Day 1
Arrived at 3 am to a kind of vague pre-dawn darkness, the first hint of night I have seen since the start of my trip. Check in to the Airbnb is at 5pm so I have an entire day to burn in the capital city of Torshavn before heading out. Of course nothing opens until 9 am, so I slowly cycle around the empty streets until I find some free WiFi. After confirming that I’m alive, I spend a good 5 hours just loitering around. Eventually the city slowly comes alive and I stock up on food before heading out to the island my accommodation is on. The road is a nightmare. Narrow with an absurd amount of truck traffic. Around every corner I see yet another mine or quarry that is surely the destination for the 60 odd trucks that pass me. And then the tunnels. I have three to deal with. The first and second are short affairs, but poorly ventilated and screaming with traffic. Did I mention that the Faroes have the population of Albany? I was not expecting the traffic to be quite this insane. The last tunnel is the big one, 7 kilometres under the sea. It is huge and well ventilated, so for cycling it is fine if you can ignore the fact that man was not meant to cycle underwater. The first 4 kms were a steep descent, so I powered down at 60km/h, my panniers trying wobble free of their fixtures. And then of course the climb back up to sea level. I think fear empowered me here because I was out of that sodden hellhole before I knew it.
I was now on the island of Vagar. I toured around for a while killing time before checking in. Finding the Airbnb was a fascinating puzzle. The street address meant nothing as most side streets here seemed to split off into a dozen smaller streets with no clear indication as to where the initial street ended up. I had an idea though. By looking at the Airbnb images showing the scenic views out of the windows, I was able to triangulate the correct house by way of various coloured roofs and parked cars. It worked, and I arrived just as another group of guests were leaving. I got settled in and eventually my host arrived and we went straight to business. I had chosen this Airbnb for its hosts reputation for providing valuable information on the best photography spots on the area, and the host, Ossur, immediately pulled out several maps with various hand drawn hikes, as well as a photobook demonstrating the views these hikes would reveal. I thanked him and settled onto my tiny bedroom for a good nights sleep on dry land.
Day 2
Rainy day today. Stayed in until evening where the skies opened up just long enough for me to get in a short hike out to a lake famous for its proximity to the sea.
Day 3
The weather cleared up so I went cycling to the end of the road, where I would find a tiny town that until a decade ago was isolated from the world and could only be reached by way of dangerous mountain trails.
Day 4
Last day at my Airbnb. Haven’t seen the host or anyone else in days. Today I will be doing a big hike out to a sea arch. I’ll have to cross a few big hills and traverse some challenging terrain. The hike starts off well but there is no marked trail and I end up taking a rather long way. Near the arch I get attacked by large sea birds of some variety. They try to frighten me, but little do they know that their attempts pale in comparison to the common magpie so I mostly ignore them. The view is magnificent, but the walk back is less so. I end up having to stumble back through some marshland in the middle of the night. I camp in a nearby campsite for the night.
Day 5
Take the bus back to the capital and spend the day exploring the town. Legs are killing me from all the hiking.
Day 6
Spend all day at the campsite in Torshavn. It has power, internet and a nice couch.
Day 7
Last day on the Faroes. Wander about town for the last time and then start planning my arrival in Denmark/Norway. The ferry arrives at 3am the next day so I simply stay awake before coasting down to the port from the campsite.
I swear you must have a copy of the LG Directory in your Pringletubes.