Faroe Islands 2005 - Gjógv and Eysturoy

From Worldtraveller

As it turned out, I didn't even get to the Faroes that evening. We flew to Aberdeen, where we had a scheduled stop to pick up passengers, but the stop turned out to be longer than planned. Apparently the weather in the Faroes was too bad to land, and we were waiting to see if it would improve. After about three hours, the crew decided it was worth a shot, and we flew north. The Faroes are only an hour's flight from Aberdeen, and we were soon circling over them, but all I could see below was an ocean of cloud. We circled for an hour, waiting for a window in the weather so we could land, but eventually it became clear it was not to be, and we headed back south. So in the end, after a day of drama and chaos, unbelievably, I found myself spending the night in Aberdeen.

The Forth Bridges from the air, seen on the flight to the Faroes

Scenery on the road from the airport to Tórshavn

Fortunately, the next day saw better weather, and I finally arrived in the Faroe Islands just before midday. I got a bus from the airport on Vágar island to Tórshavn, amazed to have actually made it, and stunned by the dramatic scenery, made gloomy and ominous by dirty grey clouds and persistent rain. From Tórshavn I travelled on to the Faroese transport hub of Oyrabakki and then to the village of Gjógv, on the northeastern coast of Eysturoy. I arrived at about 9pm, to find the few scattered houses almost invisible in fog. I went for a walk down to the sea shore and out onto the rocks, enjoying the strange atmosphere of a bright foggy arctic summer evening.

Storá river at Gjógv

Camping in Gjógv

Kids playing out at 11pm

Cloud level descending

Fog enwreaths Gjógv

My plan here had been to climb Slættaratindur, the Faroes' highest mountain, if the weather was good enough. But the next day still saw dense cloud clinging to the mountains, and the advice of the friendly campsite owner was that climbing into the clouds would be a very bad idea. So I contented myself with a good hike around the cliffs near the town instead, past nesting puffins and some fine views over the straits to other islands in the archipelago.

A puffin looks over to Kalsoy island

Sheer cliffs near Gjógv

Looking down on Gjógv

A view from Gjógv across to Kalsoy and Kunoy beyond

Kalsoy from Eysturoy on a nice day

I thought about staying another day to see if the weather improved, but with only a week to spare I decided to head on to other places. The campsite owner was driving to Eiði on the other side of the island to pick someone up, and offered me a lift. We had a good drive over the bleak highlands, stopping briefly to help two teenagers who had driven their car off the road, and then again to catch some fine views of Risin og Kellingin, two sea stacks which according to Norse legend were broken from the mainland by a troll who was attempting to drag the Faroes towards Iceland.

The sea stacks Risin og Kellingin

Another view of Risin og Kellingin

In Eiði I had a couple of hours to kill before the bus to Tórshavn came. The sun came out and my travel thermometer said the temperature was almost 15C. It was too much for the locals - there were not many people about at all but I had a brief chat with one old gent who was mopping his brow and saying "So hot... so hot..." The bus eventually came, and after a twenty minute stop in Oyrabakki during which I bought an ice cream and sat in the sunshine, we headed back to the capital.

The village of Eiði on northern Eysturoy	Coast near Eiði	The road out of Eiði
Streymoy from Eysturoy	The bus out of Eiði	The powerful tidal current in the strait between Eysturoy and Streymoy

Faroe Islands 2005: Story of a crazy day / Gjógv and Eysturoy / North-eastern islands / Boat journey to Fugloy / Suðuroy / Tórshavn / Nólsoy