so have their own flag and parliament.

So after arriving at 4:30am this morning I bumped into an old cyclist I had met on the bus back in Iceland. We kept running into each other and he has been to Faroes before so gave me some pointers. His name is Edward (I think) and he is a physician from the Swiss Alps. He's a little Mr Magoo minus glasses and Inspector Clouseau. He talks a lot and seems to know several languages. He always wears his hard helmet so he doesn't forget it and carries several different shopping bags in addition to his bicycle (which I have yet to see him ride) and overnight pack.

He offered to walk me towards my hotel since he thought he knew where it was (he didn't) but instead we ended up at the hostel he would be staying at where he fixed me a cup of tea and I shared my cookies with him. We pored over the map to each decide where we would go when the sun came up. I was grateful to him for showing me some pointers for the bus system.

After I dropped my pack at my hotel I boarded a bus for Vagar. I got off in a little village called Sandavagur for a little look around then walked about 2km to the next town called Midvagur.

I checked in at the information center where she told me about a hiking path out around the lake next to the ocean. It would take about 2-3 hours. Now at this point I'm tired, day pack is heavy and I couldn't find the trail head, but a friend had given me some advice to never give up at the first sign of a struggle so I persevered. I ended up hiking through heather and grasses with sheep to greet me next to a beautiful lake. The hike ended at the lip of the lake which emptied into a waterfall that fell away to the ocean. It was poetry in motion. I was all alone staring out at this scenery- with the exception of some birds and sheep- to absorb all the majesty. The entire hike out and back was around 3 hours. I took my snacks (mixed nuts, apple, cheese) and took my time.

On the way back I was walking down a residential road where a man was working on the ditch. He stopped to ask me where I was coming from. He was so friendly and wanted to talk about his country with me (I think I understood half of what he said). He was very excited that I had hiked out to see the waterfall. He agreed with me that this is a most beautiful place.

I realized today that while I miss my home, there is no place in the world that I'd rather be than where I am at any given moment on this adventure.